Transmission Fluid - To change or Not
 

My 2005 has 125K miles. From the service history I do not think the tranny fluid (automatic, tip tronic) has been replaced. I get CRISP shifts 1st to 2nd and to 3rd sometimes when car is cold.

After warm up they are less, and it also differs upon how hard i accelerate from a stop.

I have heard that replacing fluids on a high mileage tranny is a risky move. I am not sure if these CRISP shifts are usual or the sign of a fluid/filter replace is necessary.

Thanks

I have 240k miles on my 2008 and will not touch the trans fluid unless I absolutely have too. I, like you, have read several posts about people changing the fluid only to have the trans be worse off than before. Unless the shifts starting slipping or get sluggish I don't think it is worth it.

Ive read too many technical service bulletins that say change it and put a new filter.

I changed it without any problem four years ago at 114,000. Audi does not recommend this service. However, ZF, the transmission manufacturer recommended every 50,000 to 75,000 miles or 96 months. Audi has no incentive to recommend the service because the transmission will last beyond their warranty. At the recommendation of others on this or another Audi forum, I purchased the fluid (expensive), filter, O-ring, gasket, and drain plug through The California Transmission Supply Company. I just checked their prices again since it is time to consider changing the fluid and was happy to see they are unchanged from four years ago. You just need to count how many bolts your pan has to know which kit to get. My process...

Drove vehicle up onto a 4X6 block stacked on a 2X6 block at each wheel. This raised the vehicle 5 inches to allow adequate clearance for my chest. Ensured transmission was level with a magnetic level attached to the pan underneath. Loosened 17mm Allen bottom fill plug to ensure that I could prior to removing ATF. Removed 5mm plug bolt and drained approximately 4.5 liters of old ATF. See picture of ATF condition. It was still translucent and green in color yet noticeably appeared dirty compared to new ATF. Removed transmission pan. The magnets had fine particle black/grey sludge. See picture of paper towel used to clean one of the magnets. Removed old gasket. Wiped the inside and lip of the pan with clean paper. See picture of clean pan. Removed old transmission filter and installed new one. Cleaned and replaced four magnets. Applied new gasket. Bolted pan back onto bottom of transmission. Tightened Tork 25 pan bolts finger tight in an alternating pattern, tightening every forth bolt in a counter-clockwise fashion until all were tight. Ensured gasket was properly in place. Then torqued the bolts to 10 NM in the same alternating pattern. Tightened 5mm drain bolt. Removed 17mm Allen fill plug and hand-pumped in new ZF-Lifeguard 8 until it started to run out of fill hole. Installed the 17mm fill plug and started the motor. Cycled the transmission from park through reverse and neutral to drive and back stopping in each gear for about 15 seconds prior to returning to park. Then removed the fill plug and added ATF until running out again. Installed the fill plug and cycled through the transmission gears again. Repeated a few times until VAG-COM indicated that the ATF temperature was 40 degrees Celsius and ATF was dripping (not pouring) out steadily. Installed a new O-ring on the 17mm Allen fill plug and installed the plug hand tight. Turned off the engine and then tightened the 17mm Allen fill plug to 80NM. The transmission took 4.7 liters of ATF to fill, though some was lost from dripping out during the filling process.