Informative Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3MSaW-9BGk&

This weekend, I changed my automatic transmisson, power steering, brake, and coolant fluids. I wanted took a picture of my car's automatic transmission fluid because It had never been changed, and it had "lifetime fluid" written on it. Because of this dealerships, gave me so much BS, about never, ever changing it. So here it is(oh,and it smelled like burn't coke too):





Please replace your fluids! The transmission now is silky smooth! My steering, braking, and engine temps are also an equal WOW! I got all my fully synthetic OEM fluids from: www.rmeuropean.com

toyota is marketing that too with their tranny fluids... saying it is lifetime... err no thanks...

but the ironic part is that Honda/Acura, the ones that have ATF intervals, have tranny issues...

wow. That is bad. It looks more like used motor oil than ATF

there is no such thing as lifetime fluids. Every fluid in a car needs to be changed at some interval. Coolant should be changed at some point. I learned that from my wife's 4runner. The old fluid was pretty acidic and corroded the radiator and the trans fluid connnection and made a nice strawberry milkshake. I would say about every 30k on most fluids except motor oil is when they should be replaced.

This remind me I have never changed the coolant on the TL, time do so. Still looks good, but who knows what the actual pH is..

Sorry to hijack TB- but is that 26 mpg instant, on the tank, or a rolling mpg figure?

Saw your thread on E90post. Someone posted a DIY pictorial on one of the 5-series forums and said it takes about 3 hours and $400 in parts/fluid to do a change and that dealers charge $800. In fact, some dealers won't change the fluid before the 100K mile "lifetime" period is up, claiming that changing the fluid prematurely can actually result in transmission failure.

How much did it cost you to change it and how long did it take?

BMW says its a 100K fluid even though it looks burnt. As well the fluid comes in huge drums, I think like 88 gallons.

The thing is that honda/acura build their own transmissions, in house. BMW and other manufacturers buy them prebuilt from ZF, and all they do is transmissions.

maybe honda should take some notes

thats what im talking bout!!!

I don't think you can change the AT fluid in our IS350. Its lifetime fluid as well and I think its a closed system....

The only thing you really need to buy is the fluid. Depending on what kind of trans is in the car (plastic oil pan or metal oil pan) you will need a new drain plug as well if its a plastic pan. You will also need some sort of pump to pump the fluid in the trans.

All you need to do to change it is drain the fluid. Put the drain plug back (you need to be careful with the plastic pans to not tighten the plug to much). Remove the fill screw and fill the trans till the fluid comes out. Loosely put the screw back in and start the car. Turn on the headlights and then as quick as possible fill the trans again till fluid starts running out the fill hole. Reinstall the fill plug and your done. It shouldn't take more than 1 hour even doing it in your drive.


Not quite. The old Dexon III came in 55 gallon drums. The new stuff comes in a 5 gallon bucket and costs a small fortune for each bucket. I think it costs about 250-300 in fluid to refill a transmission from what I remember.

Esso sells a fluid that is pretty much the same thing as the new BMW lifetime fluid but costs a lot less. Even that stuff isn't cheap.

I paid $350, for an ATF flush, brake flush, coolant flush, and power steering flush. I brought all my own fluids, which i got online.

My buddy here at work, bought a used Jaguar S type R, and his is "lifetime fluid" too. He just flushed his. I am flushing my Audi A6 3.2 Quattro tranny this weekend. Guess what type of fluid is stickered on the trans? (*******e)

ZF sez, you can use any of the fluids on page 4 and 5 of their document, most are reasonably priced and available online:

http://www01apps.zf.com/kst464/ZF_In...doID=1&id=2243

It's just a marketing gimmick for lazy people who'd rather buy a new car than have to be bothered with any maintenence issues.

The thing is that modern cars with modern lubrication can last way too long. If everyone maintained their car properly and ran them to 300k+ miles, that would be a problem for the automakers.

Where's that video from? 1986?

does that transmission look like one that was made in the 80's?

That's half the story. If you look at the ZF website, there are at least 2-3 companies in each state in the US, that specialize in rebuilding their transmissions. They intend to fool you into killing the trans early, and then simply swap them out for a rebuilt one, for your right arm.

With that said, I think Toyota has been having some issues with its 6AT?

amen to that... my CL-S fluid looked like that at 41K

Yes they made RWD transmission back in the 80's lol

Your ATF looks like maple syrup.. that sucks. Lifetime Fluids.. seriously.. but then again a friend of a friend was over and she has a 335i.. I was talking about the features and she didn't know shit besides the fact that it was fast. I asked her about any turbo lag and she said "It has a turbo".. I ended the conversation there.

You have to understand that most of the vehicles sold by these companies are aimed towards the layperson. Someone with little to none automotive know how, and they'll attempt to do anything to get them to purchase the cars.

Even if it means spreading myths about lifetime ATF. I will guarantee you that in a few years the 10K oil change interval will become 25K and then before we know it lifetime.

Does this apply to manual transmissions (the change interval, the color, etc.)?

Wow!

effing noobs.

Timely bump is timely.