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  #81  
Old 01-11-2012, 02:13 AM
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There are flushing machines that hook up to the oil cooler lines, and force new fluid in, flushing out the transmission. Sort of like a kidney dialysis, but with pressure. Those are the flushes that posters warn against, as they can stir up even more gunk than a simple fluid change. They do change a higher percentage of the fluid though. A simple pan drop (with a screen/filter change) will get about half the fluid out, as the torque converter holds a lot of fluid and doesn't drain. That is simply a fluid change, but some call it a flush in error. If you do it more than once, you can get 50% out each time, so after three successive changes you will have most of it changed. Expensive, though.

Dealers may or may not want to do the fluid change for you. There is a procedure to do it, but there is a chance of a transmission problem afterwards, caused by the new fluid, even if the fluid is correctly spec'd and the job is done properly. For that reason, some dealers will discourage you from changing it, to the point of turning down the work. Once they have paid out policy $$ in the past they can be reluctant to do the job in the future, preferring just to pass on it entirely. It isn't that they don't want your money, they just don't want the risk, as owners tend to come back at the dealership and claim that they caused it.

You can do transmission fluid changes if you like. If you do them frequently enough, ie every 30,000 miles or so, then there is less risk of a change causing a subsequent problem. The downside is that that can be expensive, over the life of the vehicle. The thing to consider is that changing the fluid may have no effect on your transmission life. It isn't an automatic improver of component life. Think of your failure already experienced. Was it deemed to be due to worn fluid? Overheated, burnt fluid, burnt clutches? If so, then changing the fluid frequently could help. Problem is, those aren't usually the failure modes of the transmissions that have failed.

I don't tell people not to change the fluid. I do point out that doing so is no guarantee of any longer life, and IMO not even a driver of a higher probability of longer life. Many people who change the fluid use the phrase "It can't hurt". In project management, we have a phrase for that: "Hope isn't a strategy". For my part, I never changed my fluid on my X5. Or any other automatic transmission fluid in any vehicle I have owned in the past 35 years. But I have checked the fluid to make sure it isn't burnt. That is an easy check. And if it isn't, then it hasn't degraded to the point that it needs replacing.
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  #82  
Old 01-11-2012, 02:19 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ghost-Flame View Post
My transmission is the GM, I have a 3.0. The fluid used by my dealer is any DEXvi. M1 is Dexvi
If you are going to rely on your BMW manual for instructions to change the fluid, you should probably also follow BMW's fluid specifications. I may or may not change the fluid myself at that interval, but I would use the correct fluid.

M1 is not Dexron according to Mobil's web site. They say you can use it anyway, even though it isn't a Dexron fluid.

For those that want to use the correct fluid, Mobil do sell a Dexron ATF, but it is labelled Mobil, not Mobil 1. I would use that one, personally. Since we're following BMW's recommendations and all.

Maybe you used the correct fluid, and just referred to it incorrectly?
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  #83  
Old 01-11-2012, 05:44 AM
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Thanks for the clarification, JCL. I understand it completely now.

From what I know, Mercedes-Benz vehicles have a routine scheduled ATF change in their maintenance. BMW trannys wouldn't have a higher chance of something going wrong than the Benz's 7 speed AT when chainging the ATF, woud it?
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  #84  
Old 01-11-2012, 01:39 PM
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starting about 50-60k mile I'll drain the pan and install new fluid every other oil change. it has worked for me so far. never had a trans problem on vehicles going 150 to 250k miles. we traded in our E53 X5 with 155k (orig trans) and got an E70.
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  #85  
Old 01-11-2012, 04:59 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by autoque View Post
Thanks for the clarification, JCL. I understand it completely now.

From what I know, Mercedes-Benz vehicles have a routine scheduled ATF change in their maintenance. BMW trannys wouldn't have a higher chance of something going wrong than the Benz's 7 speed AT when chainging the ATF, woud it?
The risk exists with all automatic transmissions, it is not brand-specific. I don't know the likelihood of a BMW problem vs a DB problem.

There is no correct answer. One option costs money for the fluid change, may help extend long term life, may not help extend long term life at all, and may cause short term damage. The other option doesn't cost money, may not hurt long term life, and removes the small risk of short term damage due to a change. You can see how many judgement calls have to be involved given all the conditional clauses, above. Thus, manufacturers have not settled on a single strategy, and some manufacturers have switched back and forth. It is a crap shoot.

I just decided myself that since there was no evidence of it extending transmission life, I would keep the money in my pocket in the mean time. It isn't like the fluid wears out. The additives can become depleted over time, but the fluid is filtered and still does the same job as when it was new. I think that the point at which the fluid causes a problem is well past the point at which the transmission has failed for non-lubricant related issues.
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  #86  
Old 01-11-2012, 08:16 PM
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My 08 X5 with 3.0 has a ATF leaks at the pan gasket now (66000Km), do you know where and how to check the ATF level?
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  #87  
Old 01-12-2012, 02:27 AM
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Yes, underneath at the fill plug. With the transmission at operating temperature, and the engine running.
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  #88  
Old 01-15-2012, 02:50 PM
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My opinion.... Don't touch it..... 2011 xdrive35i sport pack-2011 x5 m- 2003- 4.4 sport pack (little son's)
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  #89  
Old 01-15-2012, 08:52 PM
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Originally Posted by ShantF1 View Post
My opinion.... Don't touch it..... 2011 xdrive35i sport pack-2011 x5 m- 2003- 4.4 sport pack (little son's)
What do mean? Don't check the level or don't fix the leak?
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  #90  
Old 01-16-2012, 08:26 PM
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ShantF1 is an unknown quantity at this point
If it needs to be fixed fix it... But if
you just want to service it think twice. They messed up my 2005 CL500 that I bought brand new in 2004. They "recomended" trany service and I said sure why not... After picking up the car and driving it on the interstate, it started to smoke and slip.... And then what, there goes my $114,000 Benz. Those fluids are made to last a lifetime... If there is no problem with them... Don't touch it, they will just make it worse.
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