Long term reliability of HTRAC AWD transfer case due to inability to change the transfer case fluid?

[Acpantera]

Don't get me started on BMW nonsense, I bought Brand new 2007 R1200R BMW motorcycle.
The rear drive unit was a "no maintenance" Item. After the rear drives were puking all over the place, BMW issued a recall and a revision to the owners manual to include lube changes on the "non serviceable" rear drive. So instead of having a drain and fill plug, you had to disconnect the drive and tilt it 90deg to drain the oil out of a random bolt hole and then fill with exactly XXXcc's of very expensive miracle oil through the speed sensor hole..... what a cluster f**k.........nearly anything that is "maintenance free" will fail prematurely due to the lack of maintenance.

 

[ThoughtfulOne]

I'll be at the dealer this Friday for maintenance and will ask about the transfer case. I had a look at the Hyundai maintenance manual and here is what it said:

Inspection
Prohibition on checking, refilling and replacing the transfer case oil
- Do not check, refill and replace the transfer case oil because the oil for the transfer case only (ultra-low viscosity of ATF SHELL TF
0870) is filled when coming out of the factory.
- Do not check and replace the oil.
- No drain plug
- In case that the transfer case (AWD) oil-related failure code (DTC) appears, replace the transfer oil case assembly.

So guess the previous comments are right and oil can't be changed even though the maintenance schedule listing mentions the procedure.

I looked further in the manual and a few paragraphs later they detail how to remove the oil and show a drain and fill plug, Anyway I'll see my dealer on Friday and have also attached the transfer case part of the maintenance manual here also.

It looks like the maintenance manual you have says the same thing that the Reddit post says I'm afraid - it is not looking good at all.

It was the E90. The newer BMWs also have a transfer case with no drain or fill plug, same as the G70 I guess. Lots of Bimmer forum people complaining about this as well. Crazy.

That would make sense, if they share the same Magna ActiMax AWD transfer case system.

Magna makes the BMW's X-Drive systems too.

 

[jimbrown618]

Anyway I will confirm with the service manager here at Oreagan's Hyundai Dartmouth NS this Friday. Will post later here that day;

 

[EdP]

Anyway I will confirm with the service manager here at Oreagan's Hyundai Dartmouth NS this Friday. Will post later here that day;

Would be interesting to see what they say and where they get the information.

The real question, of course, can it really be a lifetime lubrication? Only sure way to answer is to see the failure rate and reason for failure.

What would cause contamination? In a true sealed system there won't be outside moisture or dirt.
Is any lubrication truly lifetime? Look at some common things you have. When is the last time you did an oil change on your refrigerator. We never even think about it but all air conditioners and refrigerators have a high quality oil and they can go often for decades never changed.

After seeing how difficult it can be to access this, I also have to wonder if a fluid change could end up doing more harm than just not touching it.

 

[Acpantera]

Would be interesting to see what they say and where they get the information.

The real question, of course, can it really be a lifetime lubrication? Only sure way to answer is to see the failure rate and reason for failure.

What would cause contamination? In a true sealed system there won't be outside moisture or dirt.
Is any lubrication truly lifetime? Look at some common things you have. When is the last time you did an oil change on your refrigerator. We never even think about it but all air conditioners and refrigerators have a high quality oil and they can go often for decades never changed.

After seeing how difficult it can be to access this, I also have to wonder if a fluid change could end up doing more harm than just not touching it.

I truly believe that when a manufacturer claims "life time", it is intended for the life of the part or fluid will last the span of time that the first owner takes possession and then transfer possession to someone else.
All lubricants in any component that contains meshing gears will experience "viscosity shear", and it's ability to protect metal to metal wear from friction decreases with use......It's a ticking time time......engineered to fail.

 

[NLJ]

As much as I would like to jump on the bandwagon and say this is a stupid decision by Genesis and BMW, I don't think that we know with full certainty what's special about this transfer case and why it doesn't need a fluid change!
Magna wouldn't be that stupid to tarnish their own reputation if they in fact knowingly designed something that would fail without a fluid change!

 

[jimbrown618]

Spoke to a service manager at Hyundai dealer here in Halifax on subject. He said my Genesis AWD system is not part of the maintenance routine as far as changing the transfer case assembly fluids. All they check for is any leaks and for any abnormal movement and/or damage, including all bushings and boots. He also mentioned that the engine transmission is also lifetime unless driven under severe conditions. My current mileage is about 85000 kilometers.

 

[EdP]

As much as I would like to jump on the bandwagon and say this is a stupid decision by Genesis and BMW, I don't think that we know with full certainty what's special about this transfer case and why it doesn't need a fluid change!
Magna wouldn't be that stupid to tarnish their own reputation if they in fact knowingly designed something that would fail without a fluid change!

Exactly. I imagine they did some lab testing and real life testing and did oil analysis after. When is the last time you changed the oil in your refrigerator compressor? Unlike your engine, some things do not see the contamination you get in an ICE.

 

[Truck Norris]

He also mentioned that the engine transmission is also lifetime unless driven under severe conditions.

Fellow Nova Scotian here, can you elaborate on this? I'm aware only of a 5yr/100,000km warranty in Canada (G70 owner).

 

[Truck Norris]

Also I thought only Steel Hyundai is the Genesis "dealer/owner" here.
Meaning the Oregans Hyundai dealer can't even service warranty items on Genesis vehicles as they have nothing to do with Genesis.

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[Truck Norris]

Just confirmed this. Zero warranty work can be done at Oregans Hyundai Dartmouth for Genesis brand vehicles, only Hyundai branded Genesis models.

 

[jimbrown618]

Just confirmed this. Zero warranty work can be done at Oregans Hyundai Dartmouth for Genesis brand vehicles, only Hyundai branded Genesis models.

Yes....mine is a 2015 5.0 ultimate model so I'm taken care of by O'Regans....they have taken care of me good so far;

 

[bigpapainscotia]

JUST WANTED TO NO IF YOU STILL HAVE THIS CAR IF SO I;M ALSO IN HALIFAX WOLD LOVE TO TALK TO YOU

 

[jimbrown618]

JUST WANTED TO NO IF YOU STILL HAVE THIS CAR IF SO I;M ALSO IN HALIFAX WOLD LOVE TO TALK TO YOU

Hi,

Yes, still have my 2015 5.0; will be a year in March and it's been a great car; pm anytime

Cheers,

Jim

 

[bigpapainscotia]

Would like to meet up for a coffee and talk about the car. if you have some time in the evenings . You can pick the spot in Halifax or Dartmouth.

 

[jimbrown618]

Will get back to you in the next week or two; sounds like a plan

 

[Hugh185]

Hello everyone,

I could find a G80 2015 V6 Htrac 31K miles. I now freak out a little bit about this Htrac transfer thing. Do you think we could find some stats about the Magna ActiMax AWD used in the BMW to have an idea of the reliability of that part ?

 

[3.3 Rulz]

Lifetime means life of warranty, 10 years in this case, after that, no one cares if your car blows up.

 

[Hugh185]

Lifetime means life of warranty, 10 years in this case, after that, no one cares if your car blows up.

actually I would be slightly more interested by a statistical analysis.... which I can't find.

One thing is that magna has supplied apparently 5 millions unit of their transfer case Type Actimax to BMW

Magna celebrates five million transfer cases for BMW Group

 

[EdP]

actually I would be slightly more interested by a statistical analysis.... which I can't find.

One thing is that magna has supplied apparently 5 millions unit of their transfer case Type Actimax to BMW

Magna celebrates five million transfer cases for BMW Group

If prone to early breakdown I doubt they would be celebrating 5 million of them.