Antonio

I've been trying to decide between manual and automatic transmissions for a post-08 V6. The car will be used for daily commuting and also occasionally towing a 4200 lbs track car/trailer. I'm looking to replace a BMW X5 with manual transmission. BMW automatics have a reputation as disposable items. That's why I went with a manual tranny and that has served me well. But now is time to move on. What's the expected life of an auto tranny in a Cayenne? Especially one that is used for towing? TIA

mudman2

some 955 trannies out there with over 250K, same tranny, just about, on post 08

Antonio

Wow! Many BMW auto trannies don't make it out of the factory warranty.

mudman2

Japanese trannies are good

ArneeA

Agreed. ZF trannies are... questionable?

vitaman

Lexus has had its share of disasters. The AWD RX's of a decade ago were surprisingly bad.

mudman2

this one is mostly land cruiser

hahnmgh63

For sure. I have a 500bhp Audi RS6 and the ZF trannies are known to be junk. I only wish that a sport version of the Cayenne's tranny could be installed in my RS6. The packaging wouldn't work though with the Cayenne's transfer case whereas the Audi ZF has a center differential bolted to the back. We all know some of the Aisin trannies had some shifting problems but the trannies themselves have been good. The T.C. seal failures we all know haven't been a tranny problem but a Coolant pipe problem dripping fluid on the T.C. and the input seals. The Aisin tranny in the Cayenne is much better than the ZF's in the X5's although I have heard the newer 6HP ZF's in the newer X5 is much better than the older X5's 5HP24 trannies. Maybe ZF learned from their mistakes or the manufacturers have learned from using a tranny without the Torque capabilities needed.

ArneeA

My current 05 4.8is X5 has the 6HP26 and so did our 06 750i. Junk indeed.
I'm glad my E46 has the [cheaper] 5sp GM tranny.

Slow Guy

Antonio, I don't know why but I like your avatar.

Budget M3

While that may be true, my 4.6is went 199k, including towing an enclosed trailer with a car in it (~5000lbs), up and down the mountains of NM and CO before the transmission had issues All that with absolutely ZERO service to the transmission--ever. While it is certainly not a "lifetime" transmission as BMW claims, I think it did pretty well all things considered.

BTW, the Aisin transmissions aren't necessarily any better for longevity than ZF. I had to have the valve body replaced in my 06 Cayenne V6 when it had only 24k on the clock...

Tiptronic Missed a Shift--Calling Porsche Roadside Assistance