ATF Drained and refilled today. Lifetime fluid?

[kornholio]

Hi Ceric

I had it flushed twice already. The first dealership listed it as 8 quarts which would have been fine if they really did put 8 qts in the machine. I was watching through the window and the tech only put in 2 quarts in the machine. I then checked the fluid through the dipstick and it was a dirty red. When i questioned the tech he lied to me in my face saying that he flushed it twice at 8 quarts each totaling 16. On my next visit to this dealership they had covered all the windows with cardboard. That was my last visit to that dealership. The second dealership to which i am going to now is more honest. I watch them do it and when i checked the fluid before leaving it was really red, they used almost 8qts in the machine. They used bottled fluid from mazda. The tech showed me the flush kit and the fluid bottles. I am asking about the drain and fill because once my extended warranty is up i will do this stuff myself. Ceric from my experience going to dealers as well as indy shops is when they let you watch they have nothing to hide. When they make up excuses saying you can't that is when you have to watch out.

 

[kornholio]

Oh my apologies to the person that provided me with the torque specs as well as the amount of fluid he used. Thank you for the valuable information. Really appreciate it. Have a good day.

 

[Veilside1]

Veilside i have 2 more questions, how much fluid did you have to add with the drain and fill and what do i torque the drain plug to when i am tightening it. Thanks again and have a good day.

As with all drain plugs, this one was tightened by robocop at the factory as it required significant force with a breaker bar to break it free. I've never been one to torque drain plugs on engines or transmissions, seems like overkill to me. I just used the old "good n' tight" measurement. If i was to guess i would say it was tightened at about 50ft/lbs at the factory, and my good n' tight measurement was probably 25-30ft/lbs, but these are my seat of the pants measurements.

I added back just short of 3.5qts of fluid and it got me to the correct level. You may have to add a bit more or less depending on how long it drained for. My suggestion is to dump the used fluid that exits into some form of a graduated container, i used a 5qt pennzoil jug. That'll give you an easy way to guage with relative accuracy how much came out.

Also, for those looking to source the Mobil JWS3309 fluid recommended. I got mine from amazon for about $60/case. That's a price you can't beat and it's shipped to the door. Especially when the mazda fluid is $10.59/qt.

 

[Veilside1]

Did not realize there was a dipstick tube. I see the one for the oil, but I guess I never looked for a tranny dipstick. I assumed it was a sealed tranny!

yeah it's kinda tucked away above the left side of the battery and blends in quite well with the other parts of the engine bay. Usually the dipsticks and caps of all the fluids are brightly colored, but it seems they were trying to hide this one.

Also of note, i think the 2012+ models no longer carry a dipstick, but it's the same tranny, so there is a bolt over the hole for filling.

 

[ceric]

Hi Ceric

I had it flushed twice already. The first dealership listed it as 8 quarts which would have been fine if they really did put 8 qts in the machine. I was watching through the window and the tech only put in 2 quarts in the machine. I then checked the fluid through the dipstick and it was a dirty red. When i questioned the tech he lied to me in my face saying that he flushed it twice at 8 quarts each totaling 16. On my next visit to this dealership they had covered all the windows with cardboard. That was my last visit to that dealership. The second dealership to which i am going to now is more honest. I watch them do it and when i checked the fluid before leaving it was really red, they used almost 8qts in the machine. They used bottled fluid from mazda. The tech showed me the flush kit and the fluid bottles. I am asking about the drain and fill because once my extended warranty is up i will do this stuff myself. Ceric from my experience going to dealers as well as indy shops is when they let you watch they have nothing to hide. When they make up excuses saying you can't that is when you have to watch out.

I didn't have time to stay there. Most dealerships don't let you near the service bays anyway.
"10 qts" is listed on my invoice. That is all I was saying.

 

[kornholio]

So Ceric

Question? you are telling me that you drop it off in the morning and pick the car back up in the evening? That is the worst thing that you can do. I was even told this by someone who worked at a dealership. If they see that you do that they sometimes won't even do what they are supposed to do. As for me the first dealership didn't allow anyone in the service area either, so i peek through the window. At first they didn't say anything and neither did i since they were doing what they were supposed to do. Once i took it in for the trans svce and i saw that it wasn't done the way it was supposed to be done i questioned the tech. The following visit they covered all the windows with cardboard. So i went elsewhere. You have a right to question a service if you feel it wasn't done the way it was supposed to be done. I am this way because cars are not cheap. They are the second biggest investment that a person makes in their lifetime. The biggest one is the purchase of a home.

 

[protege3690]

I was a lower bay tech, upper bay tech, service advisor, and assistant manager for jiffy lube and mobil lube express. for a combined 7 years. ive always stressed to customers for years what many of you have seen. lifetime fluid DOES NOT EXSIST. maybe only for warranty purposes itll be ok but after that youre S.O.L. ive personally seen toyotas and mazdas especially suffer from this issue of the trans fluid going black/brown red as early as 15k miles on many models. I am and always will be a firm believer in having your fluids changed at least every 2 years or 30k milesregardless of what the manf. says. i work at a dealer now which i know as a dealership has a bad rep in general. but because of my previous experience as a tech and seeing it first hand i make sure i stress to my techs to do it right. so as many of you are doing, keep doing it and make sure those fluids are changed. a $50-$150 investment in flushing or just drain and fills sounds a hell of a lot better than $4000+ for a new trans.