XSeries-forum

[quote="cooa99"]
Out of curiosity are auto trans more prone to failures than manual?
[/quote]

I have had 3 failures on my Auto.....

However over 20k since the last one......
(touch wood!)

I have recently serviced my trans. Its was juddering and skipping in and out of lock up when cruising at about 60mph. I had quotes of between £300- £400 to do it so I did my research and did it myself for about £100.
The old fluid was black so I did two fluid changes to get as much out as possible
It hasn't juddered or skipped since although I have only done a few hundred miles. Mine was at 136k. Our other E53 which has 70k felt smooth to drive in comparison but now its the opposite- mine feels smoother. Looks like I will be doing that one soon then..
By the way, its not difficult to do if you have any mechanical knowledge. All you need is a T27 bit, 8mm hex bit and a gearbox suction filler pump. You don't even need to jack up the car. I just drove up onto paving slabs under each wheel so it was about 3" higher all round. Plenty of space.

themoog that's good news I've always been afraid of the autobox to work on it myself! Maybe next time as I do everything else myself!
I've had 3 X5's now & it's amazing how much smoother they are after a gearbox service! 

Ok, you lads have convinced me! I'm going to change the gearbox oil and filter when the weather permits !

For info I bought my filter and 12 ltrs of fluid from Motor Parts Direct in Royston. It cost around £100. The fluid is Comma MVATFplus which is compatible with LT71141 (I think thats the number) for a ZF transmission 5HP-24. Here is a laymans link on how to do it-
http://powerdevelopments.co.uk/bmw-x5-e ... and-filter