E70 X5M transmission service

Maruzo · #1 10-26-2022, 08:31 PM

Just did the transmission fluid and filter change on my 2012 X5M. Put the car on 4 jack stands, removed the drain bolt and drained out about 4 1/2 litres overnight. Filled to about 3 litres then start up the car and put the transmission through its gears. I was only able to put it in 1st, neutral and reverse over 10 seconds. The transmission will not hold over 1 seconds on 2 gear, it won't even go into 3rd.

Anyway i tried to put the transmission in as many gears as I can, left the car running for around 10 mins, then I went back and did the final fill.

I got just a little over 4 bottles into the pan, using Liqui Moly ATF Top Tec 1800.

On my first drive home after the service, the transmission felt rough and takes a while shifting from 1st to 2nd, and one time 3rd to 4th. The roughness slowly goes away after around 30 mins of driving, and by the time I was close to home the up shifts and downshifts has gotten much better.

The shift points were low (a little over 1,000 rpm) and I barely felt the shifts.

Still getting used to the new shifting feel and hopefully it will shift more smoothly tomorrow.

I will probably put it on jack stand again tomorrow and see if I can put in another half bottle. Since by my calculation I had removed roughly 4 1/2 bottle.

Has anyone also experienced this rough shift right after they changed their ATF?

newb2bimmer · #2 10-27-2022, 10:55 AM

Just curious, by filter change you mean the entire pan since the filter is integrated, right? I did a semi-full (6 liters) change when we initially purchased the E70, the fluid was quite black. Now every year I drain and put back exactly 2 (checked my notes and it was 2L) liters to keep it fresh.

Maruzo · #3 10-27-2022, 12:29 PM

On my X5M after I remove the aluminum pan I can see a rectangular shaped black plastic filter that is pushed into the valve body. You pull out the old and push in a new one. There's a light pink oring on the filter that needs to be replaced as well.

Maruzo · #4 10-27-2022, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newb2bimmer

Just curious, by filter change you mean the entire pan since the filter is integrated, right? I did a semi-full (6 liters) change when we initially purchased the E70, the fluid was quite black. Now every year I drain and put back exactly 3 liters to keep it fresh.

Update:

On my drive to work this morning, the same reluctance to upshift occurred and this time is much worse. A few minutes of city driving and the transmission malfunction sign popped up on nav screen.

I had to turn off the engine twice for the rest of the drive to work.

Did some more research and decided to proceed with the easiest remedy: add more transmission oil.

I jacked up the car and managed to put a little over 1/2 bottle this time!

Just went for a quick drive and this time the upshift is much better. Almost like the way it was before the oil change.

Best of all the transmission malfunction light went away after 10 minutes.

I guess i underfilled and it caused all kind of unpleasantness within the gear box.

crystalworks · #5 10-28-2022, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maruzo

Update:

On my drive to work this morning, the same reluctance to upshift occurred and this time is much worse. A few minutes of city driving and the transmission malfunction sign popped up on nav screen.

I had to turn off the engine twice for the rest of the drive to work.

Did some more research and decided to proceed with the easiest remedy: add more transmission oil.

I jacked up the car and managed to put a little over 1/2 bottle this time!

Just went for a quick drive and this time the upshift is much better. Almost like the way it was before the oil change.

Best of all the transmission malfunction light went away after 10 minutes.

I guess i underfilled and it caused all kind of unpleasantness within the gear box.

Were you monitoring the temps during the fill procedure. I'm sure you were as anyone doing this service as a DIY will have read the steps multiple times. But if the trans was too hot then it would end up under filled as the fluid expanded and escaped out the fill hole. That might explain being able to get the extra 1/2 bottle in.

Or, the torque converter might have not been refilled during the initial filling. Did you rev the engine (I forget the exact RPMs, maybe 1800?).?

And lastly, you checked the trans pan was level when it was on the jack stands?

Glad you got it sorted. Just trying to figure out the initial problem so others can avoid in the future.

Maruzo · #6 11-01-2022, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crystalworks

Were you monitoring the temps during the fill procedure. I'm sure you were as anyone doing this service as a DIY will have read the steps multiple times. But if the trans was too hot then it would end up under filled as the fluid expanded and escaped out the fill hole. That might explain being able to get the extra 1/2 bottle in.

Or, the torque converter might have not been refilled during the initial filling. Did you rev the engine (I forget the exact RPMs, maybe 1800?).?

And lastly, you checked the trans pan was level when it was on the jack stands?

Glad you got it sorted. Just trying to figure out the initial problem so others can avoid in the future.

I had the car on 4 jack stands, but the rear of the car was slightly higher than the front. Car is on level ground. I didn't test the temperature, just warmed the car for around 10 minutes then did the final fill.

I filled the car again the next day and was able to add that additional 1/2 bottle, which roughly equaled the amount I took out (I put the used oil into empty 1 quart bottles and added it up)

Right now there are no errors and the transmission is shifting fine. Still getting pronounced upshifts during stop and go city driving. But the engine is no longer reving up rpm with the gear refusing to engage. There's just this slight lurch forward as the car shift into 1st.

Maruzo · #7 10-27-2022, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newb2bimmer

Just curious, by filter change you mean the entire pan since the filter is integrated, right? I did a semi-full (6 liters) change when we initially purchased the E70, the fluid was quite black. Now every year I drain and put back exactly 3 liters to keep it fresh.

How do you fill exactly 3 liters? Did you just remove the drain bolt and put in as much as you take out? Or did you put the car on jack stands and did 2 fills? One initial fill followed by the second after starting up the car and putting it in all its gears?

I found with the car on jack stands it's next to impossible to put the car in any gear other than D1, N, and R.

newb2bimmer · #8 10-27-2022, 03:47 PM

I put the car on 4 ramps so it is level and suck out 3 liters with a small pipe stuck through the fill hole while the engine is running then fill back 2 (edited) liters or until it starts overflowing.

Maruzo · #9 10-27-2022, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newb2bimmer

I put the car on 4 ramps so it is level and suck out 3 liters with a small pipe stuck through the fill hole while the engine is running then fill back 3 liters or until it starts overflowing.

That's a neat idea. I'll try it next time.

I've heard that when you push the hose inside the fill hole, you should aim it towards the front of the car because that'll get you to the higher point inside the pan?

What's the idea behind starting the car? Does the transmission build up hydraulic pressure inside the gear box when the car is on?

newb2bimmer · #10 10-27-2022, 06:40 PM

Since you need the engine running for the refill I just start it up front and use a thin hose to suck out some of the fluid, then fill back. I had the original pan which has the integrated filter and I just bought a direct replacement back then so no replaceable filter for me at the moment.