Confused. Bentley manual calls for "Change CVT (automatic transmission) fluid" in Inspection I service. I've seen several threads here about what it takes and reviewed procedure in manual. I decided to let dealer do it. Called Mini dealer service (MINI of Orland Park, IL). They tell me the CVT fluid is lifetime!?
Car is '04 MC which I purchased February of 2010 at 48,380 miles. Now has 79,869. I've never changed the CVT fluid and am guessing previous owner didn't either.

 

Update. Spoke to the Service Manager at MINI of Orland Park, IL. His Service Tech advises against the change due the mileage unless there's some problem. He advises that changing the fluid could introduce problems. He was sincere and said he would do it if I wanted, just wanted me to be aware of their concerns. Cost is about $400. Advised that the fluid itself costs about $200. Thoughts?

 

It should be changed, it was probably changed with service 1, ZF the manufacturer says it should be changed every 28,000 miles -- there have been a lot of CVT failures and I think that not changing the fluid was probably a factor in the failures.

 

Many dealers have wiped their hands of the CVT after the whole class action settling, but many other car manufacturers state that trans fluid is "lifetime".

The manufacturer of the trans does recommend changes every 28K as stated above, but there is a special bleed procedure to get the fluid level right that requires a scan tool that will read trans temperature, as well as a special fluid pump to get fluid into the trans.

I have seen cars over 150K miles that haven't had the fluid serviced and I have seen cars under 100K that we've serviced, it isn't built like a traditional transmission so not every wives tale follows along to it.

Every car we have done a fluid change in the car has shifted, and driven far superior to how it did rolling into the shop. We have used 2 different options of CVT fluid from the factory MINI recommended fluid to Redline CVT Fluid, and the Redline seemed to make the greatest impact on transmission performance.

We have a nice package deal that includes fluid, filter, and gasket. If you have a competent shop that can read trans temp on your car that also has a positive displacement fluid pump it should be a quick job.

CVT Fluid & Filter Change Package

 

Nowadays, there are more than a few major automobile manufacturers stating that they have developed transmissions that require no fluid changes. The fluid inside is considered to be "lifetime" oil, meaning that it never needs to be changed. Over the years, it seems that this may have been an overly ambitious claim. We have transmission filters and kits HERE. Red Line is a popular oil to use for lubrication. They have a great application guide HERE, which suggestions Red Line Non-Slip CVT Automatic Transmission Fluid and we supply their fluid HERE. There are some good links in this NAM thread HERE if you plan to DIY. If you have any questions let me know.

 

Change it....
Even MINI changed mid-gen1 from calling it "lifetime" to suggesting changing it...think this...$400 fluid change or a $4000 tranny.

 

Thanks. What do you think about the "easy" method that says: drain from pan plug, replace plug, remove battery box, remove top service plug, add exact same amount removed (which should be 4.5 quarts), replace top service plug, run trans through gears 10 times?

 

That is the easiest way of doing the fluid change, but who's to say that the fluid level you took out was right?

We have had multiple cars that were underfilled either from the factory or from previous work, so I wouldn't risk being underfilled on a trans that already is a notorious point of failure.

 

My '96 Volvo 850 had a transmission that had "lifetime" fluid in it. The life of the transmission was 82K miles. If it were a true lifetime fluid then it should have a lifetime warranty.

I don't have the CVT transmission but I would have it changed.