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      04-22-2013, 08:18 PM   #1
530dE39
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Poland
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Drives: 530d E39 12-2002
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Warsaw, PL

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2017 BMW x5  [0.00]
Automatic gearbox oil. Replace or keep?

Hi all,

I have a 530d E39 from 10/2002. The car now has a good 220000km on the clock and had (unfortunately) to undergo a regeneration of the injectors, since 3 of them failed within seconds of each other and the 4th was in doubt. So I had a quite expensive repair done and have the injectors regenerated by Bosch. Car runs well, but I was wondering about something else. The car is almost 11 years old and the gearbox oil has never been replaced.

I life in a country where it gets -20 C in winter and +30 C in summer. Is it advisable to change the automatic gearbox oil maybe? I have a feeling (on cold engine) that the gear changes aren't as smooth as they once used to be. Also when driving up-hill it sometimes seems that it's waiting to gear for something.

I hear from BMW that it's lifelong oil (but how long do they define lifelong I didn't figure out), others say it should be replaced every 5 years... (oops...??)...

I'm just confused. Is it worth changing the oil? Or is it only asking for trouble? If changing, why would I do so? Is it going to improve the life of the gearbox?