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BMW X1 (F48) and X2 (F39) Forums General BMW X1 Forum (F48) Will you change the Aisin gearbox fluid ?

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      01-11-2018, 10:45 AM   #1
flyingkenneth
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Will you change the Aisin gearbox fluid ?

Hello,

My January 2016 X1 sDrive 20i has now almost 50,000 km (31068 miles) milage. Despite my BMW dealer claims the gearbox fluid is "life-long", I incline to the opinion that changing the gearbox fluid will extend the service life of the gearbox and the vehicle.

For those of you who had / or planning to changing the gearbox fluid, when did / will you perform the fluid change ? Do you notice any improvement in terms of the gearbox response ?

Cheers,
Kenneth
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      01-11-2018, 11:11 AM   #2
mr_lab_rat
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Yes, I'm planning to change the fluid when the car gets to 100,000kms.
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      01-11-2018, 12:18 PM   #3
spitpilot
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Lets see...new transmission is $9800 list...$7800 net @ GetBMWparts...plus probably 8 hours @ $130 to install....vs $3-400 to have fluid changed?...Your call...I know what mine is gonna be...
Just changed all the fluids in my 328I @ 47K miles....all set for the last few years of ownership...It's a manual and shifting was becoming a bit "notchy" when cold...same thing happened to my 89 535I @ about the same mileage...and both became smoother shifting after the fluid change...so there must be some breakdown of the fluid due to heat over time....I know smart owners who are not "3 'n out" lease folks will change fluids..I'd also do the "transfer box"and rear drive fluids (X drive set up) as well!
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      03-05-2018, 08:16 AM   #4
jsdh89j9ijkL
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I'd be interested in anyone who's changed the gearbox fluid and what difference it made.

Over the past 1000miles I've noticed, what I can only describe a slight clutch judder when on a constant throttle at 1700ish rpms or when it, I assume, downshifts with no noticeable change in RPMs, again around the 1700rpm mark. It can also happen when coming off the throttle / accelerator. I'm assuming an oil change would help?

I'm over 40000 miles so far and the next service is around 52000 miles, so I'm very likely going to ask for a fluid change in the rear diff / gearbox.

This is a on 25d engine.
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      03-09-2018, 09:24 AM   #5
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Thanks for all the advices .... seems it's a good idea to change the fluid oil. Guess I need to find someone who knows how to do the fluid change, as the official local dealer here in Hong Kong does not provide such service, even though I'm willing to pay for it
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      03-16-2018, 12:35 AM   #6
calvol
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Get a full flush.... not a drain and fill, which only replaces about half the fluid... the torque converter holds several liters that only a full flush will replace.
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      08-09-2020, 02:07 PM   #7
Jack Watts
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Transmission Drain and Fill(s)

I just did 3 drain and fills on a 2016 X1. It was bought off lease and 21K miles, and has about 25K miles on it currently.

While 1) color isn't a great indicator and 2) this fluid is darker than traditional red ATF, the fluid that came out still didn't look too hot.

When you consider that 75% of lifetime contaminants occur during the first 5K miles (there's an SAE paper that goes into this in agonizing detail:https://saemobilus.sae.org/content/1999-01-0004/), I think an early change makes a lot of sense.

There is no easy way to do a full "flush" on this transmission. The cooler check valves are in the valve body. I guess if you have an scan tool that can open the check valves, you could go that route, but the access to the cooler lines isn't great. As such, I opted for the drain and fill route.

The total fluid capacity is ~6.6L, and about 3.5L comes out during a drain and fill. I did 3 drain and fills, using about 4L each, running the car through the gears to mix the fluid (yes, overfilled a bit, but I didn't actually put any load on the transmission). I set the fluid level correctly after the final drain and fill.

I'll post a write-up of the procedure when I have some time, but overall it was quite simple. I'll probably do single drain and fills every 15-20K or so going forward.


I used the fluid branded by Febi: https://www.pelicanparts.com/More_In...-2-355-599-M36

I feel pretty confident it is actually identical to the OEM fluid, looking at the shape of the bottles: https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...h/83222355599/

Any ATF-6 or Toyota WS fluid should work, but the Febi fluid seems to be the specific OEM fluid,and it's pretty inexpensive.

Bottom line, if you plan on keeping your X1 for the long haul, I'd suggest changing out the transmission fluid.
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      08-09-2020, 04:23 PM   #8
Skyline2.0
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I'll be changing mine around 45-60k miles with BMW fluid. Currently sitting right at 38k. I have very infrequent juddering/notchiness when accelerating from a stop, or as I'm braking and about to come to a stop. It happens only once in a blue moon and will only last a few seconds.

The topic of drain and fill vs flush is almost as hotly debated as what oil to use in a car. If ATF fluid is changed regularly, I personally will go with just a drain and fill. Regardless of the procedure, putting in new ATF fluid is a good idea if you plan on owning any car for the long haul. It's cheap insurance and good preventative maintenance to avoid catastrophic transmission failure down the line.

Jack Watts,

Did you measure the ATF level at a specific temperature? On other non-BMW cars that I've worked on with "sealed" transmissions, the factory service manual requires measuring the fluid level within a specific temperature range. The newtis manual (https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/f...ter/1VnYiBanss) states to measure it between 35-45° C (or 95-113° F). I'm curious if you followed this protocol, too.
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      08-09-2020, 05:20 PM   #9
Jack Watts
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Skyline2.0 View Post
Jack Watts,

Did you measure the ATF level at a specific temperature? On other non-BMW cars that I've worked on with "sealed" transmissions, the factory service manual requires measuring the fluid level within a specific temperature range. The newtis manual (https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/f...ter/1VnYiBanss) states to measure it between 35-45° C (or 95-113° F). I'm curious if you followed this protocol, too.
I did. I used a thermal thermometer pointed right at the fill plug. Past experience shows this is pretty accurate. The fluid overflowing was between "lukewarm" and "warm". I think you can use Bimmer-Link to check temps as well. I got the fluid up to around 42C and then put in the smaller secondary fill plug.

Interesting thing to note: Volvo calls for this same transmission (TG-81SC) to have the final level set at 50-60C. VW calls for the fluid to be 35-45C. This makes me thing that 1) fluid level is less critical than on some other transmissions and 2) shoot for the upper bound of 45C.

Working in a 20C garage, the fluid got up to this level after idling for 7-10 minutes.
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      08-09-2020, 09:29 PM   #10
Skyline2.0
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Thanks much, Jack. Will follow your suggestion re. measuring the level closer to 45 C.
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