Sign waiver for transmission fluid change?

[BMW Dom]

They probably don't have THE proper fluid and want to protect themselves in case of break-downs.
If anything a fluid change with the correct fluid should solve the hard shifting.
Now why are you going to change the ATF so late?
Is it because you're having problems?
Is this the 1st or 2nd ATF change.
If 1st just do drop & fill.
Whatever you do have it done by a shop that KNOWS BMWs.

It's because I bought the car a few months ago, and it just started shifting a little rough.

 

[BMW Dom]

Was price mentioned?
Obviously, if a Mom & Pop shop charges something reasonable, you can decide if you want to deal with that condition.

Do you even know what fluid it takes? You have to know that in order to converse with anybody. Also, you want to know beforehand in case you want to offer to supply the fluid.

EX: If they say, "It don't mattah, they all take the same stuff", and you know better, you leave with confidence.

Have you surveyed any BMW sites for trends/facts/myths and foibles of your car?

Hey, once, a guy at a quick lube joint told me that there were no differences in transmission fluid. What a bozo he was.

It takes DEXRON VI. Yeah, having knowledge helps.

 

[BMW Dom]

FWIW, we have a 2011 BMW E90 328i with the auto transmission. It's a GM unit. I dropped the pan and changed the filter and fluids at 25K miles, a drain and refill at 50K and 75K (no pan drop), and then another pan drop with fluid and filter change at 95K miles. Trans works as good as new.

Here is a picture of the 95K mile pan drop. No varnish or other crud.

Scott

View attachment 130658View attachment 130659

Looks great! I definitely believe in doing early transmission fluid changes. However, I can't afford a new car

Would you be able to share any other info that you used to complete the fluid and filter change?

Like, how long, what fluid, and recommendations.

Thanks

 

[edyvw]

Looks great! I definitely believe in doing early transmission fluid changes. However, I can't afford a new car

Would you be able to share any other info that you used to complete the fluid and filter change?

Like, how long, what fluid, and recommendations.

Thanks

The thing with @slo town is that he DOES NOT have anything in garage that looks bad.
It usually consists of automotive pornography.

Fluid is DEXRON VI. Take a pick which one. You can get Valvoline, Mobil1. Personally, I would go Motul.

 

[oldcodger]

Maybe this shop has been burned in the past when a transmission failed after they serviced it.

 

[Greasymechtech]

Test drive and waiver are a must. Once you're burned, your insurance will require it. Too many scammers out there using internet BS hearsay to their advantage in court by non-technical foolish judges.



New fluid won't fix a broken transmission. But if the friction modifiers are spent, you might improve the shift quality a little.

I do power flushes on high mileage transmissions numerous times and never had any issues. This is more internet foolishness and cluelessness.

 

[wlk]

Sign it and get it changed

 

[twouvakind]

Besides, what's the worst that can happen?

 

[Marcozi]

Good point, in that case I have no idea.

Go to www.realoem.com and enter the last 7 characters of the car's VIN. Hit enter and bookmark the page. Scroll down to automatic transmission to see which box is in your car.

 

[slo town]

Looks great! I definitely believe in doing early transmission fluid changes. However, I can't afford a new car

Would you be able to share any other info that you used to complete the fluid and filter change?

Like, how long, what fluid, and recommendations.

Thanks

For me at least, the job is not a difficult DIY project but no matter how careful I am it's always a bit messy. The worst part is I don't have a lift and use jack stands instead, me laying on my back with the car eight inches above my face.

For the first three changes I used Kendall Dexron VI. For the latest one I used Castrol Transmax Dexron VI - which I'm not sure Castrol even makes anymore. The stuff I used was a dedicated Dexron VI, not the Dex/Merc combination stuff that's sold now. Both times I dropped the pan to change the filter I used a BMW OEM pan gasket and filter.

To fill to the proper level requires the car to be level, cycled through the gears, and warmed up within a certain temperature range. I used an IR gun to determine transmission temperature.

The filter itself is super easy to replace, simply pull it out. The filter has a snout that goes up into the body of the transmission. Inside the bore where the filter snout goes is a collared seal. Replace this. I used a long pry bar with an end that's bent at 30 degrees. Find a suitably robust place to lever the pry bar against and the seal will pop right out. The seal is not a super tight fit. Then use the backside of a socket to tap the new seal in place. Use a 4" extension with the socket backwards. Tap on the extension. Tap, don't hammer.

There are removal tools that fit into the bore of the seal, something like a mini slide hammer puller. I ordered one but saw more downside potential than I was willing to take. With respect to the pry bar, just be careful where you lever it. If properly placed there is nothing ham fisted about using a pry bar. You'll be surprised how easy the seal pops out.

I strongly suggest getting new drain and refill plugs, especially the drain plug. It's aluminum and is easy to strip out the tool bit bore. It's either Torx or allen, I forget which. It would be easy to confuse and strip the bore for the tool bit. The fill plug is 17mm IIRC. Just make sure the closed end of your combination wrench is fully seated and properly aligned. The fill plug is aluminum and I see the potential to round the head if one isn't careful.

I'm not sure of your experience level, but plan on 2 or 3 hours from start (putting it on jack stands) to finish (after test drive, cleanup, and putting tools away). If one has a lift and did it regularly I think it's a 30 to 45 minute job.

There are several good DIYs on Youtube that will give you details. Just remember, your 328 has the GM transmission (not the ZF).

Scott

 

[BMW Dom]

For me at least, the job is not a difficult DIY project but no matter how careful I am it's always a bit messy. The worst part is I don't have a lift and use jack stands instead, me laying on my back with the car eight inches above my face.

For the first three changes I used Kendall Dexron VI. For the latest one I used Castrol Transmax Dexron VI - which I'm not sure Castrol even makes anymore. The stuff I used was a dedicated Dexron VI, not the Dex/Merc combination stuff that's sold now. Both times I dropped the pan to change the filter I used a BMW OEM pan gasket and filter.

To fill to the proper level requires the car to be level, cycled through the gears, and warmed up within a certain temperature range. I used an IR gun to determine transmission temperature.

The filter itself is super easy to replace, simply pull it out. The filter has a snout that goes up into the body of the transmission. Inside the bore where the filter snout goes is a collared seal. Replace this. I used a long pry bar with an end that's bent at 30 degrees. Find a suitably robust place to lever the pry bar against and the seal will pop right out. The seal is not a super tight fit. Then use the backside of a socket to tap the new seal in place. Use a 4" extension with the socket backwards. Tap on the extension. Tap, don't hammer.

There are removal tools that fit into the bore of the seal, something like a mini slide hammer puller. I ordered one but saw more downside potential than I was willing to take. With respect to the pry bar, just be careful where you lever it. If properly placed there is nothing ham fisted about using a pry bar. You'll be surprised how easy the seal pops out.

I strongly suggest getting new drain and refill plugs, especially the drain plug. It's aluminum and is easy to strip out the tool bit bore. It's either Torx or allen, I forget which. It would be easy to confuse and strip the bore for the tool bit. The fill plug is 17mm IIRC. Just make sure the closed end of your combination wrench is fully seated and properly aligned. The fill plug is aluminum and I see the potential to round the head if one isn't careful.

I'm not sure of your experience level, but plan on 2 or 3 hours from start (putting it on jack stands) to finish (after test drive, cleanup, and putting tools away). If one has a lift and did it regularly I think it's a 30 to 45 minute job.

There are several good DIYs on Youtube that will give you details. Just remember, your 328 has the GM transmission (not the ZF).

Scott

Thank you, Scott!

What are your thoughts on leaving the old o-ring in, and taking the o-ring off of the new filter?

Since the pan might be lower than the fluid temperature, did you still use the original range of 86 to 122 degrees Fahrenheit?

Did you remove the exhaust hanger bracket by the fill plug?

I know on x-drive cars, you have to remove the exhaust bracket, and I didn't realize that, and I didn't have the tools. I was not able to complete the service myself, and that's why I'm reluctant to do it myself.

 

[slo town]

Thank you, Scott!

What are your thoughts on leaving the old o-ring in, and taking the o-ring off of the new filter?

Since the pan might be lower than the fluid temperature, did you still use the original range of 86 to 122 degrees Fahrenheit?

Did you remove the exhaust hanger bracket by the fill plug?

I know on x-drive cars, you have to remove the exhaust bracket, and I didn't realize that, and I didn't have the tools. I was not able to complete the service myself, and that's why I'm reluctant to do it myself.

The "O-ring" looks like the attached. If you're worried about removing the old one I suppose you could leave the old one in there. If so, use your finger to make sure the old one isn't hardened or damaged from the filter removal. Don't let the O-ring removal scare you. I used a pry bar but the metal material is malleable enough that you might be able to collapse one side of it towards the middle with the screwdriver and remove it that way.

I pointed my IR gun at the pan to measure fluid temp.

The exhaust hanger is in the way but I didn't have to remove it. I forget whether or not I used an offset combination wrench. Depending on the tools you have maybe you''ll have to remove it. Just be 100% certain the CLOSED END of your wrench is well seated on the head of the plug, otherwise you might round it.

Also too, always remove the fill plug first! That way you can always refill the trans. If you drain first only to find you can't remove the fill plug you are SOL.

Scott

Edit: Make sure you follow the tightening sequence and torque values for the pan. The torque is very low, I forget the actual value. A standard 3/8" drive torque wrench will not do. You'll need a 1/4" one. And use new pan bolts! They are one use only aluminum bolts.

 

[Revving2Redline]

I think the biggest worries on flushing atf is adding new fluid to old filters. If your worried about the flush, do small non aggressive drains and fills with basic fluids that meet the spec. If your going in to flush everything then I would replace all the filters so nothing is loosened up and breaks. In all my high mileage transmission changes, replacement of fluid should be done a small amount at a time so nothing is thrown out of whack.

 

[haggler]

Doesn't valvoline guarantee their exchange? Just take it there if you are doing a full exchange.

 

[camrydriver111]

I changed it on my bmw with 100k 10+ years and it dramatically improved the shifting.

I recommend doing it.

 

[BMW Dom]

I hooked it up to ista to scan for codes, and check the gearbox oil life.

It is at 10.59%, so it is due.

 

[UG_Passat]

I took my car to a shop to get a quote on a transmission fluid and filter change. They were very nice, and had a clean shop.

When the tech drove my car and he said that he wouldn’t recommend a transmission fluid change due to the hard downshift. I wasn’t in the car with him.

They said I would need to sign a waiver that if the transmission breaks after they change the fluid, they wouldn’t be responsible.

2009 BMW 328, 127k miles.

Should I sign the waiver, or take it somewhere else?

It sounds like a waiver due to incompetence of doing such of a job.

It could be the valvebody on its way out.

 

[BMW Dom]

It sounds like a waiver due to incompetence of doing such of a job.

Yeah, probably right. And I looked it up, and they are a BG shop. I talked to a BMW shop yesterday and they said $680. We also talked about the symptoms I was having. They’re close to my house, and my parents have used them, and they did great work. I’ll probably go with them.

 

[UG_Passat]

Yeah, probably right. And I looked it up, and they are a BG shop. I talked to a BMW shop yesterday and they said $680. We also talked about the symptoms I was having. They’re close to my house, and my parents have used them, and they did great work. I’ll probably go with them.

Keep in mind, replacing the ATF may not fix it.

It could be some mechanical issue in the transmission itself.

 

[NormanBuntz]

Instead of using that shop, I'd go to an indy shop that KNOWS BMW's. Here's another strange but related tale. A few months ago I called the Infiniti dealer in Chesapeake VA that did the only previous ATF exchange on my 2007 M35 at 72K miles. They would NOT do an ATF service on the car at that time with 122K miles, even with a waiver. BTW I was having no issues at all with the transmission. So I'm doing three drain and fills myself (two completed so far).