2007~2015 CX-9 Transmission Drain and Fill

Bought a 2008 cx9 w/148k a couple of months ago. With very few service records and information about transmission service, I went ahead and did its first drain and fill. The fluid is scary lol. I was experiencing weird shifts and sputtering sometimes in 4th and in 6th once in awhile. Now, after 1k driven, it seems to be much better, and I hardly feel things past issues(wife says). I'll be repeating the drain and fill every oil change at 5k miles till it's a good-looking red again.

Lastly went to Mazda, and they wanted $18 A quart for that bottle. $51 on Amazon for a 6 pack. There was a coupon!
 

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Awesome! Yes, that fluid is dirty.

Are you planning to drop the pan? I certainly would at that mileage.

I would suggest going ahead with 2 more drain and fills sooner rather than later, or to drop the pan.
 
Awesome! Yes, that fluid is dirty.

Are you planning to drop the pan? I certainly would at that mileage.

I would suggest going ahead with 2 more drain and fills sooner rather than later, or to drop the pan.

Yeah, I agree I will probably do one more before the next oil change since I'm a lucky one with the actually dipstick setup and it was very easy.

For dropping the pan Im on the fence with that. Still uncertain if I have a filter that's easily replaceable and I kinda don't want to deal with gasket marker, cleaning and potentially creating a leak that I currently dont have
 
Yeah, I agree I will probably do one more before the next oil change since I'm a lucky one with the actually dipstick setup and it was very easy.

For dropping the pan Im on the fence with that. Still uncertain if I have a filter that's easily replaceable and I kinda don't want to deal with gasket marker, cleaning and potentially creating a leak that I currently dont have

Well, dropping the pan is the right thing to do at your mileage, and I think it's worth it if the rest of the car is in good shape and you plan on keeping the car. Perhaps you can consider having a mechanic do it. Replacing the filter should be easy but, if you still decide against it, that's... Fine. Just make sure you do two more drain and fills in the near future to get the most of the dirty fluid out.
 
The fluid that came out looks dark in the aluminum pan, does it still look dark when you dab a piece of paper towel with it? If you need some peace of mind before going for the filter replacement, an oil sample analysis might be helpful.
 
I would definitely drain that one more time or until the fluid starts to show some of it's red colour.
Mazda fluid is blue unless it's the new A7 type from 2024+ with cylinder deactivation, then it is red. Note to anyone coming across this post, do not ever mix them up unless you want to buy a new transmission.
 
Mazda fluid is blue unless it's the new A7 type from 2024+ with cylinder deactivation, then it is red. Note to anyone coming across this post, do not ever mix them up unless you want to buy a new transmission.
Appreciate the reminder-caution! Is the new red (for 2024+ ) the same as the old red (for a 2008 CX-9)?
 
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Hey! i bought a 2010 mazda cx9 AWD 3 months ago. with no maintenance records on the car i have decided to change the trans oil too and it was damn scary black oil. Even the 2nd time also its still black. i have tried using toyota type-4 trans oil its giving check engine light and AT lights on after driving for 30mins and then i decided to drain it and fill it in with Shell spirax s5 ATF X. Now the trans is shruddering at 80kmh. Tried to add 1 bottle of lubeguard but it does not help. I would like to change out the trans filter too but it seems like the trans have to get off first then you will have access?
 
Hey! i bought a 2010 mazda cx9 AWD 3 months ago. with no maintenance records on the car i have decided to change the trans oil too and it was damn scary black oil. Even the 2nd time also its still black. i have tried using toyota type-4 trans oil its giving check engine light and AT lights on after driving for 30mins and then i decided to drain it and fill it in with Shell spirax s5 ATF X. Now the trans is shruddering at 80kmh. Tried to add 1 bottle of lubeguard but it does not help. I would like to change out the trans filter too but it seems like the trans have to get off first then you will have access?
Congrats on your new CX-9! The pan has to come off before you can access the filter. Let me find you the thread for more details.... I was wrong: no serviceable filter. I got an error when trying to load the below thread.

 
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Hey! i bought a 2010 mazda cx9 AWD 3 months ago. with no maintenance records on the car i have decided to change the trans oil too and it was damn scary black oil. Even the 2nd time also its still black. i have tried using toyota type-4 trans oil its giving check engine light and AT lights on after driving for 30mins and then i decided to drain it and fill it in with Shell spirax s5 ATF X. Now the trans is shruddering at 80kmh. Tried to add 1 bottle of lubeguard but it does not help. I would like to change out the trans filter too but it seems like the trans have to get off first then you will have access?
Why didn't you use the recommended fluid?
 
Congrats on your new CX-9! The pan has to come off before you can access the filter. Let me find you the thread for more details.... I was wrong: no serviceable filter. I got an error when trying to load the below thread.

yes correct the pan is like behind the engine i did saw from a video on youtube. i have already purchased the filter
 
Were you able to find more info on the CX-9 sub-forum about transmission shuddering? There are a few threads describing the same symptoms.
nope, but in a facebook group there are people who experience the same issue too however mix of this and that of what they did but never came to a 100% fix or updates from them.
 
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