How many here have owners manual with contradicitionary information on AT service

[upallnight]

If BMW did revise their maintenance schedule to include tranny fluid replacement at 100,000 miles wouldn't that be like the the tobacco people admitting that smoking causes cancer and wouldn't they be held liable?

[TiAgX5]

I agree.

BMW docs should state "lifetime trans fluid" means unit exceeds 100k miles.

[Mike Gardner]

I have changed my fluid and filter 3 times. I have 213,000 miles and did my first change at around 100K (and each 50K thereafter. No problems so far.

[TiAgX5]

Originally Posted by trader4

I'd prefer BMW state whatever it is that they mean by lifetime fluid.

Don't hold your breath if you expect to see it in writing.

That's why I discussed the topic with a dealer service manager where I purchased a new BMW.

[Gurjit]

zf says its not lifetime, they built the tranny/designed/tested it

bmw says lifetime, they shoved it in their car

who do you believe

[TiAgX5]

Originally Posted by Gurjit

....bmw says lifetime, they shoved it in their car.....

and get a significant portion of trans swaps post failure. The service dept keeps the showroom lights on.

[TiAgX5]

ZF position on fluid change (upallnight provided link in another fluid swap thread).

ZF 5HP Transmission Oil Change Interval Procedure - YouTube

[Doru]

The transmission is not built by the car manufacturer. therefore, one should look up what the transmission manufacturer recommends. BMW has no say in this, owner's manual, or service manual.
If one has a ZF transmission, then you should follow ZF service interval, which is 100,000Km to 120,000Km Max. Check this post where a forum member from Europe serviced his transmission at a ZF facility - post #11. Also detailed info what the service actually is.

This should close the debate. BMW has NO say in this, they didn't build the tranny, they just installed it in the car.
But in the end it's your car, and if your pipe dream about "lifetime fluid" fulfills your needs, than don't change the fluid.

[bcredliner]

Originally Posted by Doru

The transmission is not built by the car manufacturer. therefore, one should look up what the transmission manufacturer recommends. BMW has no say in this, owner's manual, or service manual.
If one has a ZF transmission, then you should follow ZF service interval, which is 100,000Km to 120,000Km Max. Check this post where a forum member from Europe serviced his transmission at a ZF facility - post #11. Also detailed info what the service actually is.

This should close the debate. BMW has NO say in this, they didn't build the tranny, they just installed it in the car.
But in the end it's your car, and if your pipe dream about "lifetime fluid" fulfills your needs, than don't change the fluid.

[bcredliner]

Originally Posted by trader4

Did you watch the ZF video from the provided link? In it ZF clearly says that:

A - You shoud adhere to the vehicle manufacturers specific instructions regarding fluid change interval (So, it's right back to BMW "lifetime")

B - That ZF fluids are designed to maintain their characteristics for lifetime, per the vehicle manufacturer's specifications.

And after that, ZF states that under extreme conditions, *then* the fluid should be changed every 50 -70K miles or 8 years.

See post #15