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      02-04-2019, 09:08 PM   #21
Moveitsmikey
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Drives: 2013 BMW 135i M-SPORT
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: Arizona

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Quote:
Originally Posted by tock172 View Post
I paid for new fluid when I had my DCT leak fixed and it wasn't cheap. From my understanding, they were just going to pour the old fluid back in. I'm not sure about the detailed specifics of the service procedure, but at least I'm running fresh fluid.

The idea of not changing the fluid after a certain number of miles applies to conventional torque converter automatic transmissions. Some shops will not touch them once they've covered 80 to 100k miles on the original fluid that BMW branded as Lifetime. I did it anyway on a previous automatic of mine and never had problems. I opted for a simple drain and refill on the conventional torque converter automatic as opposed to a flush which could dislodge particles in the valve body and render the car immovable.

I don't think any of that sentiment applies to DCT. It's a fundamentally different setup. The Lifetime thing I take with a grain of salt. Change the fluid if you want peace of mind.

As far as fluid is concerned, Pentosin is the factory fill from my understanding. Over the last few years though, there are number of alternatives from popular manufacturers. Valvoline, Amsoil, Liqui Moly and several others all make a DCT fluid.
Yeah it's the factory fill basically with bmw branded on the bottle there is no difference. I'm at die hard Amsoil guy so I'm going to use the Amsoil DCT fluid which has a very solid 171 viscosity index at operating temp. The higher the viscosity the better the fluid strength which means fluid lasts longer and protects against heat. Heat is a number one killer of transmissions.
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