Transmission Service Questions

[nsticka]

My 2001 530i just went over 104k miles and dealer estimate is almost $1G for transmission service.

I spoke with a few independent BWM service places and they seem to have 2 different ways of doing this:

First place cautioned me on the "transmission shock" of draining and refill fresh fluid and that there could be issues if done and I would have to sign some waiver to exempt them from any liability. This place has good customer review ratings.

They use Liquid Moly fluid only.

2nd place I called said they have heard of the "transmission shock" but never seen it on their vehicles that they service. They said if there has been no problems when you come in for the service there usually wont be any problems when you leave. Another place with good customer reviews as well.

They don't use Liquid Moly but exclusively use Redline products.

Both locations estimate about $500 but would have more exact price after working on car.

Has anyone here ever heard of this "transmission shock" or experienced it?

Would you go with Liquid Moly or Redline as your choice for transmission service.

Other things I should be aware of?

I do not think the transmission was serviced at all by prior owner who had it since 2013, I will have to check Carfax and ex owner directly.

I am the 3rd owner.

[bd92]

I am not a believer of the transmission shock idea. Personally, if the transmission is not giving you any problems, then i dont see a reason why it would give you any problems after a service. Plus, both are good fluid options.

On my brother's 99' 528i, i did the transmission service on my own using valvolines maxlife synthethic high mileage fluid with 99k miles. And on my 00' 528i, i used the Pentosin ATF at 46k miles and neither have given me issues. YMMV but i think you should go ahead and service it.

[Leroy08]

The issue you mention has been debated many times. A BMW independent that I have used before (many years of working on BMW's exclusively) doesn't subscribe to the theory. However, when I asked him if he'd do it for mine, he said to just find a transmission shop and have them do the drain, filter, fill routine - but he refused to do it. It seems he did a drain/fill for a customer once and their transmission failed a while later and they sued him. Since it's not supposed to be changed and he couldn't prove it wasn't his fault he ended up eating the transmission repair and that's why he won't perform that service for customers (he does regular transmission fluid changes in his own E39).

My '99 has the GM transmission which uses Dexron fluid. I did a drain and filter replacement then fill a few years ago with Maxlife (around 110K miles I believe), then did a drain and fill a few months later (because you can only drain a little over half the fluid, the rest is in the torque converter). Haven't had any issues since. Perhaps only doing half the fluid at a time reduces any "shock", lol.

One thing that is generally agreed upon is DO NOT get the power transmission flushed - that service can dislodge any sludge or contaminants and cause problems).

[dannyzabolotny]

I would only want proper ZF-approved fluids to be used, the generic multi-use fluids don't work as well in my experience. ZF Lifeguard or Febi LT71141 is what I've used for all of my transmission servicing, and I haven't had any issues because of servicing transmissions. If anything, they all shifted way better after the service than before. The key is to use the correct fluid and follow the fill procedure correctly, a lot of shops screw that up.

[Chedley]

Forget liquid shmolly… :-)

Buy 6 quarts of Pentosin-ATF1-Synthetic , and do a simple drain and fill. Do not worry about over-filling it.
And you can do it yourself if you can jack-up the right side of the car, and have the right socket wrench.

[crazy4trains]

...... Since it's not supposed to be changed.......

This is no longer true. BMW now recommends transmission service at regular intervals.

Pentosin ATF1 is LT71141 compliant and can be sourced at NAPA.

[edjack]

Because most of the fluid is in the torque converter, you need to drain and refill three times to get most of the old stuff out. Replace the filter before the third fill.

[masbury]

For what it's worth, Valvoline Maxlife (Red Full Synthetic) is also LT71141 compliant. Had a whole lot of conversations with Valvoline about that very subject.

The best part is it's $17 a gallon at Walmart.

Mike