blnewt

iTrader: (13)

Just going by my owners manual for the 09, transmission hasn't changed so this whole service interval if & when is just SO blurry.

What is the companies reason for being so vague w/ a component that is so important to the car??

Even from dealer to dealer there's virtually no common ground regarding when & if to service the thing.

StreetShotz

The reason they have done this is to cut down on the appearance of cost of ownership. When a perspective buyer sees that they don't have any big services it appears cheaper to them. The downside is that by not servicing things you are simply leaving them till they are broken and then replacing them.
This is the way the auto industry is going. Fixing is a way of the past, parts replacing is what is done now.

BMW has had no service Diff and transmissions for years now. The cars are now all at the age where there are wide spread transmission failures happening and it's not like you can just go get a good used one because you know it's had no servicing.

As someone who works on cars for a living it's just stupid especially if you plan on owning the car for longer than 3-5 years.

Also another interesting thing I have been seeing is extending service intervals. For instance Toyota just changed there service interval from 8000kms to 16000kms. It's not on new designs of vehicles, it's on the exact same ones as last year but for this model year it's 16k and last year's stays at 8k.
Another attempt to make ownership seem cheaper at the expense of vehicle longevity.

Selym

I think most consumers lease these cars, so they'd never have it in their possession long enough to worry about transmission service. I bought mine used with 17.5 k miles (was a leased car that was turned in and sold at auction), and typically keep cars for a long time. I think my style of ownership is rare these days.

I was seriously considering a gently-used 328i with 6-speed manual and xDrive. I was turned off by the lack of an engine oil dipstick, lack of a spare tire, and the electric water pump that is more or less guaranteed to fail.

StreetShotz

That's just it. Manufacturers are effectively manufacturing a lifespan into the vehicles.
Last I checked this was against consumer law and companies like Apple were slapped for this exact thing.

I'm like you, my intent is to keep my cars for a number of years. I do all the servicing myself and more so than what is recommended to insure that the car is 100% at all times.

blnewt

iTrader: (13)

^^^This FTW!^^^

Great points from you guys, it is a bit that to keep vehicle longevity you have to cut through misinformation, contradictions from service departments, and just a general practice of keeping owners in the dark.

spinn

Wondering why this method can't be employed on our cars? I've done it on my Toyota Sequoia previously. Would seem like it's a pretty universal concept...oil goes from transmission to radiator to oil cooler and back to transmission. Just need to intercept oil before it goes back to tranny and refill what was taken out. Has anyone tried this before?

blnewt

iTrader: (13)

The Infiniti 7ATs don't have dipsticks
But the on site DIY is pretty straightforward and removing & cleaning the pan is a big plus IMO.
https://www.myg37.com/forums/d-i-y-i...rop-clean.html

Swaj420

So if what most of you say is true and that manufactures are just making components life of the car so it brakes instead of doing maintenance , well where are all these broken transmissions that people should have? You can’t compare BMW and there idiotic methods to Infiniti. Also if you do some digging you will find out that when most manufactures list something as "life of the car" it is understood that this is between 150,000 and 100,000 miles. So 100k could be your starting point as to when to change the AT fluid in these cars. But like I said earlier if what you guys say is true, then there should be thousands of Infiniti’s out there with blown transmission, but there isn't so you guys can just relax. It also isn’t cheap, but if you want to spend $700 to $1000 to have Infiniti service your non-serviceable transmission be my guest.

blnewt

iTrader: (13)

It's 100% up to you if you want to service your transmission or just run it until you get rid of the car or something happens that you can no longer drive it.
There's a lot of misinformation when it comes to this 7AT, it IS NOT a sealed unit, it has a drain plug, a fill tube, and a Factory Service Manual procedure to drain & fill the unit.
The gray area is what has been discussed previously in this thread. In the earlier Owners manual maintenance schedules a transmission service IS recommended under their premier schedule, and if I remember correctly it was around 65k miles. But that appears to be the only time any recommended service is listed. And there are dealers that state that the unit is sealed and is good for the life of the car, so you can believe what you want.
Here's the FSM for my 09 Sedan, click on the link, then click on TM.pdf
scroll down to page 267 for the entire ATF fluid change procedure.
http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/G37/Sedan/2009/

And as far as a bunch of Infiniti exploding transmissions at 100k miles, lol at that. There isn't an ATF that's not going to withstand friction and temp breakdown over time. Sure the transmissions may operate for many miles over that but the fluid will be dirty, the pan will have excess buildup and the magnets will be full of debris limiting their effectiveness.

I think I'd rather keep the fluid fresh and the pan/magnets clean, but I plan on keeping this car for a few hundred thousand miles if all goes well.

Oh, and if you spend $700-$1k for a transmission flush, I've got some great land for sale

spinn

Finally changed my transmission fluid on my 2008 G37s 5AT. Drained 4qts from pan, refilled and then drained 2qts at a time from the return line from the oil cooler, and refilled 2qts. Did 12qts total, but probably could've done another 4qts to get it really clean.

ezbme

I had mine flushed at Infiniti. It does feel better so far. I do almost feel like I do smell some atf fluid when I park her in the garage, perhaps I am paranoid. I might take it there for a look. Drain and fill is great esp if you have the pan and filter replaced. I think it is somewhat like replacing your air with Nitrogen, you will end up with some Oxy still in the tire.

I knew it had been done at 120,900 and the car had 166k I want the car to last, so I get the value out of it.

On my Bmw's I had my fluid changed with amsoil. The 330 ended up having the dreaded reverse gear problem which was a shame, since the car shifted great. Driving home one day, my 528 had a problem where the oil pan warped and leaked around 2.5 quarts out. I should have had it towed to my Mech, he fixed it for about 120, but the transmission never felt the same, esp in reverse.

My ex's volvo needed a service, I was planning to sell the car, I took it to a local car wash/oil change. The guy must have hated his boss, he drained it and filled it with 4 qts of Amsoil for $35. The car actually had an dipstick what a crazy idea.

With my G, if it is leaking, would I see any fluid on the floor, or would the plastic pan over the engine hide it away?

Victory

There is no plastic splash shield covering the transmission pan. If you had a leak there would be red stuff on the floor. They probably just made a mess and that's what you're smelling until it dissipates

blnewt

iTrader: (13)

If they removed the hose(s) that connect to the transmission cooler it's possible you could have a small leak there when they were reconnected. The ATF would fall into the splash pan in that case, not real likely, but worth checking if you think you smell ATF.

ezbme

With this being the holiday time, I will have them check it either later this week or next week. The car is shifting fine. I thought I felt one clunk, but it might have been a bump. Looking forward to getting my diff serviced.

I am sure they did remove the cooler hose. This spash pan, would the fluid go back into the transmission? I did smell it again today.

blnewt

iTrader: (13)

That splash pan is just that large plastic cover that goes under the front of the car from the bumper to the engine cradle, it keeps water and road debris from getting up into the engine area. If the ATF was leaking from a cooler hose it would drip onto the splash pan so you it's possible you could be smelling that if it is leaking there.