i have few questions concerning my trann because i felt some problems in it
well
1-When i must change the oil of my trann? and what is the preferred oil?

2-I heared that i couldnt measure the oil level is it true????

3-so if yes,there is any lamp or anything to tell me

actually while shifting from P to R in the morning the tann is not somooth at all
so anyidea??

thanks alot in advance....

In the early E46's (maybe even E36's) tranny fluid was not servicable, it was a lifetime fill, BMW has since changed their stance on this, but there is no dipstick to check it with as a result.

Change your trans fluid asap. You should do it every 30,000 miles.

I recommend the Redline D4ATF, or the synthetic stuff from Royal Purple.

BMW's "lifetime" fluid is a shameful joke.

so really i couldnt measure it???
hmm yea my dealer said its a life time but i feel it is a joke or sort of kidding

Edited for errors attributed to a lack of sleep :D

The way to check the level is to remove the fill plug and stick your finger down and into the hole you should hit fluid just below the bottom of the hole if the trans is filled properly. If you've gone that far, you should probably change it. That said, if you are "feeling problems" likely fixing it is beyond a fluid change.

Yeah, I completely forgot about just sticking your finger in the fill hole...wow...must get more sleep.

Finger in the hole finger in the dyke, better still check this.:nono

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=438667

The finger in the fill hole check has to be done with the car in the air, level, and with the engine running. Otherwise the fluid will come pouring out when you remove the fill plug.

well guys today i went to the dealer and he told me that the transmission is good and no problem in it but its a life time oil and IF I CHANGED the oil i'll lose my transmission bcoz the oil which came in it is very expensive and not available and why change it.
GUYS i'm worried donno what to do ?
have u ever changed it?
how much does it cost?
what is the brand of oil which came from the factory?
helpppp

The arguments for and against this is as long as there are threads on this topic.. From what I've gathered, you should have the trans oil changed at around every 50 to 60,000 miles or so.. minus well do it yourself or take it to any decent idependent shop that does transmissions., to save some money. These auto transmissions shouldn't be any different than others, in fact, many are made by GM.
But if you have too many miles w/o ever having changed the tranny oil, like over 100,000 miles, the consensus seems to be keep what you have. You might actually break something if you change out the oil all of a sudden after so many years and miles without ever having done one before. But you're right, the big catch is this Life Time oil, it's expensive as hell.

so if i never changed the oil what will happen ?

If you never change the transmission fluid (we only call Motor Oil "oil" here in the states) your trans will run at higher temperatures, have greater internal friction and generate more parts wear...and eventually die.

Now...all transmissions eventually die...but one that has never had a fluid change has *maybe* an expected maximum lifetime of 80,000-100,000 miles in ANY car.

ohhhh i know a guy made with his car 150.000 mile and it was under warranty and the dealer said the fluid is a life time and he didnt changed it till 200.000 miles so ???

ohhhh i know a guy made with his car 150.000 mile and it was under warranty and the dealer said the fluid is a life time and he didnt changed it till 200.000 miles so ???

Then he is fortunate, and probably an exception. I think I'm going to look to sell my car rather than deal with the coming grief from a 100k+ mile tranny (which is shifting oddly). 5-speed bimmer, here I come :)

huh guys help me the dealer even refused to change the oil he warned to if i changed it i will lose m trann

He might just be correct because if your car has a decent amount of miles on it (around 100k or more) and never changed the trans fluid, then you should probably keep your original fluid in there...

i'm done 50K KM only!!!!!!!

I think I'm going to look to sell my car rather than deal with the coming grief from a 100k+ mile tranny (which is shifting oddly). 5-speed bimmer, here I come :)

Im with this guy.