2007 750Li Transmission opinions and maintenance

In 2011 at 44k I got my last maintenance done under the 4 year factory warranty(I live far from the BMW dealer I trust).
At that time I got them to print out what needs to be done till I reach 100K
and the list they printed out for me was

in 13K Micro-filter
in 15K Engine oil
in16K Rear brakes
in 17K vehicle check
in 24 months Brake fluid
in 25K Front brakes
in 56K spark plugs

I asked them about transmission and they said that it is lifetime and nothing needs to be done. I asked the dealer to confirm and he made a phone call and again said - lifetime and nothing needs to be done.

What is recommended for maintenance after 100K
What would you do about the Transmission ( I have had no problems except for a rare rough jerk maybe twice a year)

There is only one local BMW dealer where I live and I did not buy the car from him. He has given me an extremely rough time with the factory warranty and attitude in general - so much so that I have taken the car to the next closest dealer who is 9 hours away ( he has been great )

Thanks for any info

Originally Posted by sureshmysore

In 2011 at 44k I got my last maintenance done under the 4 year factory warranty(I live far from the BMW dealer I trust).
At that time I got them to print out what needs to be done till I reach 100K
and the list they printed out for me was

in 13K Micro-filter
in 15K Engine oil
in16K Rear brakes
in 17K vehicle check
in 24 months Brake fluid
in 25K Front brakes
in 56K spark plugs

I asked them about transmission and they said that it is lifetime and nothing needs to be done. I asked the dealer to confirm and he made a phone call and again said - lifetime and nothing needs to be done.

What is recommended for maintenance after 100K
What would you do about the Transmission ( I have had no problems except for a rare rough jerk maybe twice a year)

There is only one local BMW dealer where I live and I did not buy the car from him. He has given me an extremely rough time with the factory warranty and attitude in general - so much so that I have taken the car to the next closest dealer who is 9 hours away ( he has been great )

Thanks for any info

"Transmission is lifetime and nothing need to be done?".......That's a bunch of bull.

I can assure you almost 99% of all the people on here who currently have or have had transmission issues in the past is because of that same analogy. Most culprit for transmission failing is due to leaking pan, faulty gasket or leaking sealing sleeve. The other second culprit is due to lack of transmission fluid flush.

If you are planning on keeping your 7 for sometime, what I recommend is, get that fluid flushed at around 50-60K miles. While in the process of flushing it, get a new tranny pan gasket and also have the sealing sleeve replaced. I did mine at exactly 49K miles but that was because I had the sealing sleeve leak. I can tell you the tranny fluid that came out was nasty and extremely disgusting. I had serious doubts that my tranny could have lasted another 10k miles with that original fluid.

Listen to pkathee. He is 500% correct. I went through 2 drain/fills. I originally had one done because of a small leak (very small leak). Then a week and 1/2 later the leak went south and I had to go the gasket/sleeve pan route. So we did another drain/fill. Here is the deal. Find an indepedant mechanic to do the work. Watch him very carefully. Go and purchase the ZF Fluid from bavauto.com. Purchase about 12 liters to 14 liters. This way shipping is free. You can find it for about $19 per liter so bavauto will lower the cost. Same fluid that BMW uses. I would suggest you do a drain/fill first. Wait another month or so and do another drain and fill. Then every 20K-30K after this do a drain/fill. I have a file for this information and can send you everything in 1 large pdf. Please send me private message. The mechanic needs to drain the fluid. The fluid will be black. Then only 3 liters will go in cold. The rest has to go in while the car is running. Make sure he does not underfill or overfill. I have exact instructions from ZF (see attached) & other information. I had one friend who drained the fluid warm, then let the fluid cool down and measured it exactly. Then pumped exactly the same about in (done in the garage but pia). A good mechanic will know how to pump the exact amount in. Be careful as the first time I had my drain/fill I beleive the mechanic underfilled the fluid by alot. All these freaky things started to happen. On the 2nd drain/fill and pan-gasket, he spent a lot of time getting the fluid to the correct level and all the symptoms dissapeared. The only thing I had to do was have the cars software updated since 02/2009. That goes to tell you my car never saw a dealer for 3 years (had not 1 problem). I hope this information helps. Need anything send me a message. Have your fluid done. Please send e-mails in post or privately and I will send you PDF's. . The fluid is not lifetime and will show deterioration. My wife has a Infiniti QX56. I have been chaning the fluid 6 quarts/liters? every 10K miles (just drain and fill) and the tranny is as smooth as day one @ 100K miles, while other Infiniti owners have had issues because of no fluid changes. The fluid costs $35. Unfortunately the ZF will be about $130 every time plus labor. I would not recommend you do this in a garage. Bring to someone who understands sealed transmissions. I would use only a High end German Car specialist that works on Mercedes, BMW and Jaguars. Good Luck.

I agree with the above post, very true. Also do not run your oil 15k miles. This will surely be the kiss of death, for your engine. I know what BMW says, but read all of the horror stories caused by extended oils changes!

Good Luck!

My mechanic went to ZF conference and said that ZF says that tranny fluid should be changed every 50k-60k miles i believe. I dont remember exact mileage but somewhere around there. When changing fluid, pan gasket should be changed too. And i guess you cant drain all of the old fluid, you have to leave some in and add new one.

Thanks for the replies - I am at 50K miles and will change the tranny fluid in the next 6 months.

+1 with what Pkathee said bro!

Most 7 owners will never see a lifetime of fluid in their cars anyway. Sooner or later, the mechtronics sleeve or pan WILL leak, neccesitating a fluid change

FWIW, Redline D4 is BMW/ZF rated and is a great option from OEM fluid. Cheaper too.

Can I get that PDF file sent to lexcore111@gmail.com also my car is 750li 2006 and I just hit 50k what is your take on me doing this transmission change now. Thanks.

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Originally Posted by Catanzaro

Listen to pkathee. He is 500% correct. I went through 2 drain/fills. I originally had one done because of a small leak (very small leak). Then a week and 1/2 later the leak went south and I had to go the gasket/sleeve pan route. So we did another drain/fill. Here is the deal. Find an indepedant mechanic to do the work. Watch him very carefully. Go and purchase the ZF Fluid from bavauto.com. Purchase about 12 liters to 14 liters. This way shipping is free. You can find it for about $19 per liter so bavauto will lower the cost. Same fluid that BMW uses. I would suggest you do a drain/fill first. Wait another month or so and do another drain and fill. Then every 20K-30K after this do a drain/fill. I have a file for this information and can send you everything in 1 large pdf. Please send me private message. The mechanic needs to drain the fluid. The fluid will be black. Then only 3 liters will go in cold. The rest has to go in while the car is running. Make sure he does not underfill or overfill. I have exact instructions from ZF (see attached) & other information. I had one friend who drained the fluid warm, then let the fluid cool down and measured it exactly. Then pumped exactly the same about in (done in the garage but pia). A good mechanic will know how to pump the exact amount in. Be careful as the first time I had my drain/fill I beleive the mechanic underfilled the fluid by alot. All these freaky things started to happen. On the 2nd drain/fill and pan-gasket, he spent a lot of time getting the fluid to the correct level and all the symptoms dissapeared. The only thing I had to do was have the cars software updated since 02/2009. That goes to tell you my car never saw a dealer for 3 years (had not 1 problem). I hope this information helps. Need anything send me a message. Have your fluid done. Please send e-mails in post or privately and I will send you PDF's. . The fluid is not lifetime and will show deterioration. My wife has a Infiniti QX56. I have been chaning the fluid 6 quarts/liters? every 10K miles (just drain and fill) and the tranny is as smooth as day one @ 100K miles, while other Infiniti owners have had issues because of no fluid changes. The fluid costs $35. Unfortunately the ZF will be about $130 every time plus labor. I would not recommend you do this in a garage. Bring to someone who understands sealed transmissions. I would use only a High end German Car specialist that works on Mercedes, BMW and Jaguars. Good Luck.

My earlier request was for you.

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