ATF replacement - 87K miles 3.0 BiTdi

[john2107]

My BiTdi is due a service (which will be done once again by the excellent VW Auditec in Chelmsford). There are apparently 2 schools of thought as to whether to change the ATF, even from Audi themselves. Naturally one says - leave well alone, as it is a "Sealed for Life" ZF box. The other says a preventative change will do absolutely no harm, is a good thing and good preventative maintenance. My cynical view is that a dealer's view of Sealed for Life, means when the gearbox goes wrong then just replace with another.

The car is a keeper; other than a set of rear pads and the tailgate struts replaced under warranty - and of course with regular servicing - it has been an exemplary car up to 87k. I have no desire to change it in the near future. Still a superb drive, rapid when required and pretty economical.

I would be interested in comments based on experience with the ZF box as to whether changing the ATF is worthwhile. Though it is not cheap, it is an order of magnitude cheaper than a replacement box.

Any thoughts please.....
Thanks.

[Gazwould]

No brainer , Life really means , 10 years / 100K , change now .

[morski]

Sealed for life... yeah right!! From ZF's own mouth: 'ZF automatic transmissions are filled with specially developed semi-synthetic oils.At very high operating temperatures, the oil ages faster than under normal conditions.Examples:
 Many trips at high speeds
 Many trips while towing a trailer
 Sporty drivingDepending on the driving style, ZF recommends a transmission oil change every 80,000 to120,000 km or after eight years at the latest

[ukgroucho]

Get the gearbox oil changed!

The ZF 6 speed in my old 3.0 Tdi quattro C6 was supposedly "lifetime oil fill" but it started giving some clunky changes north of 80K miles - check the C6 forum and you'll see various discussion. I paid for the local audi dealer to change the oil (not cheap as you note) and it sorted the issue. OK the ZF 8 is next generation and certainly a sweeter gear change than the ZF 6 but I suspect that much of that is down to electronics and some clever design, I doubt it changes the wear and tear or the fact that oil "ages".

To be fair "sealed for life" is probably true... when the gearbox throws a cog at 100K miles with the original oil then it was truly "sealed for life".

[john2107]

Thanks for the comments...all unanimous. Decision made, it will be done....
Cheers.

[A6S]

In my opinion nothing will last forever so as a car enthusiast I would change it religiously.
The other side of it would be is it could show up problems with box. Sometime the sludge dirty old oil could be helping/hiding existing problems and when you service it and flush it all out the new cleaner/thinner oil could show up symptoms that's wasn't noticeable before. If that was the case though you are just delaying the inevitable by not changing it.
Kind of like using engine flush, the carbon deposits have worn things like pistons/rings etc together so when you clean it all away there are existing gaps that can cause excessive oil usage.

[Vrs_MAJ]

Hi guys, A6 3.0 biTDi owner here. All the Audi dealer's I have phoned say sealed for life Also. Whereas the owners hand book says it needs to be changed at 51k. Mine has done 54k and still trying to find someone to change the ATF. I'm having gearbox vibration issues and clunky gear changes now.

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[niedzial1983]

I have 2006 3.0 tdi quattro tiptronic with 122k on the clock . Should i change mine ? I have read that oil change can create issues sometimes

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[ukgroucho]

I have 2006 3.0 tdi quattro tiptronic with 122k on the clock . Should i change mine ? I have read that oil change can create issues sometimes

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Yes change it.. see my comments earlier in the post regarding my 2005 3.0 Tdi quattro.

[john2107]

I did get mine changed in the end...at 88k. Didn't notice any change in performance but there were no issues anyway...must peace of mind. As everyone else has said, just do it...