Guess it couldn't hurt, right? Good time as any to see how well your car held up the first 100k when you look at the oil. That and since you don't have a warranty anymore, mind as well take some preemptive precautions.

I changed mine with Redline
links and instructions in this forum somewhere.
Shaggymat has tools you can borrow and so do some other members.

 

I have had my tranny fluid changed twice, and I have 62k on my car. It was changed at 30k and 60k.

After having it changed, you wouldn't believe how much smoother the car feels when you shift.

It depends on the condition of your tranny. If there is a small leak, like the was in mine, it would be a good idea. (BTW, I have a tip)

 

One of the many pitfalls of automatic transmissions is that the nature of the transmission is to slowly eat itself. In many older transmissions, I've seen problems show up shortly after changing the fluid. Here's why: As the transmission wears, metal shavings wind up in the fluid. The filter takes care of the larger particles, but the smaller ones stay in the fluid. Also as the parts inside wear, the tolerances get looser and looser. The metal shavings in the fluid help take up the slack there. When you replace with new fluid, it's thinner, and sometimes can't deal with the looser tolerances. An old underhanded practice when selling a car with a slipping transmission was to put some sawdust in the fluid. It thickened up the fluid, and everything worked okay for a little while.

I'm really not familiar with the internals of the Tiptronic, but it still has bands and clutches and a torque converter. VW says the Tip has a lifetime fluid, whereas they recommend a 50k mile change interval for the stick. Do what you want, but I like to listen to the engineers. Oh, and my dad too - "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Just my $.02

 

It's true that if it's not broken, don't fix it. However, based on today's auto market, how many people still keeps their cars at 100,000 or 200,000 miles.

Also, VW never make an official statement that the Tip is lifetime maintenance free. The tranny warranty is only 10 years / 100,000 miles whichever comes first. If your tranny do not have proper maintenance, the chances of your tranny going bad after 100,000 miles is very high. (VW will never say the tranny fails because of the lubrication.) By then, you will have to buy expensive parts from the VW. They can't make money on their new cars, so they have to make them on their parts and service.

Used Tip is hard to find in the market because our B5/B5.5s are still pretty new. If you buying a new Tip, it's about 8 to 9 grand from the dealer.

I trust VW/German engineers but I don't trust the people who sell & market the products, or those who manufacture the products. In fact, that's one of the reason why Volkswagen & Audi rank lower than the National Average in the recent JD's report.

 

I wouldn't put such faith in the engineers or the marketing dept that tells you the fluid is life time if you're planning to drive for a long time like I am. Remember, these are the guys that recommend a timing belt change every 105,000 miles. Trust then if you like but I'd use common sense that saids a fluid like auto tranny fluid will not last 200,000 miles. You should consider yourself lucky if your timing belt lasts 100,000 miles.

By the why, these same engineers don't even have a schedule for the fuel filter on my 1999.

I think there are more 100,000 miles plus cars than ever before, and most people that purchase probably plan to keep their cars as long as possible, especially in these economic times.

 

QUOTE FROM Yellowltd: "Also as the parts inside wear, the tolerances get looser and looser. The metal shavings in the fluid help take up the slack there."

That's the most rediculous thing I've ever read on the internet. I'm guessing you don't make a living keeping machines alive. :crazy:

 

I'd like to know how to do this. and where to get the stuff. Is it hard? I have a vag com with the free software will that be enough? or do i have to pay 99 bucks to register it? plz post up or PM me with more info on this. I'd like to do this when my car hits 60k

 

Ditto on the interest in this. I just hit 100k, wouldn't mind hearing from other 100k+ B5'ers on their experiences with the tip and fluid changing.

J

 

I would love to hear a tran. fluid change article as well.

 

That's the most rediculous thing I've ever read on the internet. I'm guessing you don't make a living keeping machines alive. :crazy:

Thanks for the insult. Do you think I'm making this up as I go along? I've been working on cars since I was fifteen. How about you go ask a transmission builder if I'm crazy, instead of making snap judgements with no information.

I'm not saying that changing your transmission fluid is a bad idea - nothing could be further from the truth. Changing the fluid often and regularly will help your transmission last as long as it possibly can, before it eventually gives up the ghost. On the other hand, if you change the fluid after 75k or 100k miles, it is likely to exaggerate any problems that may be developing. Automatic transmissions rely on exact fluid pressures, if the fluid you put in is drastically different than the fluid you remove (i.e. clean vs. very very dirty), there will be a difference in operation of the transmission, and probably not a good difference.

Despite their intentions, The vast majority of people do not keep their cars past 100k miles. Those who do are usually religious about maintenance from the get-go. They don't suddenly get religion three years down the road. Changing the fluid every 25k-30k miles is a good idea. Changing it every 75k-100k is asking for trouble.

 

Not meant to insult, yellowltd.....but I disagree with your theory that "metal shavings" in the fluid help "take up the slack" when the tranny parts are worn. Thats still rediculous. Sorry.

 

I'd have to respectfully disagree with anyone thinking a fluid change could possibly or potentially be detrimental. The only downside would be doing this too soon and wasting $, or screwing up the job by over or under-filling. I've also worked on cars since I was 15 (my father is a dealer/salvage yard) and have 3 degrees in mathematics and physics. Clean fluid will always have superior viscous/friction properties than dirty, metal-laden fluid. We recently purchased a 2002 GLX tip that was totaled due to water in floorboards. We talked to the owner about the situation and he explained it was a quick exposure with water just barely up to the lower edge of doors. We changed the fluid in the tip just in case. It had no water but had a significant amt of fine metal, dirt-the usual stuff. This car only has 30k on it. This is an easy job granted you buy a 17mm hex key, 12mm hex key, and a simple "suction gun" at any parts store to inject the fluid. I do however believe if it aint broke, don't fix it. I do not, however, put my trust in VW given their history of customer treatment and dealer network.

 

So do we have any sort of concensus? If possible, I'm more confused now.

We've got change is every 25k, we'g got don't change it, and we've got don't change at 100k since the damage is done? WTF?

 

It's very possible that changing the fluid at high mileage is going to exacerbate any seal leaks or other failure points. I don't think that means you shouldn't change the fluid but I do think that if you're going to touch the tranny at 100k you should be prepared to do a more thorough freshening.

 

It's very possible that changing the fluid at high mileage is going to exacerbate any seal leaks or other failure points. I don't think that means you shouldn't change the fluid but I do think that if you're going to touch the tranny at 100k you should be prepared to do a more thorough freshening.

OK that makes some sense. What do you mean by the thorough freshening? Replace seals as well?

 

For autos, filter and gasket.

 

Someone here posted this place to get tranny fluid flushed: http://www.bgfindashop.com/, They have a list of shops.

 

Hi folks,

The issue of the sealed automatic transmission always stirs up some debate...

On one hand, it's easy to see ZF's point of view (OEM transmission manufacturer for VW/Audi/BMW) - with no dipstick and synthetic fluids, the transmission should remain relatively contaminant free and the fluid should retain additives and viscosity for quite some time.

From the owner's point of view, calling anything "maintenance-free" or "lifetime" strikes an instant chord of distrust, as car manufacturers love to play the odds game and increase maintenance intervals as a selling point until parts begin to fail and warranty costs exceed expectations. In the case of automatic transmissions, the fluid usually begins to fail due to excessive heat. The synthetic factory fill usually allows the transmission to survive the warranty period - after this, however, is anybody's guess.

Conventional wisdom (from the same folks who advocate 3-5000 mile oil changes, two year intervals on brake/coolant flushes, and 60k mile timing belt changes) offers 30,000 miles as an appropriate interval for transmission filter & fluid change. With the synthetic fluids used in the Tip transmission, this interval could probably be moved to 60,000 miles, but this would be dependent on the usual driving conditions - city vs. highway, etc.

You can find some more information on the Tip transmission, fluid, and a DIY fluid changing procedure on a site I've been working on in (delayed) progress:

http://www.taligentx.com/passat/maintenance/atfchange.html

I was fairly convinced of the need to change fluid in these transmissions upon examination of the very dark fluid which came pouring out:

This was the transmission fluid at 60k miles.

My primary interest now is discovering the compatibility of other synthetic ATFs with the ZF sealed 5-speed transmissions - Mobil1, Redline High-Temp ATF, etc. Mobil1 looks promising, as it is closely related to the OEM Esso fluid in physical properties and perhaps in development (Mobil & Esso seem to be one and the same now, though I don't know the history of the companies). Hopefully somebody can chime in with some more information on this.

HTH,
Nikhil

 

I have had my tranny fluid changed twice, and I have 62k on my car. It was changed at 30k and 60k.
After having it changed, you wouldn't believe how much smoother the car feels when you shift.
It depends on the condition of your tranny. If there is a small leak, like the was in mine, it would be a good idea. (BTW, I have a tip)

I changed yesterday the ATF Fluid (6 Liters) and the Filter on my V6 4MO 100tkm. There was much dirt inside and on the magnets, the Oil was black and the Filter was giving up his Ghost. It is easy to do, you need a second person, VAG-Com and less an hour Time. Shifting now is great, feels very smooth and quiet. It is highly recommend even when VW says "Liftetime". I am able to show some pics if wanted.

Geri :b5: