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- Denver, CO
Thanks. Rear brakes were done back at like 50-55k miles (don't recall exactly, I want to say around 52k) which included new brake fluid.
Questions for my next Service Appointment
- Thread starter ColoradoDriver
- Start date
GJ-Molestor
Banned
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- 2011 BMW 528i, 2015 Mazda 6, 1995 Nissan Maxima Manual
Eh, well Redline didnt specify anything for the skyactiv transmission so I guess I wouldnt try it (although Im 100% certain you will not damage anything by using it because its a very versatile fluid for many different transmissions) but I would go for the Redline D4 fluid.
Colorado, to answer your question - do some research on it. Its the best fluid you can put into your car.
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- 2014 QX70 AWD
good grief. can't you at least lower your assumption to 99%.... just to humor us?
(crazy)
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- 2022 2.5GT
Mazda absolutely forbid anything but their blue fluid. If he uses redline and the transmission fails, will you pay every cent of his costs?
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- Denver, CO
Don't worry. I will be using the correct Mazda fluid.
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- RDX Aspec Adv.
GJ, when are you going to put Redline in YOUR Mazda's Skyactiv?
That said, I've used Redline. It was nothing special and the transmission was temperamental afterwards. Just another reason I don't dick with changing transmission fluid anymore. Manual, or auto.
*In rainy weather, I would have to double-clutch to get it into 1st gear when I cranked it up in the morning, and it would grind on 2nd gear sometimes on the first shift. 370Z with about 1500 miles on it when the MT-85 went in, so no, it wasn't done "late in life". Symptoms remained for the entire 34K miles I owned it. Yes, rainy weather made it a PITA to get into 1st gear off a cold start unless I double-clutched it. I used MT-85, which was specifically formulated for the transmissions in G37/370Z vehicles, per Redline.
My other experience with manuals was my WS.6 Trans Am, at 76k miles we swapped the transmission fluid. I went with Mobil 1 full synthetic that met the spec for that transmission (T56). In a few thousand miles, it became very notchy. I went back to the GM dealership, bought the GM fluid, and swapped it in, and in another few thousand miles it was 95% back to how it started...never was as slick as before I messed with it though.
As to automatics, the list is even longer of failed and quirky transmissions when I had fluid replaced by the dealer between 68 and 110k miles.
Ya know, I came to the conclusion years ago...the company that actually designed the vehicle....MIGHT just know what the hell they are doing more often than the aftermarket, or you, who read "something on the internet and are now an expert". I learned this by being "that internet expert" until I'd burned enough thousands of dollars of my money (2 replaced automatics, 2 quirky manuals, and another quirky automatic....all of which functioned JUST FINE until I had the fluid dicked with) to finally sit down and say "Damn...I was wrong. That hurts."
I also love some of your explanations of "Mazda is just trying to break your car so you will have to burn more money". Yeah...because every auto manufacturer loves tanked CR ratings, higher Edmunds True Cost to Own costs, and forums full of "their junk broke and my *insert brand* got twice the miles..."
That said, I've used Redline. It was nothing special and the transmission was temperamental afterwards. Just another reason I don't dick with changing transmission fluid anymore. Manual, or auto.
*In rainy weather, I would have to double-clutch to get it into 1st gear when I cranked it up in the morning, and it would grind on 2nd gear sometimes on the first shift. 370Z with about 1500 miles on it when the MT-85 went in, so no, it wasn't done "late in life". Symptoms remained for the entire 34K miles I owned it. Yes, rainy weather made it a PITA to get into 1st gear off a cold start unless I double-clutched it. I used MT-85, which was specifically formulated for the transmissions in G37/370Z vehicles, per Redline.
My other experience with manuals was my WS.6 Trans Am, at 76k miles we swapped the transmission fluid. I went with Mobil 1 full synthetic that met the spec for that transmission (T56). In a few thousand miles, it became very notchy. I went back to the GM dealership, bought the GM fluid, and swapped it in, and in another few thousand miles it was 95% back to how it started...never was as slick as before I messed with it though.
As to automatics, the list is even longer of failed and quirky transmissions when I had fluid replaced by the dealer between 68 and 110k miles.
https://www.z1motorsports.com/transmission-driveline/red-line-oils/red-line-mt-85-p-4770.html
Ya know, I came to the conclusion years ago...the company that actually designed the vehicle....MIGHT just know what the hell they are doing more often than the aftermarket, or you, who read "something on the internet and are now an expert". I learned this by being "that internet expert" until I'd burned enough thousands of dollars of my money (2 replaced automatics, 2 quirky manuals, and another quirky automatic....all of which functioned JUST FINE until I had the fluid dicked with) to finally sit down and say "Damn...I was wrong. That hurts."
I also love some of your explanations of "Mazda is just trying to break your car so you will have to burn more money". Yeah...because every auto manufacturer loves tanked CR ratings, higher Edmunds True Cost to Own costs, and forums full of "their junk broke and my *insert brand* got twice the miles..."
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- Denver, CO
I guess that is my one fear Uno, going back to my opening post acknowledging that there seems to be 2 sides to the transmission fluid thing.
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- RDX Aspec Adv.
Yep. My dealership has an expensive machine that will suck the ATF out of the coolant line running to the radiator area of the vehicle they told me. They are a Mazda dealer. The Service Manager AND Tech's stated this.
The CX5 has no such coolant lines for the AT.
Guess how many ATF fluid exchanges they have obviously done? I also inquired of the parts dept. how many AT's they have replaced due to failure. Zero so far.
In fact...how many transmissions on here have you read about failing DUE TO FLUID? The ONLY failures I have read about on here were due to manufacturer defect, and from people who changed the ATF. Noone has had a single transmission failure on this board who has NOT changed their fluid, or who could NOT trace the failure to an obvious manufacturer defect.
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- 2014 QX70 AWD
I'm in the same predicament right now, while planning ahead for my own maintenance schedule.
The owner's manual for my QX states repeatedly that the 7 speed transmission is maintenance free, not even requiring fluid changes. The local Infiniti dealer advises a drain and fill @ 60,000 miles. So I emailed Infiniti, and they replied back that indeed, the 7 speed auto doesn't need any servicing, but that authorized dealers recommend proper diagnosis and repairs. I emailed Infiniti back asking them what they consider to be "lifetime" in regards to their transmission (asked for both expected years and mileage expectations). I have not gotten a reply yet, but its been less than 24 hours at this point.
Having said that, most of the guys over on the Infiniti forum seem to be replacing their transmission fluid at ~50,000 miles or so... and use the familiar argument that lifetime simply implies the lifetime of the power train warranty.
The transmission on a QX is about double the cost of one for the CX5, so I want to treat mine in the most responsible manner, but seem to be getting the all too familiar positions of both sides of the discussion.
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- Denver, CO
I have done the same for Mazda. I used the gauge of how I got 300,000 miles out of my last car (a Jeep of all things), so I wanted to know how they would gauge "lifetime" by mileage and years.
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- Plano, Texas, USA
Nothing would last forever. The same on ATF. Although my 2001.5 VW Passat is a 5-speed manual, but VW also insists the Tiptronic automatic transmission is maintenance free with "life-time" fluid. But people then found out the genuine VW ATF has a 2-year shelf life on it! My 1998 Honda CR-V has ATF replacement Interval. Plus Mazda does design a drain plug and a dipstick on its transmission just like my CR-V so that drain-and-fill is a fairly easy job. If the transmission is truly maintenance-free with life-time ATF, we shouldn't see the drain plug and dipstick like VW Passat and my BMW 528i!
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- Denver, CO
So I spent a good deal of time yesterday watching videos of people changing out their transmission fluid on CX-5's.
So when you say drain and fill, are you saying just drain from the drain plug and then refill. Or drain, take down the pan and clean it, put it back on, and then fill?
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- 2014 QX70 AWD
no dipstick on mine.. just a drain plug and fill plug. but the transmission seems to be the one item most owners do not like to service. they're all okay doing their differentials and transfers cases on their own, but say to go to the dealer for the transmission.
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- Denver, CO
After watching the videos I watched, I feel adventurous and would go out on a limb to say I would try changing it myself. I am picking up some ramps and oil/filter today to do over the weekend sometime. First time for everything!
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- Plano, Texas, USA
Drain-and-fill means drain the ATF through the drain hole and refill fresh ATF through the dipstick hole without taking the pan down. It's fairly easy for DIYers. Some people do drain-and-fill twice or three times within a 2-week interval as you can only drain less than half of the old ATF out each time you drain it due to more than half of the old ATF will stay inside of torque converter and other passages. But you can consider taking the pan down at 61K miles to replace the cartridge/filter inside, and clean up the pan and metal shavings stuck on the magnet, especially if you take your CX-5 to a shop to do the job.
7eregrine
The man, the myth, the legend
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- Land of Cleve
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- 2016.5 CX5
Yea, I love this too. See it a lot on many things. Appliances, phones, cars. This might have been true in the 80's for the American car companies. Yea, they learned the hard way what happens when you build cars that are only good for 5 years. They are still recovering from that today. No car company today wants to get a reputation like that.
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- Plano, Texas, USA
If your transmission does have drain and fill holes, drain and fill should be an easy job unless the fill hole is restricted by something else and hard to reach. Always try to loose fill plug before draining for obvious reason. When car manufactures design a unit without drain and fill holes, i.e. front power transfer unit on first-gen CX-9, that's where the problem starts!
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- 2014 QX70 AWD
To be honest, if I decide to do a drain and fill, I'll just suck it up and let the dealer do it. But $199.95 seems a bit steep, even though the fluid is rather pricey.
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- Plano, Texas, USA
Like I just mentioned above, how do you explain the front power transfer unit with "life-time" gear lubricant without a drain hole but keeps failing like a ticking time bomb on 1st-gen CX-9?
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