Tranmission Oil Change Yes/No

[Boostd4]

Originally Posted by doug_999

That sounds early from what I have read. Make sure you have it tested and report back please!

Unfortunately there really is no definitive answer to whether this is early or late. Everyone seems to have an opinion on the lifespan of this fluid, especially since the manufacturer won't commit to a schedule.

I'll report back with my findings. For the $400 or so it will cost me to service the transmission, it's a small price to pay for resting easier.

[doug_999]

Originally Posted by Boostd4

Unfortunately there really is no definitive answer to whether this is early or late. Everyone seems to have an opinion on the lifespan of this fluid, especially since the manufacturer won't commit to a schedule.

I'll report back with my findings. For the $400 or so it will cost me to service the transmission, it's a small price to pay for resting easier.

I would think that if you get the fluid analyzed, we would have a pretty good answer. I did that with my manual transmission at 5,000 miles and got the answer "ya kind of wasted your money Doug". Which is fine, at least I can tell people - you don't need to get your manual trans fluid changed until around 30,000 miles.

However... $400 does not quite seem right. I believe the fluid costs more than that? Thoughts there?

[Boostd4]

Originally Posted by doug_999

I would think that if you get the fluid analyzed, we would have a pretty good answer. I did that with my manual transmission at 5,000 miles and got the answer "ya kind of wasted your money Doug". Which is fine, at least I can tell people - you don't need to get your manual trans fluid changed until around 30,000 miles.

However... $400 does not quite seem right. I believe the fluid costs more than that? Thoughts there?

I'm referring to doing the service in my garage. I believe the ECS DCT service kit is just about $700, but this includes a new oil pan. The Fluid and Filters only is about $300.

The analysis will definitely be a good indicator, but it will vary greatly depending on how the car was driven.

[doug_999]

Originally Posted by Boostd4

I'm referring to doing the service in my garage. I believe the ECS DCT service kit is just about $700, but this includes a new oil pan. The Fluid and Filters only is about $300.

The analysis will definitely be a good indicator, but it will vary greatly depending on how the car was driven.

100% agree - and a good thing to note (about how it was driven). I for one am really looking forward to what you find.

And it sounds like you know what you are doing and already have ISTA - which is way beyond me!

[Atrix]

Originally Posted by Paisano

I paid CAD 161 for the transmission fluid replacement.

I'm surprised they could say 'life-time' fill given that the older M cars required the service to be done.

I called BMW in Calgary, they quoted me $1,300 for the major DCT service. Which basically replaces both filters, oil and oil pan. They also have the minor fluid only option at $400 I believe. They quickly told me that they define "Life Time" as Warranty covered duration.

$161 seems too low for DCT. 6L of DCT oil is ~$200 alone. Where did you have this done?

ECS has the OEM kit for ~$700 USD that includes what the dealer would change. Although the filters are on Back Order.

Does anyone have a more detailed fill procedure. Not using ISTA+? I have seen variations of almost the same procedure with slight differences. Apparently you need to run the car in N or P to get the last 1.5 L of oil into the fill plug, but need to make sure the Trans Temp stays under 40 deg Celsius.

My DCT runs at 90 deg Celsius under normal load and gets there fairly quick. I wonder how fast it would get to 40 under no load. Interested if anyone has gone through this DIY?

[SE7EN335]

Originally Posted by andrei.m4

Me same, oil and filter changed and is same.
DCT GTS from bm3 car not smooth and delay D->R still there
THOR CS(and yes thor cs works on my 2015 car without errors) is very fast but not so smooth on 3->2->1 (doesnt matter D/S 1,2,3)
THOR GTS is perfect, FAST D->R, when coming to a stop everything is smooth, almost eliminate all sounds, in 80% of cases no sounds(i checked my diff, driveshafts and propershaft and they are in perfect condition)

Is all about the gearbox software, if clutch not full disengage at right time when you try to stop car create clunk sounds on transmision.

Defenetly thor gts is not same software as bm3 gts.

Do you find the Thor GTS DCT tune or the Thor CS DCT tune is better?

[SE7EN335]

Originally Posted by Atrix

I called BMW in Calgary, they quoted me $1,300 for the major DCT service. Which basically replaces both filters, oil and oil pan. They also have the minor fluid only option at $400 I believe. They quickly told me that they define "Life Time" as Warranty covered duration.

$161 seems too low for DCT. 6L of DCT oil is ~$200 alone. Where did you have this done?

ECS has the OEM kit for ~$700 USD that includes what the dealer would change. Although the filters are on Back Order.

Does anyone have a more detailed fill procedure. Not using ISTA+? I have seen variations of almost the same procedure with slight differences. Apparently you need to run the car in N or P to get the last 1.5 L of oil into the fill plug, but need to make sure the Trans Temp stays under 40 deg Celsius.

My DCT runs at 90 deg Celsius under normal load and gets there fairly quick. I wonder how fast it would get to 40 under no load. Interested if anyone has gone through this DIY?

My friend who works at BMW drained the gearbox from the drain plug at operating temperature. Wait until the gearbox cooled down after about 3 hours and added about 6.2L fluid until it started dripping. Used ISTA to monitor gearbox temp and perform the service function and was able to add another 0.8L in. I highly recommend the use of ISTA and its service function.

[andrei.m4]

Originally Posted by SE7EN335

Do you find the Thor GTS DCT tune or the Thor CS DCT tune is better?

The difference on my car gts is more smooth on d1 than cs.

[SE7EN335]

Originally Posted by andrei.m4

The difference on my car gts is more smooth on d1 than cs.

GTS was more smooth than CS only in D mode?

[andrei.m4]

Originally Posted by SE7EN335

GTS was more smooth than CS only in D mode?

I don t feel differences in performance, just in comfort, downsifts but anyway xhp release soon for f8x dct cars and will take out all performance from this cars. I heared also they will relase that nice sound(like at dsg and mercedes dct) “brrrrrap” at gear change, as option of course.

[Boostd4]

So just for reference, I contacted a well known independent BMW service center near my home in Roseville, CA. They quoted me $968 for the full DCT service (fluid, gasket, both filters, and labor/taxes). Not horrible, but on par with what some of the others have found. Considering this will be a 40K mile or so service...it's really not that bad.

[karlskry]

Just turned over 50k miles this weekend so i've been thinking about this service. My car is driven ~8k per year at this point, mostly city and "spirited" street driving- no track. Diff fluid was changed out at 40k.

My car is 5 years old now, so the age concerns me somewhat. But i don't track the car and never will. Still reccomended that i should do the full DCT service?

[SE7EN335]

Originally Posted by karlskry

Just turned over 50k miles this weekend so i've been thinking about this service. My car is driven ~8k per year at this point, mostly city and "spirited" street driving- no track. Diff fluid was changed out at 40k.

My car is 5 years old now, so the age concerns me somewhat. But i don't track the car and never will. Still reccomended that i should do the full DCT service?

Are you tuned?

Are you also running the GTS DCT flash? If so, I would get it done ASAP.

If not and you are planning to drive it on stock power and gearbox tune, would leave it till around 80K miles

[karlskry]

Originally Posted by SE7EN335

Are you tuned?

Are you also running the GTS DCT flash? If so, I would get it done ASAP.

If not and you are planning to drive it on stock power and gearbox tune, would leave it till around 80K miles

yeah i'm bone stock and plan on being so for the foreseeable future.

[rborane]

Originally Posted by karlskry

yeah i'm bone stock and plan on being so for the foreseeable future.

I am in the same boat. 56k with stage 1 BM3 and am going to have the DCT serviced at 60k. I don't think there is an exact number people can tell you when to do it. I am doing 60K because it seems appropriate to refresh the car at that time.

[richf80]

I just did mine at 77k. Sent a sample of the fluid over to blackstone for analysis. Interested in seeing how much life the fluid really had left. Will post results when I get them.

[ALCOBENDAS]

Originally Posted by richf80

I just did mine at 77k. Sent a sample of the fluid over to blackstone for analysis. Interested in seeing how much life the fluid really had left. Will post results when I get them.

Thanks for post results! 70k milles now and i think in take the service. Others blackstones says 100k the oil are ok...

[Driver407]

Originally Posted by Boostd4

So just for reference, I contacted a well known independent BMW service center near my home in Roseville, CA. They quoted me $968 for the full DCT service (fluid, gasket, both filters, and labor/taxes). Not horrible, but on par with what some of the others have found. Considering this will be a 40K mile or so service...it's really not that bad.

What shop did you get the quote from? I live in the same area and just started to look for a shop to do this. If you want to PM me, that also works.

[SE7EN335]

Originally Posted by richf80

I just did mine at 77k. Sent a sample of the fluid over to blackstone for analysis. Interested in seeing how much life the fluid really had left. Will post results when I get them.

Did you run any sort of flash on the DCT like Thor GTS flash or XHP? These flashes would accelerate the wear on the fluid over time

[richf80]

Originally Posted by SE7EN335

Did you run any sort of flash on the DCT like Thor GTS flash or XHP? These flashes would accelerate the wear on the fluid over time

Actually yes. I didn't go with Thor though, I reached to Henry on these forums who helped update the software on all modules and flashed the DCT to GTS.

[ALCOBENDAS]

News?

[richf80]

Originally Posted by ALCOBENDAS

News?

Not yet. USPS took 2 weeks to deliver the sample. Blackstone just received the sample over Thanksgiving, so I am hoping to get results by end of week.