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I absolutely love the sport mode on my automatic transmission. No problems yet but the car has 108k miles and no one wants to check fluid or change fluid when I have it serviced. What gives?
Hi,
I would do a Google search for a transmission specialist in your area,go to the professional personal,they will do a correct change and as expert's save you money by knowing what to do.
Changing the Transmission Fluid and Filter kit. ATF. On a Cooper S R56.
Originally Posted by salami1814
I absolutely love the sport mode on my automatic transmission. No problems yet but the car has 108k miles and no one wants to check fluid or change fluid when I have it serviced. What gives?
Hello:
My Cooper S R56 is 9 years old now in July/ Aug 2021. When I bought it (used) in 2019 November/December and it had done 33733 kms. I decided after buying it that since it was then around 7.5 years old, that I would buy the ATF and the Transmission Service Kit and ensure the ATF is changed. I did this in July 2020 when the car was approaching its 8th Birthday.
I bought ATF from BMW India. One needs around 7 litres. I went to them specifically and asked whether they would do the ATF change. They said no because it is a Lifetime Fluid. Upon digging deeper I observed that BMW definition of Lifetime is 4 years. Then there is a Transmission Service Kit, which comes with a filter, a gasket and some magnets and all. These also should ideally be changed when one is changing the ATF. BMW also told me very clearly that they do not supply “Child Parts”.
It is simple logic that if Manual Transmission Fluid needs to be changed out every so often, then obviously the same would apply to Auto Transmission Fluid as well.
So I went to MINI MANIA USA website and looked for the Transmission Filter Service Kit and bought it and imported it into India. Then I took the car along with the ATF to an independent garage and got the job done under my personal supervision.
The Transmission Fluid that came out of the car was quite dark. The fresh transmission fluid was quite a lovely red. The transmission filter and magnets and all were quite dirty and full of metal filings.
Yes, doing this ATF change makes a difference in the smoothness of gear shifting and makes for a much happier drive and fearless use of the paddle shifters too.
It is a bit of a fiddly job. But to me, it was extremely well worth doing. You can look at the pictures here for a clearer view. Dirty ATF Dirty ATF Fresh Clean ATF Dirty old ATF Fluid Dirty old ATF Fluid Fresh clean red ATF New Transmission Filter and can 7 litres of ATF. This is a fiddly job and requires patience and care. And cannot be done in one fill. The underneath bits of the Transmission when the filter is off The old filter and magnets Old filter gasket Dirty old magnets with lots of metal filings Drained dirty fluid Brand new transmission filter and service kit with gasket and magnets from Mini Mania USA Brand new transmission filter etc
My Cooper S R56 is 9 years old now in July/ Aug 2021. When I bought it (used) in 2019 November/December and it had done 33733 kms. I decided after buying it that since it was then around 7.5 years old, that I would buy the ATF and the Transmission Service Kit and ensure the ATF is changed. I did this in July 2020 when the car was approaching its 8th Birthday.
I bought ATF from BMW India. One needs around 7 litres. I went to them specifically and asked whether they would do the ATF change. They said no because it is a Lifetime Fluid. Upon digging deeper I observed that BMW definition of Lifetime is 4 years. Then there is a Transmission Service Kit, which comes with a filter, a gasket and some magnets and all. These also should ideally be changed when one is changing the ATF. BMW also told me very clearly that they do not supply “Child Parts”.
It is simple logic that if Manual Transmission Fluid needs to be changed out every so often, then obviously the same would apply to Auto Transmission Fluid as well.
So I went to MINI MANIA USA website and looked for the Transmission Filter Service Kit and bought it and imported it into India. Then I took the car along with the ATF to an independent garage and got the job done under my personal supervision.
The Transmission Fluid that came out of the car was quite dark. The fresh transmission fluid was quite a lovely red. The transmission filter and magnets and all were quite dirty and full of metal filings.
Yes, doing this ATF change makes a difference in the smoothness of gear shifting and makes for a much happier drive and fearless use of the paddle shifters too.
It is a bit of a fiddly job. But to me, it was extremely well worth doing. You can look at the pictures here for a clearer view. Dirty ATF Dirty ATF Fresh Clean ATF Dirty old ATF Fluid Dirty old ATF Fluid Fresh clean red ATF New Transmission Filter and can 7 litres of ATF. This is a fiddly job and requires patience and care. And cannot be done in one fill. The underneath bits of the Transmission when the filter is off The old filter and magnets Old filter gasket Dirty old magnets with lots of metal filings Drained dirty fluid Brand new transmission filter and service kit with gasket and magnets from Mini Mania USA Brand new transmission filter etc
BMW JWS3309 ATF. Costs good Money in India.
hi fully understand why you changed the fluid and filter and cleaned the magnet,worth the time and effort,not sure about the parts from.india,copy parts are not the same quality,and manual has no fluids to change,good luck with your motor
hi fully understand why you changed the fluid and filter and cleaned the magnet,worth the time and effort,not sure about the parts from.india,copy parts are not the same quality,and manual has no fluids to change,good luck with your motor
Hi
All parts I use are genuine BMW OEM or OES. I dont take any chances on my Cooper. So I NEVER have and NEVER will use any COPY parts.
In the case of the Transmission Filter it is called a Transmission Service Kit and comes complete with gasket and magnets etc. It is a genuine BMW MINI Part and I bought it from MINI MANIA USA. You can see all the BMW Markings on the pictures. The ATF Fluid is the BMW prescribed JWS 3309 Fluid. This can be bought on special order from BMW India and this is exactly what I did.
I buy all my parts for the Cooper S, from BMW India Directly. And if they dont have stock, then I import them directly from USA, Mini Mania WebSite, ECS Tuning WebSite and Pelican Parts WebSite. Or else I buy some parts and keep them in stock whenever I travel outside India. From places like MINI DUBAI or BMW/ MINI Australia or wherever.
Thing is the R56 Mini Cooper S model was the first modern BMW Mini Cooper to be introduced in India in the year 2012. And these cars are not very common here. In consequence, BMW India does not always have parts in stock. They themselves have to bring the parts in from BMW Germany.
07-19-2021 | 10:44 AM
6-speed Automatic transmission
