Should I change my F10 gearbox transmission oil?

[Sunroof]

I have a 2012 528i F10. During my usual car servicing, the workshop advise me to change my transmission oil and filter as my mileage is considerably "low" (@100,000km). They claimed that by servicing my transmission oil now, I could lengthen the lifespan of my gearbox. Btw, I don't have any issue with my gearbox now.

I'm skeptical bcos in my previous experience with my another car, my gearbox started to face issues shortly after my gearbox oil is changed. My car dealer friend also ever told me not to change transmission oil.

Should I or should I not change my transmission oil? Can anyone share your experience? Much appreciated.

 

[Viper Warrior]

I would have change at every 50k km interval. 100k km is still not too late.

 

[hohlim]

Yes i agree with Viper Warrior,replace tranny oil every 50k or so. Personally, i also replace the tranny oil sump (or filter) at the 2nd tranny oil change too. The sump is a little costly though.

What gearbox issues did u encounter in yr previous car when u replaced yr gearbox oil?

 

[6pot5er]

Change it for a renewed driving experience.

 

[Sunroof]

Yes i agree with Viper Warrior,replace tranny oil every 50k or so. Personally, i also replace the tranny oil sump (or filter) at the 2nd tranny oil change too. The sump is a little costly though.

What gearbox issues did u encounter in yr previous car when u replaced yr gearbox oil?

Thank you all for your prompt respond.

Hi hohlim,

Whenever I travel at 60km/hr @2,500 rpm, probably at second gear, the engine sometimes would gives a loud noise, power dropped, my feet at throttle would feel rough or vibrating. I would then release throttle to let rpm drop slightly so that as I step on throttle again, I could gain back power. I supposed maybe my clutch has worn out or my gearing is giving me this problem. Fortunately, my gearbox allow me to last until I scrapped the car. Mileage done is only 120,000km.

Anybody has any reputable workshop to recommend for bmw? I can't allow history to repeat itself again.

 

[Sunroof]

What is the cost for changing transmission oil and transmission filter? If don't mind to share. Thanks

 

[Codewerx]

Stay with the original ZF 8hp fluids (in your case).

The 8hp45 is an ultra low viscosity fluid gearbox - very sensitive to temperature as per the change procedure.

Do not reset the adaptations unless there is a hardware change (the pan does not count).

 

[hohlim]

Thank you all for your prompt respond.

Hi hohlim,

Whenever I travel at 60km/hr @2,500 rpm, probably at second gear, the engine sometimes would gives a loud noise, power dropped, my feet at throttle would feel rough or vibrating. I would then release throttle to let rpm drop slightly so that as I step on throttle again, I could gain back power. I supposed maybe my clutch has worn out or my gearing is giving me this problem. Fortunately, my gearbox allow me to last until I scrapped the car. Mileage done is only 120,000km.

Anybody has any reputable workshop to recommend for bmw? I can't allow history to repeat itself again.

Well..to me any reputable workshop should do. Since codeworx was quick enough to respond,why not give them a chance? Just a tranny oil change,nothing complicated. Ive not changed gear on 8 speed yet. I can't really recall on the price but for my old 6 speed,i don't remember paying anymore than 500.

If i were to comment on your old car,i would say it was a problem waiting to happen,whether u change yr oil or not. Think of it this way,if changing the tranny oil is not good,does that mean that when the car was new,the oil in the tranny was deemed "inappropriate"? I would say go for it.

 

[Sunroof]

Well..to me any reputable workshop should do. Since codeworx was quick enough to respond,why not give them a chance? Just a tranny oil change,nothing complicated. Ive not changed gear on 8 speed yet. I can't really recall on the price but for my old 6 speed,i don't remember paying anymore than 500.

If i were to comment on your old car,i would say it was a problem waiting to happen,whether u change yr oil or not. Think of it this way,if changing the tranny oil is not good,does that mean that when the car was new,the oil in the tranny was deemed "inappropriate"? I would say go for it.

Thanks hohlim. Much appreciated. Will go for it since it's not too late.

 

[Javagenius]

Hi Sunroof

Please, share with us your experience of changing the transmission oil

 

[rssid]

Just did mine at Nurburgring 56xxx kms on the odo. Paid $438 with 6 bottles of ZF Lifeguard and Filter.

 

[Benny8828]

I have a friend who used to work for Munich shared some info with me about this ATF. There are oem vs original and I have seen both packaging. Bottles in white are identical and one label The BMW group and one without. BMW group cost about $120/l and the other cost about $30/l. Now the different is oem works fine for local use however if you travel 170 to 180km/hr from sin to melaka continuously, the gearbox likely to get over heated. So I guess is the addictive that makes the big cost different. One thing I noticed, eng soon has another type of packaging so I think is good to consult them whether is oem or original bmw atf.

I owned a citroen using aisin 6 spd and I have experience different with oem and original. Aisin gb are commonly use in many cars and any oem atf that meet the spec should work fine. But having tried many oem oils and I can tell the gear shift is draggy. So i ended up buying the original atf at $80/l still not so bad as is only 3 litres required.I can feel a huge different between both oils immediately. The gear shift is much much smoother.

 

[rssid]

2 versions of the reply do feel free to disagree and add your points below. This helps fellow forummers make an informed choice.

The nice version:

Hi the OEM fuid i.e ZF Lifeguard works fine as its certified by the manufacturer of the ZF gearbox. Read more below

https://aftermarket.zf.com/remoteme...feguardfluid-8/pds-zf-lifeguardfluid-8-it.pdf

The not so nice version:

BMW does NOT manufacture its own ATF fluid. It buys it from the supplier and slaps the BMW logo on it and chargers you 100% more. The current gearbox is made by ZF for the F10 series and the so called OEM fluid is ZF Lifeguard 6 7 or 8, certified by the manufacturer of the gearbox itself so its perfectly good to use.

The point of traveling at 170 to 180km and gearbox overheating hard to believe and that gearbox prob has an underlying issue to begin with, as there have been little reports heard about ZF gearboxes overheating in germany.

Comparing a citroen asin gearbox vs the ZF gearbox and saying it's draggy or laggy with pure butt feel is not a good comparison. Did you do a fluid change back to back ? i.e. oem fluid drive it around then immed change it to original atf and drive it immed ?

If you're comparing old OEM fluid to a brand new "any' fluid the fresher fluid is obviously going to be better most of the time. Also driving habits change ? Did the mechanic do a gearbox adaption reset after ?