Discuss E46 automatic transmissions

I've heard and read some bad things about E46 automatic transmissions. As in, avoid them at all costs. Is it as bad as all that?

My 99 with the GM auto took a E36 M3 at 226K miles. I don't think that is bad at all.

I've replaced/diagnosed more of the later ZF transmissions than the GMs. Change the fluid at (at least) 100K intervals, preferably 60K and they should last just fine. BMW claims "Lifetime" fluid, but if you check ZF's recommendations they say every 100K km.

Maybe I had it backwards and it was the later ones that were crap. Sorry! I've edited my post.

I've specialized in German cars for the last 20 years, so I can't accurately compare the trans failure rate with other manufacturers. That being said, I really don't see that many failed autos on BMWs. I think they get a bad rep because they are a lot more expensive to replace than their domestic/foreign counterparts.

At $4-$6K for a good reman trans they certainly can't compare to a 700r4 in affordability.

The ZF autos had a class action lawsuit involved over the reverse drum failure, I know that much. Otherwise, my impression is basically that the "lifetime fluid" is the cause of most issues.

Friend of the family owns a transmission shop. Only thing that he's seen go on these is the torque converter's like to leak when they get up there in miles.

I wonder if guibo failures are turned by transmission shops into tranmission failures...

now rumor has it that the new bmw's dont fail often but when they do $$$$$$$$. (last or current gen x5 is a non repairable item. Only can buy a new/reman unit from ZF no parts.)

The ZF in our E46 crapped the reverse drum at around 160k miles. I DIY'd the job for about $250-300 in parts and oil and put 15k miles on the car after that without any issues (from the trans...). It made for a very, very long couple or week nights, but if a guy had a lift and a nice Trans jack it wouldn't be too bad of a task.

I was going to just put a junkyard Trans in it, but not a single yard in Portland had a ZF Trans on hand. Multiple places told me they're usually the first part to get sold off of incoming cars.

Thanks for the replies. I don't want an automatic, but I'm trolling the bottom of the list in case I can find one for $500. I just want to have all of the info.