I have a 2000 E46 touring wagon with the step.auto. trans. with 115k in mileage. To the best of my knowledge, the trans. fluid has never been changed(BMW life time), however I am concerned, after reading these and other forums. Would it be advisable to change the fluid now with this many miles or just let it roll ?
I dont think that would be a good Idea. I own a bmw repairshop and just got back from a school and was told that they have been having problems with that. If you were going to change the fluid you should have done it sooner. I havent seen many of those trans fail yet. At least with that low milage. Hope this eases your mind. Sean
I ask the same question to a former BMW tech, and he told me that the only time you chance the trans fluid is only when began to have problems like shifting weird or sliping, the should last for ever, the only fluild only to change is the rear diff. I hope this will help you.
Duane, I have a 2001 e46 coupe with 114K miles. I've never had the trans fluid changed and many independent technicians have strong advised against it this late in the game. I bought the car used, so there's no telling if the previous owner did it. BMW stated that it does have a "lifetime" fluid, but even if it didn't they believed that it could end up worse off than before because deposits and other sediment in there could release itself and cause major problems down the road. This line of thinking had been similar with other vehicles I've owned over the years. This includes a truck that was purchased at 141K miles and driven under my ownership to 217K on the original trans fluid. I bought from the original owner with ALL paperwork, so this fact is verified. In my opinion, I'd just leave it alone if you're not presently having any problems. Good luck, Scott
