I am thinking that this could be due to the fact that the "lifetime" fluid has never been changed. Some other facts you all might find useful: the car has about 72k miles, and at the last BMW inspection done a month or so ago, the tranmission mounts were changed. All else came up fine. Further, the car has two new catalytic converters, in case some might think it is an exhaust leak.

When I asked my dealer and my local trusted independent about the transmission noise being from the fluid perhaps, they both reiterated the "maintenace free" nature of the transmission. On the advice of three BMWCCA tech reps (whose advice was completely opposite from my dealer and my trusted independent), I have an appointment to have the fluid changed this week. Through the Delaware Valley Chapter, I got the name of a local BMW shop that knows how to change the fluid on this transmission, which is a little on the complicated side I am told. Am I wasting my money thinking that a fluid change will alleviate this noise on my otherwise fine transmission? Or could this perhaps be a sign of bigger problems down the road? If so, I would think the old fluid would tell much about the internal condition of the transmission. Thanks all in advance--any advice appreciated.