[DirtyMcDirt]

had my car into Savage BMW Ontario, CA. for a 30,000 service this morning and when the work was completed i asked for an itemized list of what was done (my best friend is a master tech and asked me to get that for my records so when im outta warranty he knows what needs to be done) anyways, back on topic. i was going over the check list with my SA and asked if a transflush was done or recommended and if not when. he told me they do that at 100k and after its done, most trans' go out a few thousand miles after that. he also explained its expensive because they use a synthetic trans fluid blah blah. he recomended that i just never change the fluid and let it "run its course". is that sound advice? cause it sounds like a crock of sh!t and with a new trans costing 5k+ i think i need a second, third, and fourth opinion

*theDirtiest

[PaulBailey@ltbmw]

I can't answer this but i can tell you that the service dept at Savage is the 5h1tiest service dept i've ever been to.
I'll never ever go there again

[Andrew@ET]

dumbest shit ive ever heard !


let me get this straight the tranny will suffer from fluid change? lol

[Andrew@ET]

are you auto ?

[DirtyMcDirt]

yeah im auto. he said that if i change it at 100k that all the buildup will be flushed out and my gears wont grab and my trans will go out on me shortly after so to just not change it at all =/ he said i could change it at 30k, 60k, 90k etc. but recommended against it and to not change it at all. his name was Remy. having mechanical knowledge and dealership knowledge, i felt he was talking down to me and almost trying to bully me into certain services. overall the service was average.

*theDirtiest

[Riss Racing]

They use syn fluid to prolong life. However more durable than standard its still a lubricant and will break down. They do it once on their service because as a business it costs a lot to be changing the fluid out more frequently if you X's it by the number of cars that get service. If they changed the Trans fluid at 30 60 90 thats 3 times they change fluid on the life of hundreds of thousands of cars.....as you can see that gets quite expensive. So if your gonna own your car out of warranty, do your own preventive work as well. My 2 cents.

[NaTuReB0Y]

if you pay for it.........they recommend every 30k miles...........

otherwise......it's lifetime fluid

btw ---- i bought my car from them.......but i take it to riverside for service.......

the first time i went to Savage for an appointment....and i asked one of the SA if I could set up an appointment for my passenger airbag sensor....because it goes off and on regardless who sat in it. the dude gave me his desk phone to call up someone(who knows where) to set up an appointment......and he left to chit chat with his buddies. appointment set --- took the car in....no loaner or whatsoever..........later in the evening....we went to pick up the car --- the SA said there was nothing wrong with the sensor.....maybe it was just a computer glitch.......we drove the car home....of course....the problem was still there. i called them up....and bitched.....but the guy still claimed it was only a computer glitch...it'll go away.....and he wanted "5"s on the freakin' survey. i wrote the manager a nasty note, signed and date.......to this day --- no one has ever responded back to me.

a few weeks later.....i took the car to riverside for the same problem.....and they replaced the airbag sensor.......the SA was cool.....he said the parts will be on ordered from germany.....and if i'm not comfortable driving the car around....he'll get me a loaner.......and i drove a 300C for over a week or so..........

[vtx DANNY]

Originally Posted by NaTuReB0Y

if you pay for it.........they recommend every 30k miles...........

otherwise......it's lifetime fluid

btw ---- i bought my car from them.......but i take it to riverside for service.......enuff said

+1

[DirtyMcDirt]

Originally Posted by Riss Racing

They use syn fluid to prolong life. However more durable than standard its still a lubricant and will break down. They do it once on their service because as a business it costs a lot to be changing the fluid out more frequently if you X's it by the number of cars that get service. If they changed the Trans fluid at 30 60 90 thats 3 times they change fluid on the life of hundreds of thousands of cars.....as you can see that gets quite expensive. So if your gonna own your car out of warranty, do your own preventive work as well. My 2 cents.

i dont mind doing a transflush but until i asked for an itemized list of what services were done and parts replaced i would have never known. thats when he let me know about the tranny. i have done my own work on all previous cars but this is my first bmw. what are the intervals for preventative maintanence like tranny flush. any other things i should keep my eye on that bmw doesn't let you know about?

*theDirtiest

[epiphone3]

BMW tranny fluid is termed "life time fill."

I have heard of a few stories where autos either needed a tranny oil change at 100K miles or something.

Anyway, here is the deal.

The SA wasn't that far off with the idea of not changing it if you have gone like 100K kms. The detergents in the lifetime tranny fluid are very strong and can flush out filth and sluge and really jam shit up.

If you are wanting to change the fluid regularily, you should be doing it every 30K kms to 50K kms. This keeps things clean and avoids the extreme liberation of gunk that might happen by waiting to 100K kms.

Pretty much every SA I have ever spoke to says they won't change the tranny fluid because it is life time fill and they don't do it unless there is a problem.

[DirtyMcDirt]

so he was correct and BMW tranny's are lifetime and shouldn't be flushed or have its fluid changed? another reason why i questioned him and still do is because when asking question he would stammer and it really sounded like he didn't know what he was talking about almost like he was making names/stuff up. i just wasn't confident in his answers or reasoning.

*theDirtiest

[epiphone3]

Originally Posted by DirtyMcDirt

so he was correct and BMW tranny's are lifetime and shouldn't be flushed or have its fluid changed? another reason why i questioned him and still do is because when asking question he would stammer and it really sounded like he didn't know what he was talking about almost like he was making names/stuff up. i just wasn't confident in his answers or reasoning.

*theDirtiest

HA! SA's always seem slimey to me... way more slippery than salesmen!

According to BMW engineers, he is correct in saying that BMW transmissions are filled with a "life time fill" that is not supposed to be changed.

That being said, if you changed the transmission fluid every 30K kms to 50K kms, I don't see it hurting anything and it might in fact keep the transmission operation more "as new" over the life of the transmission.

I am on the fence as to the transmission fluid issue... I have 47,000+ kms on my car now and coming up to Inspection I. If I were to go to the changing frequently routine, I would be better off to start now. I have a MT. My dad's old E46 now has 115,000 kms with no tranny fluid changes and still works fine.

Its really a question of "do you trust BMWs engineers to have the same expectations you do for the service life of the transmission?" My guess is that many BMW owners would debate this topic heatedly.

[wj4]

It's true. BMW claims its lifetime, however BMW's lifetime is about 100k miles.

I asked 3 dealerships to change the fluid that I will gladly pay for and all 3 dealerships declined. I also talked to a member who used to be a BMW tech, he also said that he wouldn't do it even if I paid him.

[LACA335i]

Originally Posted by DirtyMcDirt

had my car into Savage BMW Ontario, CA. for a 30,000 service this morning and when the work was completed i asked for an itemized list of what was done (my best friend is a master tech and asked me to get that for my records so when im outta warranty he knows what needs to be done) anyways, back on topic. i was going over the check list with my SA and asked if a transflush was done or recommended and if not when. he told me they do that at 100k and after its done, most trans' go out a few thousand miles after that. he also explained its expensive because they use a synthetic trans fluid blah blah. he recomended that i just never change the fluid and let it "run its course". is that sound advice? cause it sounds like a crock of sh!t and with a new trans costing 5k+ i think i need a second, third, and fourth opinion

*theDirtiest

bring to Center BMW at sherman Oak.. I want to see if i can help you change it .. you need to talk to Joan at the Service advisor or talk to Dan harris. the service manager there. He will gladly help you out. he is a very nice guy. Well how many miles do you have on your car.. Normally it is 30K.. I think we can do a goodwill for you. However, you need to bitch at bmw northern america. You tell them.. you have dirty stuffs in your transmission..

[ontopofm]

Originally Posted by DirtyMcDirt

had my car into Savage BMW Ontario, CA. for a 30,000 service this morning and when the work was completed i asked for an itemized list of what was done (my best friend is a master tech and asked me to get that for my records so when im outta warranty he knows what needs to be done) anyways, back on topic. i was going over the check list with my SA and asked if a transflush was done or recommended and if not when. he told me they do that at 100k and after its done, most trans' go out a few thousand miles after that. he also explained its expensive because they use a synthetic trans fluid blah blah. he recomended that i just never change the fluid and let it "run its course". is that sound advice? cause it sounds like a crock of sh!t and with a new trans costing 5k+ i think i need a second, third, and fourth opinion

*theDirtiest

if your best friend is a master tech, wouldnt he know?

[Riss Racing]

Originally Posted by epiphone3

HA! SA's always seem slimey to me... way more slippery than salesmen!

[epiphone3]

Originally Posted by wj4

It's true. BMW claims its lifetime, however BMW's lifetime is about 100k miles.

I asked 3 dealerships to change the fluid that I will gladly pay for and all 3 dealerships declined. I also talked to a member who used to be a BMW tech, he also said that he wouldn't do it even if I paid him.

If 30K miles (48K kms) is a good time to do this, I am 1000 km away from this. When I bring my car for inspection, I will ask my dealer here in Calgary if they will change the tranny fluid for me on my dollar.

[toughluck]

Originally Posted by wj4

It's true. BMW claims its lifetime, however BMW's lifetime is about 100k miles.

I asked 3 dealerships to change the fluid that I will gladly pay for and all 3 dealerships declined. I also talked to a member who used to be a BMW tech, he also said that he wouldn't do it even if I paid him.

This is a funny, disappointing, amazing and stupid all at the same time. I absolutely believe what wj4 said. My SA told me the same thing a month ago - they recommend not replacing the transmission fluid. I know this question has been asked in the Roundel mag. I am no expect mechanic but it just seems BMW wants your transmission to fail after warranty so you can cough up the $5,000-$8,000 later.

[DirtyMcDirt]

Originally Posted by ontopofm

if your best friend is a master tech, wouldnt he know?

hes a master tech (not psychic) and works for Nissan. during a 30k on a nissan the air filter is changed, after going through my itemized list i requested, they didn't change it and wont for another 7k or something like that. ill read over it on my lunch and let you know what was and wasn't changed =/ stuff like that.

*theDirtiest

[NaTuReB0Y]

I'm flushing out the old transmission fluid and replacing it with new one @50k miles.......

[S4to335]

Originally Posted by epiphone3

HA! SA's always seem slimey to me... way more slippery than salesmen!

Ew..that one stung. I use to be an Audi/Porsche Service Advisor. Depends on a lot of stuff...you get idiots working everywhere in all kinds of positions.

[epiphone3]

Originally Posted by S4to335

Ew..that one stung. I use to be an Audi/Porsche Service Advisor. Depends on a lot of stuff...you get idiots working everywhere in all kinds of positions.

hahaha... sorry man. Just my experience dealing with both motorcycle SAs, BMW SAs, and Toyota SAs. They are joining the ranks of realtors and lawyers for me! ha!

Although, I must say, that I had one that was quite good for a while at BMW... then he left