Successful Trans Oil change
 

E53 2005 4.4I V8 @ 193K

Gentlemen,

I've had the car a few weeks now. Bought it in auction and when i picked it up I thought I'd bought a lemon.
Bump, bump, bump noise from the front that sounded like a flattie.Whiring and droning on acceleration.Poor acceleration and bad fuel consumption.Gears slipping and sloping from one gear to the next.


I changed all the liquids, plugs and filters. Fixed up the rear boot lock which wasn't closing. Put in a new battery and this calmed thing down a little but I was sure the trans was a gonna as it was still playing up. So after a few nights on here and BimmerXXX. I though I'd give the dreaded transoil change a go.

Popped into my local VW supplies and bought 4L of G052162A2 Trans Oil @ $170.00Cracked open the 13mm allen Key at the bottom of the sump.Drained off approx 4L from the drain plug (whilst cold) and freed the coffee brown oil out.Replaced the drain plug.Pumped in approx 1.5L of fresh oil until started to flow out. Replaced the filler plug hand tightStarted the engine and went through the gears, returning to Park.Left the engine running.Opened the fill plug and pumped in another 1.5L until it started flowing out again.Took her for a ride and I now have a Bimmer that feels brand new.

I think I'l jack the back up and put in the last 300ml and see how she goes. I read somewhere that the BMW engineers over fill there boxes from factory. If it starts playing up I'll level up and drain off.

Hope that helps.

Gday mate

Welcome to the forum.

They really rape you on ATF down under in OZ. 4L over here would have been $55.00.

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Hi Mate.......I hope it works out for You , but You might of started the clock of doom..............I heard of many people that done this and in 3k tranny dies........wish You the best.

Did you drop the transmission pan and replaced the filter as well?

I did it TWICE at 70k. Then I did it at 80k. I am now at 93k, and plan on doing it again at about 110k. Every time I dropped the pan and replaced the filter. Pretty much once a year deal.

I use ZF lifeguard 6 fluid and OE filer every time. Only reason I did it that many times is because after the first 2 times, I may have dislodged some gasket shit from the filter, and clogged up my reverse solenoid.

I plan on just a simple drain and fill next time as well.

I spoke with ZF up in Connecticut , they said your would re manufacture mine for $2850,plus $85 for pick up and drop off.pretty good deal..

Our ZF 6 speeds are way more robust than the pre-facelift 5 speeds.

Have you tried any of the fixes advised on here. There are 2 that I think everyone needs to do.

1. Change oil and filter, the whole lifetime fill is bullshit in my book.
2. Software re-flash. Even if you have the updated software, do it again. People have reported improvement after updating software again. Like it gets corrupted.

3. In my case solenoids helped a shit load. But, I bet a good cleaning of those filter cups that are on the solenoids will accomplish the same thing.

I would not give into the whole reman a trans right away deal.

Welcome! Good luck with your new X5.

not yet but I am coming up on 100k[96.4k now] by late spring, I would try, I know Mike Aya changed his oil and filter and the tranny went, but He REALLY BEAT on his X5 ,snow power drives snow driffing, it's FUN but beat on the tranny.....I am going to wait for now I have a few little things I want to do, I spend a boat load in 2015,

You also have to take things with a grain of salt. You don't know how someone changed the oil, did they follow procedure or did they wing it? Did they use some funny oil, or the OE ZF fill? And yes, lot of abuse to that car.

I did back to back flush/filter/fill on my 4.8is with 140k miles with about 500 miles in between. Transmission was an inch away from death before the first flush. Now I'm at 145k miles and its running like a dream. Do it! but use everything ZF, don't cut corners. And have a lift and a friend to changes gears while you pump in fluid. This is not a one person job.

I'll let you know how it pans out ... 🃏

That would be we're a long lng wayz away from the manufacturing plants of Europe and the USofA.

I agree... Do it! Goes like a dream.

2004 X5 4.4i.
Just did first time transmission drain, filter, refill.
The factory fill looked fairly good. Filter was still okay.
I used the ZF brand fluid, factory filter and gasket.
The X5 used to give a downshift 2/1 bump. It is now 90% better.
Still a faint downshift, unnoticeable to others, but I barely feel it.
Now very smooth transmission. Hums right through the gears up or down.
I replaced the electrical connection socket also.
I have 89K miles and will repeat the process at 120K or so.


My Indy says it's a rugged, well built transmission. Won't put up with dirty fluid
Or low level. Keep it clean and should last a long time.
Very worthwhile procedure.

:iagree: At 115,000 miles, about to change fluid for the 3rd. time.

Would you guys recommend doing a this to my x5 6 speed steptronic, It has 136k miles.


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It's straght forward procedure. Just like a regular oil change. Make sure you use the correct oils and you should be fine. Fill the oil sump up and start her up. Once she's warm fill her up again until she can't take anymore.

There are strong feelings on both sides of this issue. Many do not change the fluid based on BMW stating the fluid is good for the lifetime of the transmission. There are also many that do change the fluid. That is also based on logical conclusions, primarily that no lubricating fluid is good for a lifetime. What brand used to replace the fluid is all over the map. I use the ZF fluid as that was the original brand fluid.

Some percentage of those that do not change the fluid do change the filter and in that case use the same fluid to refill the transmission. For those that change fluid, the number of miles clocked or time passed between changes varies.

So it becomes a personal decision based on what you believe to be the best logic. I won't pitch you one way or the other. Both sides have personal experience(s) and/or documentation to endorse their point of view. There are many threads that you can use the search function to find and read a long list of posts on both sides of the issue.

I'm still debating on this. I really want to change it because it shift hard on 3rd shift no matter is its cold or up to temperature. I really don't know who can flash the transmission ECU around atlanta area, that's another thing I planned on doing.

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