Audi A6 Tiptronic Box 110k miles - Change fluid or not?
Poll: Audi A6 Tiptronic Box 110k miles - Change fluid or not?
Total Members Polled: 28
Discussion
My A6 (3.0tdi quattro 2007) has now done 110k miles mostly Mway and rural roads. The tiptronic box is working fine just the same way it did when the car was new. But some say change the oil, Audi say its sealed for life and others say changing will cause problems.
What do people think? Who has changed theirs? Did problems occur? Who hasn't changed t5heirs? Any problems?
Cheers
What do people think? Who has changed theirs? Did problems occur? Who hasn't changed t5heirs? Any problems?
Cheers
My personal car and a keeper? Change it. I'm a believer in preventative maintenance. Whilst they are sealed 'for life', there's no harm in extending that life.
Or more specifically, drop a splash of oil and check it isn't full of swarf (very unlikely) first.
Audi/work - they're sealed for life and do not require servicing.
Or more specifically, drop a splash of oil and check it isn't full of swarf (very unlikely) first.
Audi/work - they're sealed for life and do not require servicing.
Sealed for life, as a manufacturing engineer, is the daftest statement you will ever hear from a car service department.
If it goes bang at 110k miles, then that was the 'life' of the component. If it goes on to 150k that's the 'life' of the component.
ZF state that where boxes are actually used and placed under load they recommend changing the fluid and filter - can't recall at what intervals.
On a fairly recent model like yours where you know it's mainly been motorway miles at steady speed so not putting undue stress on the box I would take a punt on an oil and filter change by a reputable ZF specialist - ideally one with the proper kit to drain all the oil out including the torque converter. If not about a litre will remain in there unchanged. My S8 had it done by just dropping the sump off the box and changing the filter and it took about 8 or 9 litres to refill
If it goes bang at 110k miles, then that was the 'life' of the component. If it goes on to 150k that's the 'life' of the component.
ZF state that where boxes are actually used and placed under load they recommend changing the fluid and filter - can't recall at what intervals.
On a fairly recent model like yours where you know it's mainly been motorway miles at steady speed so not putting undue stress on the box I would take a punt on an oil and filter change by a reputable ZF specialist - ideally one with the proper kit to drain all the oil out including the torque converter. If not about a litre will remain in there unchanged. My S8 had it done by just dropping the sump off the box and changing the filter and it took about 8 or 9 litres to refill
Dr G said:
My personal car and a keeper? Change it. I'm a believer in preventative maintenance. Whilst they are sealed 'for life', there's no harm in extending that life.
Very much this. The challenge is finding someone who knows how to do it properly.It's also not a cheap job, as the correct oil is made from the tears of baby dolphins.
The "sealed for life" phrase is bobbins - it's a ruse used to keep servicing costs down for all those PCP lease deals. The same ZF gearbox used in other brands has fluid changes specified.
If you plan to keep it long term then do it.
ZF state the following and sell a proper change kit.
Regular maintenance intervals will substantially increase the automatic transmission's service life and, precisely for that reason ZF recommends regular oil changes every 80 000 to 120 000 km or after 8 years - depending on the usage.
http://www.zf.com/brands/content/en/zf_parts/produ...
Manufactures are not telling the whole truth!
ZF state the following and sell a proper change kit.
Regular maintenance intervals will substantially increase the automatic transmission's service life and, precisely for that reason ZF recommends regular oil changes every 80 000 to 120 000 km or after 8 years - depending on the usage.
http://www.zf.com/brands/content/en/zf_parts/produ...
Manufactures are not telling the whole truth!
Just had a quote from a specialist indy of £186 inc VAT.
Interestingly he was telling me that he currently has an A8 in his workshop from Audi. The gearbox has failed and the reason Audi gave to the customer is - "It wasn't serviced"
There is nothing in the Audi service schedule to suggest that it should be serviced
Interestingly he was telling me that he currently has an A8 in his workshop from Audi. The gearbox has failed and the reason Audi gave to the customer is - "It wasn't serviced"
There is nothing in the Audi service schedule to suggest that it should be serviced
blueg33 said:
Just had a quote from a specialist indy of £186 inc VAT.
Interestingly he was telling me that he currently has an A8 in his workshop from Audi. The gearbox has failed and the reason Audi gave to the customer is - "It wasn't serviced"
There is nothing in the Audi service schedule to suggest that it should be serviced
That's laughable from Audi.Interestingly he was telling me that he currently has an A8 in his workshop from Audi. The gearbox has failed and the reason Audi gave to the customer is - "It wasn't serviced"
There is nothing in the Audi service schedule to suggest that it should be serviced
I thought the oil alone was around that price.
Maracus said:
That's laughable from Audi.
I thought the oil alone was around that price.
I thought the same about the oil price. All this indy does is auto boxes, perhaps he buys a lot of oil. He was able to give the ZF model numbers for the A6 tiptronic boxes fitted during the build period of my car. He sounds like he knows what he is doing.I thought the oil alone was around that price.
Ask for the spec of ZF oil he'll be using, then ring ZF UK and double check it's the correct type. There are 2 colours of ZF oil depending on whether you're suffering from jerky gear changes. There's an Audi TSB that recommends swapping to a blue oil BUT the gearbox software must be changed otherwise it shags the box!
If it's not jerky then stick to the original oil type. I expect a ZF dealer to be buying it in massive drums and the economies of scale compared to 1 litre bottles from Audi is substantial. If they've got the pump to extract the oil then it's like an air-con service and involves little physical interaction until they're setting the level correctly.
Make sure they change the filter too - that involves dropping the gearbox sump so may require part of the exhaust to be shifted for access
If it's not jerky then stick to the original oil type. I expect a ZF dealer to be buying it in massive drums and the economies of scale compared to 1 litre bottles from Audi is substantial. If they've got the pump to extract the oil then it's like an air-con service and involves little physical interaction until they're setting the level correctly.
Make sure they change the filter too - that involves dropping the gearbox sump so may require part of the exhaust to be shifted for access
blueg33 said:
Maracus said:
That's laughable from Audi.
I thought the oil alone was around that price.
I thought the same about the oil price. All this indy does is auto boxes, perhaps he buys a lot of oil. He was able to give the ZF model numbers for the A6 tiptronic boxes fitted during the build period of my car. He sounds like he knows what he is doing.I thought the oil alone was around that price.
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