kelisko

I don't think this is an awful design. The transmission on this car was not designed to be serviced. What you guys are doing is introducing debris, humidity and contaminants into a sealed system. My 2005 Audi A6 still shifts fine. The transmission was never serviced. There are times that it shifts erratically and it's always after I drove the car like an idiot. A few civilized driving miles later, shifting comes back to normal. This thing tries to adapt to your driving style and does not do it so well, that's all.

If I recall well, the only thing to check on the transmission is leaks which would explain a flush and a pan and gasket replacement in the "appropriate conditions", clean air, perfect level of humidity etc. I'm sure the dealers have the appropriate tools and the appropriate procedure.

Just my humble opinion.

turbo97se

You're entitled to your opinion as much as we are entitled to ours. The fact that it is non-serviceable makes it a bad design in my humble opinion. Just because Audi designed it that way does not make it right. There is no such thing as lifetime fluid. If there was such a thing as lifetime engine oil I would also question that and want to change it just as several people have done here for the transmission fluid.

I would still say It is a poor design even from the standpoint of manufacturability. Why make it necessary to have the engine running before you can fill it? Should just be able to fill it to the correct level and be done. Again my humble opinion.

twopedalwarrior

Lifetime Fluid is a snake oil philosophy. Any viscous oil breaks down in time and will not lubricate nor effectively cool components.

Changing the fluid is fine. The only time where changing the fluid causes the issue is because the tranny or TC was about to go south.

You can wipe your *** with your hand, but tissue paper does a better job.

kelisko

I believe by lifetime, they mean the lifetime of the transmission. It's going to fail at some point anyways, whether you flush the fluid or not. When it's time to change your automatic transmission like you change a worn out clutch on a manual you'll have to change it. It all depends on how often you trigger it to shift and in what conditions.

By the way the C7 transmission is also said to be maintenance-free. I don't know what kind of oil Audi put in there but they seem to be pretty sure this works. They usually test the hell out of their stuff to an extreme obsessive extent so I'd take their word for it.

But then again, changing the oil is not a bad thing. If you think you have to, it's up to you. But it's not necessary unless you have a leaking transmission. And keep in mind that there are high chances you will be worsening the health of it by doing so.

4Driver4

Just like your engine. It's going to fail at some point, whether you change the oil or not. And just like your engine, changing the oil will extend the "lifetime"

What about the manufacturer's "opinion"? Does that mean anything?

Audi didn't design these boxes and doesn't build them.

twopedalwarrior

ZF Makes the transmissions, Same tranny use in the Porsche with the 3.2 Both Porsche and ZF recommend ATF fluid changes. Do research and win.

https://www.zf.com/corporate/en_de/a...vorgang_1.html

ingelstrada

My C6 has 200k miles on the original fill. It's probably too late for a transmission fluid change at this point.

Sverige

ZF have a pretty good trade show demo on whether transmission oil is really “lifetime fluid” or not.

das60

I spoke to ZF Customer Service people on the phone. They are pretty firm in stating that 60,000 miles is the change interval for this transmission and that it needs periodic changes. When I asked about Audi's representation that it is a lifetime fluid they could only guess that in Audi's mind "lifetime" was defined by a 3-year lease on a new car.....

Klaus Von Richter

ZF is pretty clear in all their manuals that ZF transmission get serviced every 60k miles. As for Audi they do not make the transmission or the fluid, so who knows what they are basing “lifetime” on. In the mechanical world there is no such thing as a “lifetime” fluid.

At 100k miles my ZF fluid was really black and way past it’s life.