Re: 1994 540i Auto Transmission Service and Fluid

[Henri Baccouche <henrib@xxxxxxxxx>]

No.......

This is technology moving forward..... they have  moved the drivetrain
as close to the center of the vehicle for the best handling
characteristics. There is no room for the trans dipstick......and
further more the advance of lubricant technology makes the "lifetime"
fluids possible.

As I see it, everybody is having a hard time accepting is the fact that
these very complex first generation digital five speed automatics are :

1. Designed to be Maintenance free....if there is  hardware problem,
the unit is to exchanged. I can accept this as reasonable service
routine, except the price is very high
because there is a  relatively very small market for rebuilt ZF 5HP30
units. ( as an example)

2. Will probably not last 200K miles no matter what you
do.......replacing the "lifetime" fluids
is probably a waste of money. This is the point which irritates
everybody who believed in the old routine of changing out the Dexron
regularly made the trans last 200K.

These new fluids are not Dexron......

Anybody can source this new ATF fluids out of  Europe and re-sell them
here.......
Check out  http://www.jie.com/oilref.htm

If you examine your BMW or Mercedes or VW/Audi (funny.....!) or Porsche
(funnier.....!) at 125K miles for mechanical integrity, for the most
part a major rebuild of the various mechanical systems is indicated. I
put it to you that this is by design......... the complexity of the new
cars
makes the rebuild expensive.

This becomes another marketing catalyst to make people trade in ( or
recycle) and buy new........

Regards,
Henri

michael_kohlbrenner@domain.elided wrote:

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Henri Baccouche [mailto:henrib@domain.elided]
>
> > There is a popular misconception that you could use
> > lubricants to service your car which are not recommended
> > by the OEM Manufacturer.........without risk.
> >
> > This is very fawlty logic today.......if you have a
> > warranty this will void it. If you insist on using non-
> > approved lubricants......you are at risk of damaging the
> > engine /trans / dif.....etc.
>
> This is an interesting issue.  In the U.S., there is
> something called the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.  Part of
> this act covers so-called "Tie-In Sales" Provisions.  From
> the Federal Trade Commission site:
>
>  http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/warranty.htm
>
>    "Tie-In Sales" Provisions
>    Generally, tie-in sales provisions are not allowed.
>    Such a provision would require a purchaser of the
>    warranted product to buy an item or service from a
>    particular company to use with the warranted product
>    in order to be eligible to receive a remedy under
>    the warranty.
>
> My understanding of this with respect to this topic (which
> may be wrong, of course...) is that if a manufacturer
> insists on a specific brand of replacement fluid in order
> to maintain warranty coverage, they must provide it free
> of charge.
>
> Perhaps BMW could have been running afoul of the Magnuson-
> Moss Act if they REQUIRED that only this fancy ATF be used
> in order to maintain the warranty on the transmission.
>
> Could it be possible that BMW simply chose to take the
> easy way out -- i.e. simply call it a "lifetime" fluid
> and actually make no recommendations for flushing it?
> They know that the transmission will make it through the
> warranty period, even with no fluid changes.
>
> Conspiracy theorists unite!
>
> Regards,
> Mike Kohlbrenner
>
> p.s.
> This is also one of the reasons that Amsoil had to go to
> such great lengths on this issue way back when they didn't
> actually the API service designations on their oil (e.g.
> "SJ").  The manufacturer doesn't list a specific brand,
> but they do define the required oil by this widely used
> standard.  Amsoil didn't have this rating (they still
> may not -- I don't keep up with that pyramid marketing
> crap business...).
> --
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