Trans fluid change update.

[realchef]

Soo, I had fluid changed at 65k in June. Took trip to San Fran. hit 70k and started to make a 'windup' noise as it changed gears.

Trans Failsafe showed up last week. Turned off car, waited and restarted. Fault was cleared and car ran but still made the noise. Brought it to the dealer yesterday. They have diagnosed it with two seperate codes, both leading to replace transmission.

They are in contact with my warranty company (Zurich) and are negotiating the replacement tranny. In my favor is the actual fluid change and high level of vehicle maintenance. S Rep says they asked if I had maintained the car well and changed fluids properly, including the trans! Considering the price of OEM replacement (11k) they might send a rep to check situation.

Anywhoo, dealer did say that it is not uncommon to see failure of any tranny after a fluid change.

Final verdict and details soon.

[FSETH]

Sorry to hear that.

Strange that they asked if you maintained it. At your mileage and with BMW's maintenance recommendations it should not have been touched yet. I am actually surprised they are saying it isn't covered by the warranty because it should not have been touched. Be prepared, they make take that stance.

[realchef]

Thanks. We'll see. Zurich has been a stand up company. I expect them to honor their agreement.

BMW issued a service bulletin updating the service intervals. Being an 01, realy prompted me once it hit 65k.

Originally Posted by FSETH

Sorry to hear that.

Strange that they asked if you maintained it. At your mileage and with BMW's maintenance recommendations it should not have been touched yet. I am actually surprised they are saying it isn't covered by the warranty because it should not have been touched. Be prepared, they make take that stance.

[JCL]

It would be interesting to see the cause of failure, if the dealer does determine one. They may not want to go into the transmission to see, but the failure could be precipitated by the fluid change, or completely unrelated.

[realchef]

The codes required them to check fluid. They did drop the pan. No other useful info. Yet.

Originally Posted by JCL

It would be interesting to see the cause of failure, if the dealer does determine one. They may not want to go into the transmission to see, but the failure could be precipitated by the fluid change, or completely unrelated.

[GSXRliterbikz]

I heard that the whining noise can be caused by a collapsed filter. Its common with aftermarket ones. I just changed my filter and filled with new fluid. I'm at 70k. Seems fine so far. The old fluid was disgusting looking. We'll see how long it lasts.

[wigner]

sorry to hear that.
Actually I heard the same story from two dealers and they do not recommend Tranny fluid change and said it could make problem worse or lead tranny failure. and also a very BMW special indy does not recommend the early change so he said he will not change the fluid even on my request, and suggested at least 100k miles. But some owners claim their success.

[HPIA4v2]

No expert but this is the funny thing that to me is illogical:

concensus:
we know that sludge/particulate in high mileage car if disturbed by changing the trans-fluid can clog the passage way in the valve body, so why it's OK to have the same fluid (with sludge/paticulate swimming in it) to be kept until trans fail.
Shouldn't it be better if we change the fluid more often to avoid sludge/particulate to develop?

[JCL]

Originally Posted by HPIA4v2

No expert but this is the funny thing that to me is illogical:

consensus:
we know that sludge/particulate in high mileage car if disturbed by changing the trans-fluid can clog the passage ways in the valve body, so why is it OK to have the same fluid (with sludge/particulates swimming in it) to be kept until trans fail.
Wouldn't it be better if we change the fluid more often to avoid sludge/particulate to develop?

Transmission fluid has a high concentration of detergents in it. And the sludge isn't in the fluid, it is deposited, either in the pan or the filter. When you put in new fluid, you add fresh detergents, which clean out the passages, and move the sludge that was sitting there not hurting anything. That is the concern of those in the "don't change the fluid" club.

Changing the fluid more often doesn't avoid the particulates developing, they are primarily friction materials from the clutches that accumulate in any case. Changing the fluid simply provides more of an opportunity to move them around. If you change the fluid very frequently, you will keep on top of it. Or you can not change the fluid, and just let them sit there, it is the same difference.

[HPIA4v2]

Originally Posted by JCL

Transmission fluid has a high concentration of detergents in it. And the sludge isn't in the fluid, it is deposited, either in the pan or the filter. When you put in new fluid, you add fresh detergents, which clean out the passages, and move the sludge that was sitting there not hurting anything. That is the concern of those in the "don't change the fluid" club.

Changing the fluid more often doesn't avoid the particulates developing, they are primarily friction materials from the clutches that accumulate in any case. Changing the fluid simply provides more of an opportunity to move them around. If you change the fluid very frequently, you will keep on top of it. Or you can not change the fluid, and just let them sit there, it is the same difference.

So the transmission is really just design with defect built in, like a gene in some human where a blood clot can develop, dislodge and plugs artery killing the man (happens more to man than woman for example).
So any moment any of us can have trasmission failure due to this particulate dislodging and plug the valve body opening and nothing we can do about it, great design by ZF.