I personally would not mess around with transmission leak. Whatever parts and labor cost to replace it I’m sure is a heck of a lot less than a new transmission.
No one can tell you a magic number of miles since theres no idea how long its been leaking for. Its a extremely serious leak, like your forehead gushing blood out serious, when will you die, no idea.
How long can you drive on it? As others said, fixing the leak is a lot cheaper than replacing the transmission. You won't know how the trans is doing, until it starts acting up when it's critically low - at that point, it's likely damaged.
When you have it fixed, you should also have the shop replace the sealing sleeve for the electrical connector. They also tend to leak, and replacing that required removing the trans pan.
My only real concern with this estimate is the transmission fluid. There isn't a single fluid that BMWs take that should cost $500 for two 5L containers. I really hope that was a typo on their part.
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw-ga6hp26z-mechatronic-service-kit-24117571227kt5
This kit would contain what is needed for this job.
Ah yes FCPEuro, got my transmission fluid change kit from them as well. But the fluid on these German cars are hard to change. Not a simple drain and fill, you hag with pump it into the car while it’s at temp around 110F and I just got mine done from dealer as well.
With the shield still on, it's difficult to say for certain WHERE it is leaking from, but highest probability is the transmission oil pan gasket, and a drain and refill isn't going to fix that. Needs at least a gasket replacement. Given the age of the vehicle, it probably has some decent mileage on it, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to change the filter while the pan is off. Oh, and that pan is plastic, like most ZF transmissions. If it's never been off before, I'd recommend replacing it, because chances are it'll be slightly warped and won't seal when it goes back on. Then there's the fill plug!! BMW LOVES putting fill holes in the absolute most ungodly places. Probably have to take down the exhaust system to get to the damn thing. AND, last but not least, most BMWs require you to connect a scan tool and run a test plan while filling the transmission to ensure that you get it full under the correct conditions and within the correct temperature range.
This ain't no Honda, my friend. BMWs are advanced bullshittery!!
Engine noise could just be the injectors. N54 motors made a lot of ticking noise due to the direct injection. People thought my lifters were going out and my engine was going to blow up.
I personally would not mess around with transmission leak. Whatever parts and labor cost to replace it I’m sure is a heck of a lot less than a new transmission.
No one can tell you a magic number of miles since theres no idea how long its been leaking for. Its a extremely serious leak, like your forehead gushing blood out serious, when will you die, no idea.
Just check the fluid and keep adding to it
How long can you drive on it? As others said, fixing the leak is a lot cheaper than replacing the transmission. You won't know how the trans is doing, until it starts acting up when it's critically low - at that point, it's likely damaged. When you have it fixed, you should also have the shop replace the sealing sleeve for the electrical connector. They also tend to leak, and replacing that required removing the trans pan.
My only real concern with this estimate is the transmission fluid. There isn't a single fluid that BMWs take that should cost $500 for two 5L containers. I really hope that was a typo on their part. https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw-ga6hp26z-mechatronic-service-kit-24117571227kt5 This kit would contain what is needed for this job.
Ah yes FCPEuro, got my transmission fluid change kit from them as well. But the fluid on these German cars are hard to change. Not a simple drain and fill, you hag with pump it into the car while it’s at temp around 110F and I just got mine done from dealer as well.
Their prices are rather high. You basically just need a transmission drain and refill service. $1350. Mmmkay.
With the shield still on, it's difficult to say for certain WHERE it is leaking from, but highest probability is the transmission oil pan gasket, and a drain and refill isn't going to fix that. Needs at least a gasket replacement. Given the age of the vehicle, it probably has some decent mileage on it, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to change the filter while the pan is off. Oh, and that pan is plastic, like most ZF transmissions. If it's never been off before, I'd recommend replacing it, because chances are it'll be slightly warped and won't seal when it goes back on. Then there's the fill plug!! BMW LOVES putting fill holes in the absolute most ungodly places. Probably have to take down the exhaust system to get to the damn thing. AND, last but not least, most BMWs require you to connect a scan tool and run a test plan while filling the transmission to ensure that you get it full under the correct conditions and within the correct temperature range. This ain't no Honda, my friend. BMWs are advanced bullshittery!!
Engine noise could just be the injectors. N54 motors made a lot of ticking noise due to the direct injection. People thought my lifters were going out and my engine was going to blow up.
$500 for the 5 litre of transmission fluid? That's huge rip off.
$500 for two 5L jugs, so 10L or 10.5 qts, but yeah. I hope that's a typo.