[328iX]

Interesting that there's a leak.

Regarding the transmission hanging up it's normal for the first shift, after that it should return to normal.

[Skiddz]

Originally Posted by sspade

Normal, this has been discussed numerous times.

Agreed. My ‘14 428 did this, and so does my ‘16 435. It was/is pretty consistent on each, but does vary somewhat. Nature of the beast I guess

[IraHayes]

This is quite normal, especially when the trans fluid is cold. That said, I had my trans serviced in the last few hundred miles and it's not as prevalent. I also typically let my car idle for about a minute before I drive off on a cold start, just to give the engine oil a chance to circulate, so this could be one reason why I don't experience it very much.

So far as the undercarriage wash washing away the fluid, the car has undercarriage shields that shield the transmission and engine from splashes, road grime, as well as help with aerodynamics, so it's that's probably why the leaking fluid never got washed away. That was a good thing as it allowed for the tech to find an issue.

I was charged $350 to have the service performed. It cost me another $285 for the pan/filter kit and 7 quarts of ZF Lifeguard 8 fluid. I ordered from Pelican Parts (same company basically as ECS and Turner Motorsport).

[Phoenix704]

Originally Posted by IraHayes

This is quite normal, especially when the trans fluid is cold. That said, I had my trans serviced in the last few hundred miles and it's not as prevalent. I also typically let my car idle for about a minute before I drive off on a cold start, just to give the engine oil a chance to circulate, so this could be one reason why I don't experience it very much.

So far as the undercarriage wash washing away the fluid, the car has undercarriage shields that shield the transmission and engine from splashes, road grime, as well as help with aerodynamics, so it's that's probably why the leaking fluid never got washed away. That was a good thing as it allowed for the tech to find an issue.

I was charged $350 to have the service performed. It cost me another $285 for the pan/filter kit and 7 quarts of ZF Lifeguard 8 fluid. I ordered from Pelican Parts (same company basically as ECS and Turner Motorsport).

Good point, I haven’t been under there in a while and didn’t realize the trans pan was coveted up. Sounds like you had a positive experience and your price paid was not too far off from what I was quoted. Thanks for the insight!

My appointment is Monday to have it looked at/fixed. Shop is ordering the ZF fluid and parts. Worst case, I have peace of mind. Knowing the fluid was originally filled in 2013 was the primary motivation for exploring this originally. Southern roads get very hot and I suspect can cook fluids regardless of mileage.

[Phoenix704]

Quick update - the pan was leaking. The shop also found a leaking mechatronic sealing sleeve, which I believe is internal and still requires the pan to be dropped. Still in the shop, waiting on the sleeve to arrive. Hoping to have it back today!

[Phoenix704]

Update -

I had the transmission service completed last Thursday. I've already put about 1k miles on the car (majority was holiday a road trip through the Appalachian mountains) and so far no issues. 1st gear shifts are silky smooth, even when cold.

The shop used ZF parts and Lifeguard-8 fluid. Overall, I'm very pleased with the result. It's not a cheap service, but flushing out a good portion of 7 year old, heat-degraded transmission fluid gives me peace of mind. I plan to have this service completed every 30k miles, so the next one will be when I hit 60k. It's cheap insurance.

[upsidedownfunnel]

Originally Posted by Phoenix704

Update -

I had the transmission service completed last Thursday. I've already put about 1k miles on the car (majority was holiday a road trip through the Appalachian mountains) and so far no issues. 1st gear shifts are silky smooth, even when cold.

The shop used ZF parts and Lifeguard-8 fluid. Overall, I'm very pleased with the result. It's not a cheap service, but flushing out a good portion of 7 year old, heat-degraded transmission fluid gives me peace of mind. I plan to have this service completed every 30k miles, so the next one will be when I hit 60k. It's cheap insurance.

Unless you have another leak or symptoms, I don't think I'd do it again until 80-90k miles. Your fluid might have just been a little low. When transmission fluid warms up, it expands and the level rises which might be why the rough shift went away when warm.

BMW recommends "lifetime" or 100k miles and ZF recommends 50-60k miles. I have always gone by ZF recommendations as I think BMW recommendations are purely there to limit service cost calculations without regard to the long term life of the car.

[bloodline129]

I've done my trans fluid last year and it still jerks from 1st to 2nd when cold so there's that lol

[anom3]

I have the same symptom:

When cold : first 1st -> 2nd shift will hold revs quite high before shifting over. After that its smooth as butter for the rest of the day.

Just to be clear this has nothing to do with the cold start / cat heating. I know because for quite some time I had it coded out via bootmod3. Same symptom.

The only thing that seams to help is resetting the transmission adaptations (via the odb, not the pedal method).

All that being said I did a tranny fluid swap last year and was about to go do another with the "dynamic" option tomorrow. But after reading this thread I have decided not to.

Thanks!

[thejeremyman9]

Originally Posted by anom3

I have the same symptom:

When cold : first 1st -> 2nd shift will hold revs quite high before shifting over. After that its smooth as butter for the rest of the day.

Just to be clear this has nothing to do with the cold start / cat heating. I know because for quite some time I had it coded out via bootmod3. Same symptom.

The only thing that seams to help is resetting the transmission adaptations (via the odb, not the pedal method).

All that being said I did a tranny fluid swap last year and was about to go do another with the "dynamic" option tomorrow. But after reading this thread I have decided not to.

Thanks!

The 1-2 "lurch" on first cold shift is normal.

Also, do not reset the transmission adaptations (for clutches etc) without doing any mechanical maintenance to the transmission, those are learned over time and account for mechanical wear to the internals.