Not in my vehicle. I will be changing mine at 50k. One always want to change "good fluid". No sense changing a fluid after it has deteriorated and caused damage-potential or otherwise.

I don't think there is anything low-grade about these ATF fluids either. I just think that the lubrication requirements are not particularly demanding. That is why a straight 5w oil like an ATF works fine. It is a sealed system, with a pressurized oil bath. It is heated when cold, and cooled when hot. All of the other requirements are very specific, and critical, but they are not as related to the lubrication aspect. And when people talk about changing the fluid, they tend to focus on the lubrication requirement.

I do think that the friction modifiers are more critical than you give them credit for.

I also think that the thermostatically controlled heat exchangers in the X5 deal quite successfully with the high temperatures that used to make transmission fluid changes much more critical.

A lot of the transmission failures we have seen reported have been in the transmission valve bodies. Those aren't caused by lubrication failures. Many other transmission failures have been caused by electrical failures, either wiring harnesses, solenoids, or sensors. I suggest that changing the transmission fluid regularly will have little to no effect on transmission life considering these common failure modes. If we were seeing burnt clutch plates and other signs of overheating, I would fully agree with you that changing the fluid regularly would be of benefit.

Agree

Well according to the attached documentation from ZF, maker of the transmission, the severe service schedule including frequent high speed driving, sporty agressive driving, and/or towing says fluid change every 80-120,000 km or 8 years. So in good ole american miles, 50-75k miles with only the proper fluid listed.

Everyone may not fall into that category, but I think it a good idea to be preventative and follow the earliest manufacturer recommended change at 50k miles.

Also interesting to note the recommended fluid is not fully synthetic, but a blend.:thumbup:

Diesaroo, which transmission is in our 35d's?

Well the 6-speed automatic in the E70 is the GA6HP26ZTU. This I interpret corresponds to 6HP26X in the document.

I am not sure of the 8-speed designation, but according to the ZF publication that I posted, they are both under the same interval.

If you want to change your fluid to be as conservative as possible, that is fair. It is your transmission, and your call.

However, you are taking the guidance of the component manufacturer over the guidance of the system manufacturer.

The document says that very high fluid temperatures will age the fluid prematurely, and I fully agree. It then goes on to say that various types of severe service (as listed above) can cause such high temperatures, justifying early changes of the fluid (every 65,000 miles or 8 years). One thing to keep in mind is that BMW addressed the high temperature issue with the cooler that they designed in to the vehicle. We can discuss whether or not that cooler is sufficient I suppose. I would be more worried about high ambients, trailer towing, etc, if that cooler wasn't there. It is because of the total system design (the cooler, the engine software that backs off engine power momentarily to soften the shifts, the torque converter lock-up clutch strategy that reduces heat from the torque converter, etc) that I would look to BMW's guidelines as more relevant than ZF's.

It would be interesting is to see what actual fluid temperatures climb to compared to ZF's application guidelines. If the BMW cooler isn't able to maintain them within ZF guidelines, then the ZF fluid change recommendation would be very relevant. If the BMW cooler is able to maintain fluid temperatures to the design specification, then there is no severe service recommendation applicable.

The thing is, we'll never know. I have never seen a modern vehicle without a transmission cooler. If we can take that as fact, I think ZF is providing the severe service schedule with that in mind.

Now if BMW installed a larger transmission cooler or an auxiliary cooler as part of the tow package, I might be more apt to agree. But they don't. Also, why has BMW not included transmission fluid as part of CBS? This tells me they are not tracking individual fluid condition that may vary widely depending on usage: towing, aggressive driving etc.

Another part of the equation that you have to think about is: who stands to profit if your transmission fails prematurely? I guess you could include ZF since they're providing the transmissions, but I think we would all agree BMW dealers have more to gain.

So, maybe I'm a little conservative, but I count the ZF people to be a little more accurate in this case.

wow every interesting folks. guess i will be changing the atf at 80k kms.

So lets take this conversation to the extreme-

Lets say, for the sake of argument, that we agree that the conditions that are outlined in the ZF document are never achieved in our use. So never high temps, never towing, etc, etc....

The logical conclusion per the document is that the fluid will last FOREVER... how is this possible? It is flat out nonsense. I dont care if it it 100k miles, or 10 years, or 20 years or 50 years.... it is NOT POSSIBLE for oil to last forever. And for BMW and ZF to 'pretend' this is true is disingenuous.

Now, that brings us to the 'space' betwee 'forever' and '8 years or 80k KM'... I believe that degradation and damage to molecules is cumulative, and os not a binary event- it is illogical to imagine that as long as you do not hit those stated conditions that fluid will therefore remain unchanged....


One thing we can agree on is this: vanishingly few of those reading these posts today will own the car when issues with ATF come home to roost. (They will fail for other reasons, or owners will just move on.)

Finally, I am 100% convinced that the "system manufacturer" does NOT have OUR best interests at heart, and is not driven by the primary design control input of 'longest transmission life'. (IMO, they are driven by 'lowest overall ownership cost to first retail purchaser', 'lowest maintenance cost to BMW', 'lowest repair rates to BMW'...etc.)

Say, haven't we been here before?:thumbup:

A