Transmission Fluid Change DIY

[mysweetx5]

Originally Posted by alpac

This a great DIY Thanks for sharing. As you indicate we can only drain a part of the transmission fluid capacity. I am not 100% sure for the X5 but the following statement was true with most BMW's automatic transmissions in the past. Most of the transmission fuild is in the torque convertor which cannot be drained without dissassembling the transmission. The entire fluid can be refreshed though by flushing the transmission. To do that the fuild needs to be drained several times with new fuild and by running the car for few minutes each times. That will consume more than the full capacity of the transmission but it is a good way to replace the entire transmission fluid.

Themm!!! this is really freaking me out to perform because I don't want to mess-up my transmission worst by adding more or less oil fluid there. Once the system is such complicated like that, where you will never be able to drain out all the dirty oil that contained inside the (Transmission system) I rather leave it as it is, instead of going through all these procedure.. I wonder why BMW stated (Lifetime warranty for this type oil.

[mysweetx5]

Themm!!! this is really freaking me out to perform because I don't want to mess-up my transmission worst by adding more or less oil fluid there. Once the system is such complicated like that, where you will never be able to drain out all the dirty oil that contained inside the (Transmission system) I rather leave it as it is, instead of going through all these procedure.. I wonder why BMW stated (Lifetime warranty for this type oil.
It should be easier as changing the entire engine oil at once.

[mgbmwx5]

I'm planning a cross country trip towing a 14 foot enclosed trailer, max tow weight about 4000 pounds. I have a 2002 X5 4.4i with 82K on the clock, with no transmission issues thus far. Do you recommend an oil change at this stage of the game? Or will I end up being one of the lower percentile that develop transmission issues after an oil change?
I appreciate your input!
Mike

[JCL]

Originally Posted by mgbmwx5

I'm planning a cross country trip towing a 14 foot enclosed trailer, max tow weight about 4000 pounds. I have a 2002 X5 4.4i with 82K on the clock, with no transmission issues thus far. Do you recommend an oil change at this stage of the game? Or will I end up being one of the lower percentile that develop transmission issues after an oil change?
I appreciate your input!
Mike

It is really up to you whether you want to do a transmission fluid change or not. Just a couple of comments though:

• Towing 4000 pounds isn't a big issue, and isn't a reason to change the fluid if you were not going to do so otherwise.
• Personally, I would be less likely to change the transmission fluid before departing on a big trip. Why tempt fate? If you want to change it, do it when you are back, and on the off chance that you do have an issue, you won't be stuck in a strange town somewhere.

The above only applies to the transmission fluid. I would make sure the engine oil and filter were fresh, all levels were checked including diffs and transfer case, brakes were inspected, and so on. It just makes sense to make sure the vehicle is prepared for a long trip.

[mgbmwx5]

Originally Posted by JCL

It is really up to you whether you want to do a transmission fluid change or not. Just a couple of comments though:

• Towing 4000 pounds isn't a big issue, and isn't a reason to change the fluid if you were not going to do so otherwise.
• Personally, I would be less likely to change the transmission fluid before departing on a big trip. Why tempt fate? If you want to change it, do it when you are back, and on the off chance that you do have an issue, you won't be stuck in a strange town somewhere.

The above only applies to the transmission fluid. I would make sure the engine oil and filter were fresh, all levels were checked including diffs and transfer case, brakes were inspected, and so on. It just makes sense to make sure the vehicle is prepared for a long trip.

JCL,

Thanks for the response! I agree with your recommendations. I will definitely make sure that all the other fluids and brakes are up to date.
I'm also equipped with a code reader and X5 manuals on the trip and if anything should arise I'll be reporting from the road on the forum.
I will do an overall assessment of the X5 upon return from my trip.
I really appreciate and value your input.

Thanks again!

[Bobby G]

I am in need of your collective expertise.

02 X5 4.4 sport 95 K

Last week I was pulling out of a parking lot the SES light came on and the trans went into failsafe mode. I limped it home, then over to an indy BMW specialist. He diagnosed the problem as a bad MAF and a sensor (O2?) on the pass side in the rear of the engine. Quoted me 1K (as usual, BMW, Bring Money Withya). Well being out of work since Xmas I don't have the funds and limped it home.
I cleaned the MAF hoping that would help since I've gotten parts quotes from 250 (Schucks) to 600 (Dealer). I disconnected the battery, since I was doing some other work on the car. Probably cleared any trouble codes. I
I reconnected the battery and borrowed an cheap OBD2 reader. No codes came up on it when i first hooked it up. I drove around the 2 blocks and put it back on the reader. Still no codes. I went for a few more blocks and then it went back into trans failsafe mode, NO SES light. Back on the OBD2 and it only came up with code P0731, Gear 1 Incorrect Ratio.
So my question, Bad MAF, O2 sensors or is it just the tranny. Where is the dipstick for the tranny?

[John Galt]

No dipstick on your tranny. You should probably check the fluid level, but if it was leaking you would have likely noticed. The fluid level check procedure is on the site somewhere, I'll try to find it and post a link.

[Bobby G]

Thanks. I've been under the car but I haven't seen any leaks. Also in looking thru the threads would using dexron vi be the correct ATF?.

[John Galt]

I would check around to see what the success rate is for changing the tranny fluid with your specific tranny (ZF 5HP24?) and what people are using. Dex VI would probably not be my first choice unless many people using it successfully.

I think that specific tranny is well known for problems.

In any case, you may find it helpful to read through my thread: http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...ed-bmw-gm.html

[JCL]

Originally Posted by Bobby G

Thanks. I've been under the car but I haven't seen any leaks. Also in looking thru the threads would using dexron vi be the correct ATF?.

No, Dexron VI is for the GM transmission in the 3.0 models. Read the label on your transmission; it will call for a specific BMW fluid, although some have used a VW equivalent.