1M Manual Transmission Fluid Group Buy | $24.90 per Liter + Shipping! | Order by 2/26

[///BYU]

BIMMERPOST / Classifieds

Asking Price:

None

Item Interest

MANUAL TRANSMISSION FLUID GROUP BUY

BMW of Minnetonka is offering BMW MTF-LT-5 for $24.90 per liter. This is the official BMW manual transmission fluid for the 1M. The part number is 83 22 2 239 654. This is priced at dealer cost and is 30% below the list price of $35.57.

In order for the dealer to offer this at their cost, I agreed to handle all the orders and shipping to group buy participants. You can place your order online until Sunday, February 26.

On Monday, February 27, I’ll let BMW of Minnetonka know the total quantity to order. As soon as the order arrives from BMW, I’ll ship everyone’s orders out to them. I’ll keep people posted on the order status as I hear things from the dealer. Hopefully they will receive the product from BMW pretty quickly.

Thanks to Parts Manager Wayne Lais at BMW of Minnetonka for making this possible!


QUESTIONS ABOUT THE GROUP BUY

If you have general questions or comments about the group buy, it would be good to post them in this thread. That way I can reply here and others can follow the conversation.

I have a few FAQs on the website for ordering (see below). Between this thread and the FAQs, you should be able to post and find answers to your questions.

You can also PM me or contact me via phone or e-mail anytime. My contact info is on the website.


SHIPPING

I looked into UPS, FedEx and USPS for the least expensive shipping option. Shipping costs through USPS Priority Mail are as follows and reflect my best estimate of the actual cost to ship.




ONLINE ORDERING

I used Intuit Websites to build a simple and secure e-commerce site. If you any questions, please contact me any time.

The website for ordering is http://www.FIDOSPORT.com. I’m not in love with the domain name (if you have to explain it to people, it’s probably not a good name…). I was going to change it to MTF-LT-5.com or iheartkaysegler.com*, but the e-commerce is already set up as FIDO SPORT, so I’m just going to leave it as is. At least I got the BSM / AW / VO color scheme right!



*I still need to post about our European Delivery experience. Look who we got to meet!


MINNESOTA RESIDENTS

There is no sales tax unless you live in Minnesota. If you do live in Minnesota and you’d like to participate in the group buy, let me know before you place your order and we can talk about alternatives for delivery and sales tax. If you’re in the Twin Cities we can probably meet in person so you can save on shipping.


HOW MANY LITERS SHOULD I ORDER?

The 1M transmission takes a little under 1.5 liters (mine took about 1.3 liters), so you’ll want to order 2 liters to do the service once (with some fluid left over) and 3 liters to do the service twice. You’re definitely welcome to order more than 3 liters if you’d like to stock up.


RETURNS

I cover returns in the website FAQs. Please let me know if you have any questions.


Happy ordering, everyone! If I can do anything for you, please let me know.

///BYU

[ayao]

Wow. Nice work -- thanks for doing this !!!

[DooBs]

I'm in for 3. I'll be placing my order in a bit. Thanks for your work

[HERR FSTIR]

Order placed. Awesome job!

You should have included a check box on the checkout page to include a gratuity for your work.

[flzrider]

I was able to get the MTF from my local dealer when I did the fluid change myself, but ordering online is always preferred.

Awesome job on the organization and work you put into the site. Looks really well put together!

And I agree with the above, I'm sure people wouldn't mind giving you a bit of money for your time.

[Mnime]

quick question guys... what is the recommended change interval for someone who tracks their car 5 to 8 times a year?

[///BYU]

Originally Posted by HERR FSTIR

You should have included a check box on the checkout page to include a gratuity for your work.

Originally Posted by flzrider

I'm sure people wouldn't mind giving you a bit of money for your time.

Clip here at 1:38:00

[///M1]

Thx for organizing this, placing order now!

[providence]

...funny I just went into a full-out Internet assault looking for this after finally reading Metak's tread from a few months back.... Only to find this tread started today!
I'm all in, thank you for setting this up my friend...
Whatever you get for yourself in this deal is certainly well-deserved.

[AW 1M]

Does this stuff have a shelf life? I can't imagine it would but thought I'd ask to be sure.

[///M1]

Originally Posted by AW 1M

Does this stuff have a shelf life? I can't imagine it would but thought I'd ask to be sure.

It does especially if open (hence why I would rather buy twice 2ltrs each time as opposed to once buy 3ltrs and leave one of the bottles laying open halfway full until its time to do the next flush).

[BMW Gator]

Order Placed. Thank you!

[flzrider]

Originally Posted by ///M1

It does especially if open (hence why I would rather buy twice 2ltrs each time as opposed to once buy 3ltrs and leave one of the bottles laying open halfway full until its time to do the next flush).

Source?

[///M1]

Originally Posted by flzrider

Source?

Oh wait, per BMW this is a lifetime fluid, right? So I must be wrong and stand corrected

[///BYU]

I have an e-mail in to Pentosin about the shelf life of Pentosin FFL-3 (which is the same as BMW MTF-LT-5) for both open and unopened bottles. I'll post here if I get a reply. I wrote in English (no hablo German), so hopefully they will get back to me. Maybe one of our German-speaking Addicts could contact them?

I'll e-mail BMW NA while I'm at it.

I have a bottle of Pentosin FFL-3 and based on the codes printed on the bottle, I'm guessing the expiration date is 5 years from the date of manufacture. Pictures below.

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by ///BYU

I have an e-mail in to Pentosin about the shelf life of Pentosin FFL-3 (which is the same as BMW MTF-LT-5) for both open and unopened bottles. I'll post here if I get a reply. I wrote in English (no hablo German), so hopefully they will get back to me. Maybe one of our German-speaking Addicts could contact them?

I'll e-mail BMW NA while I'm at it.

I have a bottle of Pentosin FFL-3 and based on the codes printed on the bottle, I'm guessing the expiration date is 5 years from the date of manufacture. Pictures below.

Looks like 5 years to me!

P03/2010...E03/2015

Production date 03/2010... Expiration date 03/2015.


Btw... could you post another close up picture of the bottle's blue(part of the) label written in German.

[///BYU]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

Btw... could you post another close up picture of the bottle's blue(part of the) label written in German.

Here's a high res image of the FFL-3 label.

Just so there's no confusion for anyone who hasn't been following this thread closely. This group buy is for genuine BMW MTF-LT-5, not Pentosin FFL-3.

Also, I sent a note to BMW NA about shelf life for MTF-LT-5. I'll let everyone know what I hear back.

[Dackelone]

^^Thanks. It says this is the 2nd geration DKG(DCT) synthetic oil conforming to the automakers specification.

[flzrider]

Originally Posted by ///M1

Oh wait, per BMW this is a lifetime fluid, right? So I must be wrong and stand corrected

BMW never said that our MTF was a lifetime fluid. They just didn't want to do it during the 1200 mile break-in service in the U.S. like they do everywhere else.

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by ///M1

Oh wait, per BMW this is a lifetime fluid, right? So I must be wrong and stand corrected

It is NOT a lifetime fluid for the 1M. But... don't forget the same transmision AND fluid is used in the 135i (N55) models. For the 135i (N55) it IS a lifetime fluid. So BMW says. As we all know its best to change your fluids often (engine oil, trans oil and diff oil) in any car.

This same fluid is also used by Porsche and is a lifetime fluid(I believe) in their transmisions.

[EyeDocJeff]

Nice work bro! I would order some, but Ich habe nicht eine BMW.

[///BYU]

Originally Posted by ///BYU

I have an e-mail in to Pentosin about the shelf life of Pentosin FFL-3 (which is the same as BMW MTF-LT-5) for both open and unopened bottles. I'll post here if I get a reply. I wrote in English (no hablo German), so hopefully they will get back to me. Maybe one of our German-speaking Addicts could contact them?

I'll e-mail BMW NA while I'm at it.

I have a bottle of Pentosin FFL-3 and based on the codes printed on the bottle, I'm guessing the expiration date is 5 years from the date of manufacture.

Originally Posted by Dackelone

Looks like 5 years to me!

P03/2010...E03/2015

Production date 03/2010... Expiration date 03/2015.

Originally Posted by ///BYU

I sent a note to BMW NA about shelf life for MTF-LT-5. I'll let everyone know what I hear back.

Here's an update on this.

PENTOSIN RESPONSE: I received a call from a representative at CRP Industries in Cranbury, NJ. He told me they are Pentosin's distributor in the United States and that my message was forwarded to them. He confirmed the shelf life for an unopened bottle of Pentosin FFL-3 (same as MTF-LT-05) is 5 years. He said there is no published guidance for how long the fluid will be good after the bottle is opened.

MY OPINION: As for how long this fluid is good after the bottle has been opened, here is my opinion. I welcome additional input on the subject, especially from those with expertise or experience in this area.

According to BMW NA Service Bulletin SI B00 01 10 (see pp 14-15 of May 2011 and June 2011 Canadian versions attached below), the MTF-LT-05 is supposed to be changed at 50,000 and then 122,000 miles. In other words, the fluid from an open bottle is good for multiple months / years, even being subject to heat and stress from the gearbox. I'm going to go ahead and assume a half-full bottle sitting peacefully at room temperature on a shelf inside my house with the cap on tight is going to be fine until the next time I decide to change the fluid. My current plan is to do this once a year or every 15k miles, whichever comes first. Is that overkill? Probably, but I enjoy maintaining my car. I find it therapeutic being under there.

BMW NA RESPONSE: I received the following unhelpful e-mail from BMW NA.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Dear ///BYU:

Thank you for contacting BMW of North America, LLC regarding your 2011 BMW 1 Series M Coupe. Since your inquiry is regarding a technical issue, we suggest contacting the service team at your authorized BMW center.

Your service team has the expertise to provide you with detailed technical support to fully address your inquiry. A list of our authorized BMW centers categorized by name, state or ZIP Code can be found on our website at: www.bmwusa.com, under “Dealer Locator.”

For any non-technical inquiries, you can contact the Customer Relations and Services Department at 1-800-831-1117, Monday through Friday from 9:00 A.M. to 9:00 P.M., Eastern Standard Time.

Sincerely,

Rachael Schuster
Customer Relations and Services
Representative

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

I was kind of disappointed at this response since I don't think any BMW dealer is going to have chemical engineers or experts in fluid dynamics hanging around. I was hoping they would track down a real answer.

Hope this helps at least a little!