lifetime steptronic trans oil

I

IMZ4N

Senior member
 Orange County CA
My Z has 108k miles on it. I am not having any issus at this time. The dealer says the oil is lifetime oil. Can the transmittion oil be replaced? Just looking for your thoughts on replacing the oil. Do I run a chance of creating an issue?

TIA for your thoughts.
 
I just turned 50K on my Z this weekend and I am going to replace my tranny fluid this weekend.

I know BMW says it's in for the life of the tranny but what if you keep the car for 300K???.... The other 95% of automatic transmissions in the world want you to replace the fluid and filter ever 30K.
Is BMW saying that the fluid will never wear out or the filter will never fill up???

To me it is just insurance...

I am also going to replace the rear diff fluid while I am at it.... It only takes 2.2 pints of fluid...
 
I agree, you should definately change all your fluids lifetime or not, I have a 2002 passat with 75k literally runs like new. Transmission fluid change it and the filter, the small investment now goes far into the future with little or no breakdowns, all fluids are the blood the lifeline of the product they are in. My z4 has no power steering fluid unless you have the 'M' so no worries there, radiator flush, brake fluid change, differential,engine oil, unless you lease your car you'd have to be crackers to wait for 15000k to change your oil, I use Amsoil 5w 30 and am very very very happy with it. I do the maintenace myself even if it is still under warranty, fluids that is. If you lease your car and are giving it back who cares don't waste a dime extra on the car your monthly payments are enought to not spend more, but having bought my car and keep my cars 10 years plus I change all the fluids. No secret to keeping a car for a very long time, you can keep your z4 for 20-30 years if you want too, but you must keep all the fluids fresh so they can do their lubricating job.

Dustin
 
My Amzoil dealer did not have any ATF so he had to order it, but he had some 75W-90 for the differential.

I just got back from the AutoHobby shop, where I put the car up on a lift.

I could not change the diff fluid. I saw two drain plugs but NO fill plugs. The second drain plug was up a little higher than the lower drain plug, but looking at the complete differential compared to the higher drain plug, and I really don't think I could have put 2.1 pints of oil in the differential from that plug. Have to do more research...
 
i wrote a DIY somewhere for both tranny&diff fluid change


and at 108k, do NOT change your step tranny oil. I've heard on E46's which ours is based off of and uses the same engine/tranny, that when they changed their oil at higher mileage, soon came catastrophic tranny failure. so either you change it when new(under 50k) or leave it in for ever.
 
BlackSapphireZ said:
i wrote a DIY somewhere for both tranny&diff fluid change


and at 108k, do NOT change your step tranny oil. I've heard on E46's which ours is based off of and uses the same engine/tranny, that when they changed their oil at higher mileage, soon came catastrophic tranny failure. so either you change it when new(under 50k) or leave it in for ever.
Click to expand...

+1. i've read several posts on this as well. if you plan on changing tranny fluids, do so early on or just leave it in forever.

also, when bmw says lifetime fluid, they mean lifetime of the tranny (anything between 100k and 150k) and not lifetime of the car.
 
I have heard mixed opinions on changing ATF filter and fluid. Some, like shipkiller swear by regular changes (and some auto manufacturers do recommend fluid change at specific intervals). Others will say that changing the fluid and filter can dislodge fine particles and debris that could end up fouling the hydraulic control valves and circuits. Also, in some cases, it can be hard to properly “prime” the system on an installed transmission leading to inadequate pressure and fluid distribution on initial startup. I would research this carefully before taking it on as a DIY project.

p.s. I have done this myself in the (distant) past. The technique to drain the fluid on the Mitsubishi S#!tbox I was driving at the time was to loosen the pan bolts and drop one corner, alowing the fluid to run out. The pan was stuck to the gasket and would not budge ... by the time I worked it loose I ended up with my hair soked in used ATF :headbang:
 
I just turned 51K and I have 20qts of Amzoil ATF (have to do my truck also) and two quarts of Amzoil differential oil ready do go in. I am waiting for my new tranny filter and gasket and I am off....

Like what ay8306 says about the particulate fouling, talking to my BMW racing guy and shop owner, he also says that if you have a high mileage tranny and have not changed the ATF then leave it in.. You have a very high risk of killing your transmission.
 
With all that said. I wonder if the six speed trans will bolt up to my o4 when the time comes? :headbang:
 
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