Hi,

I have a 2005 BMW 530i with 175k km and the ZF6HP19 Transmission. Recently as part of regular servicing I changed the transmission filter and replaced the fluid with your ATF BMV. 

Immediately after the change and once the transmission is up to temperature, when under moderate to high load I encountered transmission fault errors which when investigated point towards clutch slip (multiple ratio monitoring fault codes). The codes do not occur only with a specific clutch and can be made to appear for any clutch. Depending on driving conditions and gear, the gearbox can be made to slip and thence fault in any clutch A through E.

I'm concerned that this fluid is more "slippery" than the original Lifeguard 6 and hence in an older transmission liable to create clutch slip and thence transmission faults?

Is this something that has been addressed previously?

For information the transmission mechatronic bridge seals were all replaced at the time of the filter / fluid change and the old fluid (approx 60k km old) was not burnt nor was there any sign of unusual particulate matter in the oil indicating excessive wear.

Having almost exclusively used penrite as my preferred oil in my 3 vehicles i'll be honest i'm a little dissappointed! 

My intent is to drain and refil with ZF Lifeguard 6 and can advise if this rectifies the issue, although due to upcoming travel will likely not be able to do this until early october. 

Although I used all of the oil that I purchased, is there any recourse to receive credit the product? Whilst i cannot provide any scientific evidence that the fault directly relates to the oil change, it seems highly unlikely that multiple recurring transmission slip faults would appear immediately following a change of the transmission oil and not be linked to the oil.

Kind Regards,

Robert 

Hi Jessi,

Thanks for your reply.


I had a transmission specalist look at it today and their concensus was as the gearbox is faulting with all clutches either a gearbox pressure problem or more likely given the age, a clutch slipping issue. Solenoids could be a potential cause of low pressure, however it seems unlikely as there was no sign of issue prior to the change. Adaptations were reset and the adaptation process completed per ZF technical literature. 

Why the slipping clutches, and why all at once? Their advice was given the age of the transmission the fluid change may have uncovered potentially worn clutches that were being masked by suspended matter in the old oil. The fresh oil being clean in simple terms isn't as grippy as the old and hence the faults under heavy load.

They couldn't comment on the differences in oil and suggested lifeguard 6 may have different properties that may fix the problem, however there is no guarantee and lifeguard 6 is an expensive way to test the theory!

As such the gearbox is about to come out! It may be some time till i get to it as i'll be away, but i'll update you with the condition of the internals when i get resolution.

Cheers,

Robert

I'm currently having the same issues as OP, it's a shame no reply has been made as to the solution. I did a partial fluid change following the directions given with the Penrite ZF transmission change guide, figuring that a full change after so long (170k) could be problematic. But now under moderate/high load once warmed up, the transmission will go into limp mode, and throw codes for clutch slip.

I'm inclined to try changing the mechatronic sleeve which I didn't do, but OP said they did that and with the same results as what I have. I could change the solenoids, but at this stage I'm just swapping parts out and hoping for the best.

I'm hoping that the transmission will 'adapt' to the new fluid over time - if this doesn't happen I'll reset adaptations and see if that fixes the problem. Besides that, there's not much that can be done except for some more serious mechanical work.