[Beamer325xi]

Had my trans hooked up to computer today... No fault codes no leaks no low fluid level. Had them pull some fluid out... I have 180,681 the fluid is pretty black doesn't smell burnt and hardly any metal in it... They said still had slight transparency when held up to light. I'm experiencing intermittent rough shifts.... Wonder weather to change fluid pan/gasket and filter or leave it alone and get a new car? Anyone done this at high mileage and what's been the outcome

[Beamer325xi]

Really need help


Bump

[ritjeff]

When was it done last- mileage, time? flush or drain/fill?

[Beamer325xi]

Originally Posted by ritjeff

When was it done last- mileage, time? flush or drain/fill?

To my knowledge its never been done. The guy who pulled the fluid said they just changed one with 109,000 miles that had never been changed and the fluid from it was in worse shape than mine.

[GoRomeo]

Originally Posted by Beamer325xi

Had my trans hooked up to computer today... No fault codes no leaks no low fluid level. Had them pull some fluid out... I have 180,681 the fluid is pretty black doesn't smell burnt and hardly any metal in it... They said still had slight transparency when held up to light. I'm experiencing intermittent rough shifts.... Wonder weather to change fluid pan/gasket and filter or leave it alone and get a new car? Anyone done this at high mileage and what's been the outcome

If I were you I would start by working on the cheapest venue and go up from there I guess...

Keep us posted.

[3s4u2]

My wife has over 205k on her 06 325i and we have full serviced the transmission 4 times, shifts great. I have offered to get her a new 3 or 5 series but she likes her car and doesn't want to here it. There a few others that have more miles our cars. Service your trans and have them reset it, it will be like day and night the next time you drive it.

[ritjeff]

Originally Posted by Beamer325xi

To my knowledge its never been done. The guy who pulled the fluid said they just changed one with 109,000 miles that had never been changed and the fluid from it was in worse shape than mine.

I would suggest not letting anyone flush it, but would consider drain/fill and new filter and gasket.

[Beamer325xi]

Okay I just spoke with the previous owner my friends father... The fluid was changed around 100,000 if that makes things any different

[Squark]

The fluid change interval is 100k miles, so it's good they had it done then. Personally I would change the fluid and see if that helps.

[Beamer325xi]

Yeah I am going to. I think it will help because it looks black and the trans is not slipping or anything just rough shifts when driving slower.

[ritjeff]

I would go for it..and feel less concern knowing it was done at 100k. I think 50k is good interval, especially with synth fluid.

[ritjeff]

It might help, but it could just be tranny wear

[Perceval]

Hi Im a mecanic. Dont change your car first. You just need to flush fluid and new pan filter.
Oil with time lost its properties , even lifetime oil. No big deal.

[Beamer325xi]

I probation will not do a flush. Just pan/filter/gasket and fluid.

[Beamer325xi]

Such a headache... So I spoke with the manager at Cincinnati transmission specialist. And there telling me to never change the fluid and that there's no chance of it fixing my intermittent rough shifting problem because its lifetime fluid. Even after I told him the Manuel for the vehicle says to change it every 100,000 miles.

Originally Posted by 3s4u2

My wife has over 205k on her 06 325i and we have full serviced the transmission 4 times, shifts great. I have offered to get her a new 3 or 5 series but she likes her car and doesn't want to here it. There a few others that have more miles our cars. Service your trans and have them reset it, it will be like day and night the next time you drive it.

What reset are you talking about? Adaptation Reset?

[Beamer325xi]

I'm guessing adaptive reset

[fun2drive]

Changed mine at 272K miles on my M3 and at 290K miles zero issues. Changed on a regular basis however NOT every 100K miles but at 50K miles just the filter and pan drop with refill.
You might consider a little shorter interval than 100K miles...

[Beamer325xi]

Well unfortunately they called me back and said they were wrong the transfer case was changed they were told to leave the transmission fluid alone it's "lifetime" so it's not be changed

[3s4u2]

Originally Posted by index1489

What reset are you talking about? Adaptation Reset?

Yes, Adaptation Reset!

Originally Posted by Beamer325xi

Had my trans hooked up to computer today... No fault codes no leaks no low fluid level. Had them pull some fluid out... I have 180,681 the fluid is pretty black doesn't smell burnt and hardly any metal in it... They said still had slight transparency when held up to light. I'm experiencing intermittent rough shifts.... Wonder weather to change fluid pan/gasket and filter or leave it alone and get a new car? Anyone done this at high mileage and what's been the outcome

The car doesn't monitor trans fluid level, so you can be low on fluid which can cause all sorts of issues...

You have to have the car level, running, the temp has to be between 30-35 C but not over 50 C (it reaches this temp 50 C around 15 minutes of idling).

Remove the fill plug a small stream should pour out if it doesn't its low.

The reason the car has to be running is because fluid gets pumped to the torque converter, if you have the car off during the final fluid check that fluid will flow back into the trans from the converter and show a higher level then it really is in addition to the obvious fluid temp reasons.



Below is directly from ZF.



Transmissions fluid level checking.
The transmission fluid temperature must be between 30°C and 35°C before checking can begin.
Use test equipment to determine the trans temperature.

The vehicle must be level with engine running at idle speed and air conditioning turned on.
Step on the brakes firmly, apply parking brake fully and shift to D and R, briefly pausing in each
position before shifting back to the Park position.

With the engine running at idle speed and the selector in Park position, remove the filler plug.
Monitor the transmission temperature, if a small stream of oil runs out at 40°C, the fluid level is
correct.

If no oil runs out when the filler plug is removed, the fluid level is too low and oil needs to be
added until it overflows.

With engine running, install the oil filler plug and tighten to proper torque.


Adding fluid after repairs.
With the engine stopped and the transmission in Park position, remove the oil filler plug. Add
transmission fluid until a small stream of oil runs out.

Insert the filler plug and tighten by hand. Start the engine.

With the engine running, remove the oil filler plug and add transmission fluid until a small stream
of oil runs out. Insert the filler plug and tighten by hand.

Follow the “Transmission fluid level checking” procedure described in section Transmission
fluid level checking above.

Notes on fluid level and adding procedure.
Use only ZF-LifeguardFluid6 or OE approved transmission fluid.
If the transmission temperature rises above 50°C during the fluid level checking procedure
the resulting oil level will be to low. Let the transmission cool down and repeat the fluid
level procedure.

Have transmission fluid and a suitable oil pump available before starting the fluid level
procedure. The transmission fluid temperature will rise quickly during the checking
procedure.

The BT Tool or IPNA should be able to read the trans temp, they also suggest doing the shift adaptation reset with new fluid, but I don't think its critical.

The Bentley 3 Series Service Manual has the entire refill procedure (When you are replacing your fluid and pan/filter) documented very well, including shifting through all the gears pausing on each one for 3 seconds after the first initial fill.


If you do the adaptation reset I recommend following Level10's adaptation relearn guide its written for replacement mechatronics units, but you can follow it if you replaced the fluid and reset yours.

Easy as pie to do the reset with BT Tool, IPNA can do it if you go into Transmission section on first year cars (06 E90) most people report errors however trying to connect to the Transmission module on newer cars with IPNA, so the only way to really do it is with Tool32 and its a little more technical as there is a reset with and without the TCC (torque converter clutch) and you definitely want to do the reset WITHOUT the TCC.


Quote from another thread
I found this thread when trying to do the adaptations for my GM transmission and got the same errors as TS when using INPA.

Decided to use Tool32 (loaded GS1912.prg) instead to do it. However steuerngeraete_ reset doesn't seem to do anything to reset the adaptations. The prg file has various command to read the adaptation values.

STATUS_12UPSHIFTADAPTS
STATUS_23UPSHIFTADAPTS
STATUS_34UPSHIFTADAPTS
STATUS_45UPSHIFTADAPTS
STATUS_56UPSHIFTADAPTS
STATUS_12UPSHIFTADAPTS_2
STATUS_23UPSHIFTADAPTS_2
STATUS_34UPSHIFTADAPTS_2
STATUS_45UPSHIFTADAPTS_2
STATUS_56UPSHIFTADAPTS_2

after running steuerngeraete_ reset, the values did not change at all.

however, i found another 2 commands which seemed to be for resetting adaptations.

STEUERN_ADAPTS_RESET_PLANT
STEUERN_ADAPTS_RESET_WITHOUT_TCC

running the 2nd command changed the adaptation values and seemed to set the values to factory default.

there is an additional command STEUERN_TCC_ADAPTS_RESET which seems to be for resetting adaptations for the TCC (Torque Converter Clutch) which i did not run.

after resetting the adaptations, the transmission seems to shift smoother and the gear 1-2 or 2-1 jerk is gone.
End Quote



https://www.levelten.com/v/vspfiles/...20ADAPTIVE.pdf

[Beamer325xi]

Wow thank you. Yeah they were supposed to check the level but didnt. I don't think. They were only with the car about 30 minuets really a waste of my time.