I had a transmission fault come up on my 7 and took it in for them to look at. They found a leaking gasket and were going to replace the whole oil pan and gasket along with the filter and top off the fluid. I told them while they were at it, change the fluid and I'll pay for the fluid since the warranty company wouldn't pay for all 7 liters (just 1 for top off allotted).

So they put in all new transmission fluid (ZF Lifeguard 6 fluid) and I asked for them to save a few ounces of the old stuff. Here's a picture of the fluid after 70,000 miles. Mind you this is supposed to be lifetime fluid:





I'm going to send this in probably to Blackstone Labs to get it analysed, any suggestions on what else to get done besides the Basic and TAN testing?

 

From limited knowledge that i know about oil, a visual test doesnt mean much. Would love to hear what blackstone thinks of that sample.

But spiddy senses tell me its not a lifetime oil. Hell my service adviser even suggested i change my engine oil more than every 15k miles. Plan to do my DCT oil every 30k.

 

I usually go in for my oil changes when the CBS says I have about 1000-2000 miles left before the oil change, and the CBS is actually has recommended me an interval of anywhere between 6K and 12K on different occasions, but not quite the 15K bmw says. Either way all of that synthetic oil better be doing something! I think it's around 8 quarts or something odd...

That fluid is supposed to be gold colored, and when it oxidizes it turns black according to Bobistheoilguy forums so I'm glad I changed it out. In any case, the trans is shifting quite a bit better and I no longer get the bump into the seldom used first gear!

 

Good to hear! Wonder if your gaskets would have held up better if the fluids were changed sooner...

If transmission fluid hasnt been changed in 100k miles, is it best to never change it then? Always wondered if that was a myth or not.

 

I know with the E46 many people were saying that it didn't matter when you get the fluid changed, just to get it done as soon as possible. My car had the first change in transmission fluid at 123k miles, the tech I talked to was surprised the transmission looked in decent condition considering the condition of the fluid.

I've heard a couple of times that dealerships flat out refuse to change the transmission fluid as it's "lifetime", can anyone confirm any similar experiences?

 

I read about this when I first got my 335i. I ignored it, and went with my own schedule...which is every 5k miles.

 

It's part marketing gimmick and part advancement in lubrication technology. BMW used to have much more aggressive maintenance schedules before they started advertising the "Nevar-evar pay for maintenance!!!" deal to the North American market.

 

I don't trust lifetime fluids and replace mine as needed. Simply put, fluids break down over time and distance.

 

^ I agree with dallison.

No fluid will last a lifetime. Fluids break down over time and with use. Contaminants are suspended in the fluid which reduces the function to lubricate. Although assessing a fluid based on its color is just wrong, all fluids need to be replaced at some point. The question is only when.

 

Update: Got the results back finally from Blackstone and they aren't looking to good for folks running 100K miles. Mind you my car is a 760 and is puts a ton more stress on the fluid with more torque and HP.

 

I wasn't so lucky. The transmission started slipping and This is what came out of my 06 VW Jetta after 73k miles.
I was going to send it in to Blackstone but I ended up trading in the car.

I think these "lifetime fluids" just get them through the warranty period and once the warranty is over. Who knows what will happen.

 

Hmmm... High in calcium

 

might be some correlation between lifetime fluids and who pays for the service.

 

I haven't posted here in a long time, and have recently come back, but this topic happens to be a pet peve of mine. Just wanted to let the OP know that I had a similar experience with "lifetime fluid" in my 335I. What most people don't know is that BMW's lifeguard transmission fluid is really re-labeled transfluid from some other company. the key is finding out which fluid it is. Lifeguard 5 used in the E46 non M cars is really re-labeled pentosin ATF1. Lifeguard 6 is really motor craft mercon SP, which luckily can be had online for $4:00. So, no you don't have to have it "topped off" at the stealership for $50/qrt. You can just buy some of this stuff, and get it sucked out and pumped back in for much cheaper at a local shop. Your trans should take 10.5 liters total.

 

My Santa Fe has the 6-speed automatic with no dipstick but thankfully it is not sealed....there is a drain plug on the bottom to remove and refill. In the manual it says not to bother changing the transmission fluid under 'normal conditions' and to do it every 60,000 miles under 'severe conditions'.

 

BMW recently went back to a 100k interval for most of their cars with the regular automatics. Did you check the latest version of the manual for your car, to see if the interval has changed?

For Spider, VW recently updated the interval on the 09G (regular 6-spd auto paired to the 2.5) to 40k as well:

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...smission-fluid

Blackstone isn't even a certified lab (I recently learned) and their recommendations and advice on fluid samples should be taken as a grain of salt. I wouldn't bother with analysis as you do not know what are the true limits of contamination for the fluid unless you are the engineer.

 

oh wow, I never heard of that. I wish they would of released that information a few years before.

 

as said lifetime fluids are a joke, even some of the "extended life" fluids can cause issues too



and if anything i would say 30k under severe conditions would be a better bet (with 60k MAYBE for normal, even though, most everybody meets the severe conditions)

i think some of the reasons for the higher mileage 2g TL transmission failures was due to the first recommended maintenance only being at 60k, not 30k
since the fluid plays such a huge part in the life expectancy of the life of the transmission




fyi, iirc the Hummer H1 actually recommends changing transmission fluid every 15k

 

I can't believe anyone falls for so called no maintenance or 'forever' fluids, especially on the transmission. If BMW makes such a blanket statement, they should offer lifetime warranties.

Thanks for posting this csmeance!

 

 

Lifetime fluids are for real...if you never change it the trans will die but the fluid lasted the entire life of the transmission.