JJ, the ECS kit that you show is 100% VW parts, but there is no real need to keep the car 100% VAG parts for this service, a kit like the Blauparts is just fine and I did the same for my 2004 1.8T transmission. Save some money and spend it on 4 good quality floor jack stands.

 

+1 on Mtech comment. I also think an electric fluid pump makes the job a breeze. I bought one cheap from ebay, works like a charm. If not electric, at least one that won't split in 5 pieces when you try to pump the fluid. I am sure you Harbor Freight customers know what I mean

 

1) At 195K miles why would you open the can of worms and change the fluid? I have change my ATF fluid every 60K miles but at high mileages if it's never been changed I wouldn't bother.

2) If you decide to proceed, I recommend the ECS kit. Reasonable priced and good quality.

3) Like gigi said, get yourself an electric pump at eBay. I also got one very cheap and it made the fluid change so much easier.

4) The O-ring for the fill plug is not included in the kit. You need to get that from the stealership around $5. Due to the age of the car, most stealership don't carry that O-ring and it needs to be ordered which may take several days to arrive. Plan accordingly.

 

4) The O-ring for the fill plug is not included in the kit. You need to get that from the stealership around $5. Due to the age of the car, most stealership don't carry that O-ring and it needs to be ordered which may take several days to arrive. Plan accordingly.

With the Blaupart kit it says it's included.

 

Thanks for the replies.

Totally agree with not getting the more expensive one. I have 4 good floor jacks so I'll use the $ saved and use it towards all the front end parts I need to replace

Electric pump??

Shudder on dealing with the stealership uke:

 

Regarding that O-ring, I've never yet had to change one. When you remove the plug, if the rubber has enough elasticity to protrude above the sealing surface of the plug, it will seal regardless of how old it is.

Even $130 is pretty pricy for an ATF/filter change. From autohausaz you can get a filter and gasket for $20.44, and two gallons of Maxlife ATF from Walmart for about $17 each, for a grand total of about $55, and perhaps two quarts of ATF left over.

 

I like to have a number of spare pan bolts on hand, to replace any that are starting to strip the heads. Maybe a full set if you are in a rust area. A low power impact driver, like my
PORTER-CABLE 4.3-Amp 1/4-in Hex Corded Impact Driver at Lowes.com
got the pan bolts out without damaging the heads.

Be careful installing the pan bolts (by hand, with inch-pounds torque wrench) -- the torque spec is very low.

 

I used a Blauparts kit which came with a hand pump that did the job fine without any difficulty.
I you follow the instructions in the link below, use a little common sense and the right tools, you shouldn't have much trouble with bolts or anything else.

ATF & Filter change.
taligentx.com: Passat - ATF & Filter Replacement

 

Thanks for the replies

I was all for doing this but I've heard from one person here and a mechanic that I could end up having a lot of issues if I do the change since no one knows if it's been done before.

If I'm simply draining the old fluid and replacing the filter what issues would could I possibly start having?

Should I leave it alone or do the work?
jj

 

Should I leave it alone or do the work?

This question deserves a subjective answer. You need to answer the following for yourself:

* What is the condition of the car after nearly 200K miles?
* How long more do you expect to have this car?
* Do you have any serious issues with the tranny as of now?

Based on these factors you can decide what to do. I have seen people getting some slipping on tranny changing the ATF at high mileage but I've seen people having no issues changing it. So it's an executive decision that you need to make.

 

An old fluid will carry a lot of dirt particles, making it a bit gritty which does help to engage worn clutches. However, the valve body has such small tolerances, and that gritty fluid is not going to work very well there. It's a common occurence where people change fluid and experience slipping problems, since the clutches are so worn out that they don't grab anymore with clean fluid. Perhaps a dirty fluid will wear the clutches faster, but I'm speculating here. I was changing the fluid on my 2000 every 70-80K miles, ZF fluid. At 215k it started engaging hard, but immediately after doing an oil and filter change, 2nd and 3rd gears were gone, the trans would go in the limp mode. It wouldn't have lasted much longer even if I didn't do the fluid change. There are some members here that reported never changing the fluid and going over 200k miles with no problems. Some change it every so often and have no problems. It's hard for anyone to tell you yay or nay, especially not knowing what has been done with it so far. It could be that the lag you're experiencing is due to a dirty fluid making it harder on the valve body to build up pressure fast enough to engage the clutches. I probably would change the fluid, but that's because I'm able to deal with a possibility of having a car with a bad transmission.

 

You could also just do a drain and fill, and not bother with the pan and filter. Do it again soon after, and you will have changed more fluid than a single pan drop. I've dropped my pan twice, and done a drain/fill on two other occasions (now at 163k miles). I don't plan on dropping the pan again, but I'll do a drain/fill every 40k miles or so.

 

Thank you for the comments.

I don't have a back up car so for right now I'm going to just leave it alone and keep an eye on the slight lag between 1st and 2nd. If it starts getting worse I'll update

jj

 

Haynes Repair Manual recommends a fluid change every 30,000 miles or 24 months....

 

Yep, like we all trust and follow Haynes...
The Wikipedia of the Auto repair manual

 

No disrespect GrandpaBill but as I have seen and learned in a very short time since being a new owner of a VW. The Haynes and Chilton manuals are ok for the very very basic repair goto's but I would rather come here to get the info I am looking for before buying one of those.

Bentley is the way to go hands down without a doubt!!! If you plan on doing things other than the basic car repair and maintenance spend the $$ and get a Bentley book.

I have yet to get one but I will have one soon ;-)

jj

 

I bought a Haynes 9 years ago and haven't picked it up for 8 yrs. It's pretty useless.

 

Hello,
Bentley makes no recommendation for ATF fluid change (see page A-49). All are free to sneer a Haynes, a more useful reply would be a personal recommendation or experience. I simply invoked Haynes to elicit different opinions.

 

I think ppl are trying to emphasize the fact that Haynes is full of misleading info. The official VW A/T fluid recommendation is "no change" (unless something changed lately). Some people think this is crazy, and that a fluid change is needed. How often, this is again a personal choice.
Basically, how long you need to drive between fluid changes, it's really up to you.

 

If nothing else I would be sure the level of whats in there is correct? Top off with VW fluid if need be.

 

The official ZF A/T fluid recommendation is "every 60,000 miles"

 

I just priced out a kit for my 03 B5.5 A/T for $123 Vw Passat Transmission Fluid Filter Change Kit - Vw ATF - 5 Speed
I have researched the forums on this subject and get different answers as weather or not to change. This lifetime thing that is talked about does not sound right especially if you have high mileage and plan on keeping the car into 150k plus.

 

I just priced out a kit for my 03 B5.5 A/T for $123 Vw Passat Transmission Fluid Filter Change Kit - Vw ATF - 5 Speed
I have researched the forums on this subject and get different answers as weather or not to change. This lifetime thing that is talked about does not sound right especially if you have high mileage and plan on keeping the car into 150k plus.

That's a nicely put together kit.
It has everything you need to replace the filter and fluid.

Cheap bastards like me go to pepboys and use the 25% off voucher to get the price even lower.

 

I'm right there with ya' Passat2016

Lots of yes change it/ don't touch it. Pretty confusing. Mine has 159k on it.

 

Sure is, one of my local indy mechanics who had worked for the VW dealership prior to opening his shop said to leave well enough alone with mine at about 135k. He also has an 03 with 300+k and says he doesn't mess with it. Another local guy, works for the Benz dealership but works on VWs on the side, suggested he would not discourage doing the service but didn't want to do the job because he doesn't have the gear to do it PROPERLY. My new go to guy in my area 40 years experience, said since since there weren't any problems it should be fine to do, that was about 10k ago, the service seems to have smoothed out shifting and NOT created any problems
Prior to getting my VW I had two Camrys, both ran well over 400k, I had the filter/change done once with each and then just did the drain/ refill every 50k or so. Those are much easier to work on with a dipstick unlike the Passats. I'm handy but even the drain/refil with these is more than I want to attempt in my garage. I have read on here and other places that getting the thanny "warm" is an acceptable when filling? I've also read the proper way is to use a scanner to determine the proper temp.
With any automatic transmission the fluid level is critical. Like many on here I am not the original owner of my ride and have no way to know if or how anything was done? I could see that there seemed to be no leaks and she shifted well before I bought her. Held my breath till the Indy who said to leave it be, verified the level and that it seemed to be the correct fluid. And thankfully exhaled 2000k after having the complete service done at a shop where they use scanners to determine temperature I think if doing the complete service or changing the fluid is going to cause a problem it pops up fairly quickly. Many transmission shops will not work on ANY high milage cars.
The fluid does deteriorate, it says so on the bottle. In my case, as I do more than commute a few miles to work with it and there were not issues, It was worth the risk. Also, as I'm in no way a master mechanic, it was well worth the $ to have it done by one who used the proper fluids. Good luck with her jj

 

From ZF.com,

5-,6-,8-and 9-speed as well as 4HP20 automatic transmissions:
ZF 5-, 6-, 8- and 9-speed as well as the ZF 4HP20 automatic transmissions are filled maintenance-free with specially developed
partially synthetic ATF oils. Maintenance-free fills are intended for normal operating conditions. Especially driving at very high
operating temperatures can result in accelerated aging or increased wear of ATF oils. It is recommended, in the event of severe
operating conditions, such as:
-frequent highway driving in top speed range,
-offensive, sporty driving style,
-frequent trailer operation,
being above average, oil purification (oil change) on automatic transmissions is recommended between 80,000 km (50,000 miles) and 120,000 km (75,000 miles),
or 8 years, depending on the load.
In each case, only released ATF oil may be used for oil changes. And oil changes must be performed in accordance with the relevant specifications.

This recommendation is for ZF TE-ML 11 ATF (ZF Lifeguard 5), as of January 10, 2015.

Specific part numbers for replacement ATF from ZF.com:

According to spare part number of vehicle manufacturer:
ZF Lifeguardfluid 5 (ZF No. S671 090 170)
Audi/VW Oil No. G052162 A1/ A2/ A6
BMW Oil No. 8322 9407807
Citroen Oil No.Z 000169756
Jaguar Oil No. JLM 20238
Mercedes Benz Oil No. A 0019892203
Peugeot Oil No. Z 000169756
Porsche Oil No. 999.917.547.00

So in summary, if your driving style is offensive and/or sporty (that guy in the slammed Volvo with the big turbo is just honking 'cause he's horny), then the interval is
50, 000 miles or every 4 years.

 

Hello JJ
What is German Ravenol ATF? Equivalent sez who? Blauparts description says fully synthetic, where oem is partially synthetic? At any rate be sure, Blauparts sends you RAVENOL ATF 5/4 HP Fluid rather than 6HP (I couldn't find any product listed on Ravenol's site that was specifically for VWs, or anything that was described as ATF 5/4 HP.) The kit picture appears to be of Ravenol ATF+4 which is for Chrysler products. RAVENOL Automatik list a few BMW part numbers, but not the one for the 5HP19. (BTW, the Ravenol site sez 9 liters initial fill, not 6?) Perhaps I missed it.

 

Grandpa, why not using Valvoline MaxLife for $17 / gallon at WalMart? Me and many others have used it with no issues.

 

Additionally,
Reading this thread I see no one has mentioned two other causes of poor Tiptronic performance. One is a dirty MAF sensor, that platinum needle, etc can be cleaned to good advantage, the other is worn axles.

 

Hello Emry,
I don't question your statement, if you're happy buying your parts at WalMart clap your hands. I'm just trying to shine a little light on questionable assumptions. I changed out my ATF at 125,000 miles. I paid less than a $100 for 6 liters of oem fluid, even if I change it every 3/4 years that amounts to less than $35 a year, about the cost of a tank of gas. It appears to me the risk/benefit ratio is too low to consider alternatives based on price. Buy a filter kit, buy the recommended fluid, forget about it. That my advice.

 

Sure, I see your point about the spread cost over the years which sounds reasonable. The only point I am trying to make is if there is a fundamental difference between VW ATF fluid and Valvoline MaxLife.

 

Valvoline Maxlife used to or still does carry the Esso L71141 or VW LT52162 certification/equivalent, which means it can be used in place of the stock stuff. Would it stand up to warranty scrutiny, who knows. MANY members here have used it with no ill affects as long as the trans was in good shape to begin with.
http://content.valvoline.com/pdf/maxlife_atf.pdf

VW fluid isn't the end all be all. Pentosin, Febi, Maxxus, etc all make an equivalent oil.


According to Ravenol, they make it for 5hp transmissions like ours ATF Fluid - Ravenol 5/4 HP Fluid - BMW ATF 8322 9407765 - BMW ATF 8322 9407807 - Mercedes ATF A 0019892203 - Porsche ATF 999.917.547.00 - Audi Vw G 052162 A1 - Audi Vw G 052162 A2 - Audi Vw G 052162 A6 - Audi Vw VW TL 52 162