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      02-10-2016, 01:04 PM   #1
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Transmission service on my 2012 X5 50i - Experience

My car is at 47.5K miles, and I've been reading a lot of opinion on both sides of the argument - whether to replace the fluid or not. My tranny shifts were slightly rough at lower speeds (especially when decelerating), so decided to do a transmission service anyways last week. I didn't have means to put the car on a lift, and wasn't too comfortable using Rhinoramps, so decided to take it to an indy. I brought the 12L of ZF lifeguard8 fluid and ZF transmission pan.

The first drop and drain yielded about 4.5L of used fluid, pitch black. After waiting a bit for the transmission to cool down to 30-40 deg Celsius, the tech installed the new transmission filter/pan added about 4.5L of fluid. He then started the car (while on the lift), engaged the various gears to move the fluid around, and then did another drop and drain, getting out another 4.5L, which was much clearer than the fluid from the previous drain. He let it cool, and added the same amount of fluid that was drained, and was done. Overall, it took about 2.75 hours from start to finish. Returned with 3L of unopened fluid.

I could immediately feel the car shift much better at low speeds, almost buttery smooth. It's been nearly a week, and I'm happy to report that the shifting is still smooth, and I've encountered no problems so far.

Big shout out to the indy (Group2 motorsports) here in Seattle, who I believe is going to be my indy of choice going forward. I learned of them through BMW CCA, when they were offering a free tech session a couple of weeks ago. The SA Tony, was pretty cool, and so was the tech Danny, who has worked for over 10 years at a BMW shop in UK (he knew what he was doing). This shop is a little, but largely unknown gem, IMO. It's run by a bunch of car enthusiasts, and they work on a variety of high-end cars (service and restoration) - Ferraris, etc. (one of their techs even works on a Koenigsegg Agera). They're happy to let you watch the tech work on the car, and help you with any information you need if you're a DIY'er (for e.g, Tony was happy to provide me with torque specs and any other help if I decided to do spark plugs myself later in the year - or I could have them do it and watch it in its entirety so that I could do it myself the next time). And they charge by the hour and not the book time, which is pretty fantastic, IMO.
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      02-10-2016, 02:29 PM   #2
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Good info Pradeep, maybe have to consider these guys once my CPO expires.
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      02-10-2016, 02:43 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jiggz View Post
Good info Pradeep, maybe have to consider these guys once my CPO expires.
Yep, I was pretty impressed with them. Very easy going and down-to-earth, and seemed pretty honest. I got a sticker shock when I shopped around for spark plugs + intake air filter service when I'd hit 60K miles (dealer and a different indy), as they wanted to charge labor separately for both spark plugs and air filters, though reaching the spark plugs involves removing the air filters. G2 motorsports gave a quote for less than half of what the others wanted.
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      02-11-2016, 11:53 AM   #4
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Hey, I have the same vehicle, so good info!
While I am guessing the tranny fluid is stated as "lifetime", what is the consensus on the mileage at which it should be changed if you are going to do so? Guessing every 40 or 60k?

After watching them do the service, would you try it yourself next time if you had a lift at your disposal? Was any coding required afterward? Anything that a DIY'er couldn't do?
Oh, and do you really need to replace the pan for this service?? How much was that?
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      02-11-2016, 12:01 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by heatmizr View Post
Hey, I have the same vehicle, so good info!
While I am guessing the tranny fluid is stated as "lifetime", what is the consensus on the mileage at which it should be changed if you are going to do so? Guessing every 40 or 60k?

After watching them do the service, would you try it yourself next time if you had a lift at your disposal? Was any coding required afterward? Anything that a DIY'er couldn't do?
Oh, and do you really need to replace the pan for this service?? How much was that?
If I had a lift, I'd do it myself. It seemed pretty straightforward. No coding required. You don't *need* to replace the pan - you'll have to drop the pan anyways to get most of the fluid out, so I went ahead and changed it (cost about $130 for a ZF pan). Plus, BMW claims the screws are one-time use only, so didn't want to risk a leak.

ZF recommends doing the transmission service 50-75K miles. I could've waited a bit more, but I did it because I wanted to see if the shifting at lower speeds became smoother, and it did. I also plan to reset the transmission adaptation values this weekend using Rheingold. HTH.
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      02-11-2016, 12:06 PM   #6
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Here's a DIY write up from bimmerfest:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...2&postcount=10

PM me if you're interested in a DIY - I can send you instructions.
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      02-11-2016, 03:06 PM   #7
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Thanks a lot! Pretty short writeup. I am just over 32k miles so have plenty of time. I also have a buddy with a lift and if its this straight forward, I'll try it.

I see new ZF bolts would only cost $2.50 (13 of them though), then fluid if I re-used the stock pan. In NC there shouldn't be so much corrosion on mine.
Seems to be no gasket?
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      02-11-2016, 03:41 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by heatmizr View Post
Thanks a lot! Pretty short writeup. I am just over 32k miles so have plenty of time. I also have a buddy with a lift and if its this straight forward, I'll try it.

I see new ZF bolts would only cost $2.50 (13 of them though), then fluid if I re-used the stock pan. In NC there shouldn't be so much corrosion on mine.
Seems to be no gasket?
Yeah, it is pretty straightforward - there are some nuances you need to be aware of though. The screws need to be tightened in a particular pattern; fluid level check and filling have to be done at specific temperature ranges, etc.

Here's an official ZF video for 6HP transmissions:
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