I had my tranny fluid changed along with filter and all other driveline fluids. It's been 90 days and 8K miles(93K total) and it drives fine, super smooth and shifts great. No issues so far. My Indy is a firm believer in changing all fluids as well. Interestingly there is a new tech in the shop from Russia/Germany who is very experienced with BMW's and he says that the "lifetime" fluid thing is a North American invention to sell leases.

I absolutely agree...saved BMW from one more item they have to include on paying for during the lease, plus an added sales pitch.

Non ZF Tranny in my '06 3.0. Drained, dropped & cleaned pan, replaced filter with OE BMW one, filled, drove for a week, drained, refilled. 20K miles later, no issues. Used Valvoline DEX VI.

You're not the first I've heard of using a good ol' Dexron instead of something that is Esso compatible like Valvoline MaxLife. To be honest, Esso or MaxLife extended service interval fluids aren't really needed as long as the fluid is changed regularily instead of doing "lifetime" intervals (aka never :() like BMW recommends.

Changed mine at 120,000 miles
 

I have a 2003 X5 3.0 with GM 5 speed automatic. I read thru all the threads and decided I would change mine. Its a risk but its a risk either way.

I used Valvoline Dex/Merc max life. This was the only fluid I could find that met the BMW spec for this tranny (ETL 8072B) and GM Dexron 2,3,and 4. Its 20 dollars a gollon at Autozone.

I have owned the X since 106000 miles and before that it was CPO. I'm as certain as one can be that it wasn't changed before. No warranty claims. The fluid was black and there were metal shavings on the magnet in the pan. What I didn't see was varnishing from the limited view you have when you pull the filter / pan. It was very clean. No slug.

I think you will see varnishing and slug when you have a car you tow with. just from the fact that the tranny gets hotter, even with a cooler.

Any way I have 1000 miles on it, so far so good. hopefully I am as lucky as folks like Wally X5 who have done this and have over 200k on thier X's.

I understand both sides of the discussion, but personally can't get over the fact that fluid gets dirty over time.

I plan to change once a year with filter as I drive 30k a year. We'll see how lucky i am.

Good to hear ernaldamerican. I'm going on 21000 miles on my original oil and filter change using Valvoline DEX VI. I'm gearing up for a long road trip up to Toronto from Northeastern PA so I plan on draining whatever is in the pan and topping up with some fresh fluid.