2013~2016 Should I change transmission fluid in Skyactiv cars?

That was the equivalent of 1 drain and fill. Replaced about half the fluid. It’s still not a bad price but it wasn’t the 80%.
 
Ok. That’s not what I was expecting. How much quarts should they be using for a proper full ATF exchange? I’m going to talk to them about this.
 
8.2 quarts is the total capacity within the transmission. They drained out what was not within the torque converter and replaced it. 4.2 quarts was still in the torque converter, so just shy of half of the fluid was replaced. They’d have to repeat the procedure two more times with some driving in between to get you around the 90% replaced mark using that method.

The machine used prevented them from having to uninstall the shroud below to drain the fluid from the pan. They just drained thru the fill port and filled back up there.
 
Ok. That’s not what I was expecting. How much quarts should they be using for a proper full ATF exchange? I’m going to talk to them about this.
The total ATF capacity is approximately 8.5 quarts. But unless your Mazda dealer got proper ATF cooler adapter which is hard to find, and they’re willing to remove ATF/engine coolant cooler, a procedure which is not approved by Mazda, I doubt your dealer can do a real full ATF flush even with the ATF flushing machine. The reason is there’re more than half of the ATF stays in torque converter and valve body, which requires build-in ATF pump to circulate the old fluid out through the ATF flushing machine when that special ATF cooler adapter is installed with engine running
 

The machine used prevented them from having to uninstall the shroud below to drain the fluid from the pan. They just drained thru the fill port and filled back up there.
Exactly. Based on how much ATF used, apparently the dealer used the simplest “Dipstick Mode” available on Trans Pro+ X Series flushing machine. They didn’t hook up any ATF cooler lines.
 
Does that mean the ATF exchange I did today is pretty much useless unless I follow up with another round in the near future? I don’t want to spend another $140 on it unless it is really beneficial to the car and prolongs the life.
 
Does that mean the ATF exchange I did today is pretty much useless unless I follow up with another round in the near future? I don’t want to spend another $140 on it unless it is really beneficial to the car and prolongs the life.
It’s definitely beneficial to the transmission. You have 50% of fresh ATF, which is better than 0% no matter what. Many do drain-and-fill once, which has similar effect of fresh ATF content like yours, at about 50K miles.
 
You’re fine! I wouldn’t bother doing it again until 100k. The viscosity of the fluid in there is restored so don’t lose sleep or be upset. You still got a good price considering the labor you didn’t have to do yourself. I did it 3x due to OCD and I had the spare time to DIY.

It took me at least 2 hours to get the car on ramps, remove the shroud, drain the fluid, remove the air box, fill the transmission, warm up to operating temp, check the level, reinstall the airbox, and reinstall the shroud. I think I scored the fluid for less than $50 for 4 quarts, and I think $100 labor for all those steps I described is fair. It’s a bummer it doesn’t replace 80% of the fluid like you were promised but it was definitely beneficial imo.
 
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A trans flush is fine on any trans. It won't hurt. If you dont wait too long, a flush is probably unnecessary.

I tow a little with my CX-5 so I drain and refill the fluid at 30k miles along with the diff and transfer case. I'd do the drain and refill. Since it takes about $60 worth of fluid to change it, $160 doesn't sound like robbery.
 
Hello, I read your messages concerning the oil change of the SKYDRIVE automatic transmissions and I would like to do that to my CX3 which will soon have 50,000 km. I would like the oil change to be complete, and in my research I found it to be a drain on a Mercedes automatic transmission.

The interesting part of the video is 31 minutes...


In fact the person fixes a suction pipe on the hole of the strainer that he removed, and by starting the engine the new oil is sucked in and it drives out the old oil, at the same time another person change the different positions on the gear lever.

Do you think this solution is feasible on Skydrive?
 
Hello, I read your messages concerning the oil change of the SKYDRIVE automatic transmissions and I would like to do that of my CX3 which will soon have 50,000 km. I would like the oil change to be complete, and in my research I found it to be a drain on a mercedes automatic transmission.
The interesting part of the video is 31 minutes


In fact the person fixes a suction pipe on the hole of the strainer that he removed, and by starting the engine the new oil is sucked in and it drives out the old oil, at the same time another person change the different positions on the gear lever.
Do you think this solution is feasible on Skydrive?
There’s an ATF cooler adapter available for Mazda’s SkyActiv-Drive 6-speed automatic if you can find one on the Internet. That could be the only possible way to replace the entire ATF safely with a commercial ATF flush machine. As for a DIYer it would be better off and much easier just do drain-and-fill multiple times if you really want to replace as much ATF as possible.
 
Ok, thanks for your answer, can you tell me exactly how to do it if I decide to do several oil changes?

I do a first oil change and I replace the filter (strainer), and I have to drive a bit before doing another oil change?

How many km does it take to do a second oil change?

And do we have to replace the filter again?
 
I would drain and fill the ATF 3x with some driving in between if you’re trying to change as much fluid as possible. I did that at 50k miles tho, not 50k km. One or two is probably sufficient to refresh what’s currently in there for your vehicle. I drove enough to cycle through all the gears before doing the next drain and fill. No need to change the filter this early imo either.
 
Ok, thanks for your answer, can you tell me exactly how to do it if I decide to do several oil changes?
I do a first oil change and I replace the filter (strainer), and I have to drive a bit before doing another oil change?
How many km does it take to do a second oil change?
And do we have to replace the filter again?
Follow what ruthrj has said above and you’ll be fine. I wouldn’t change ATF filter cartridge at 50K miles either as many had found the filter is very clean when they changed it at much higher mileage. Since you need to take the ATF pan down to replace the filter, doing the old silicon seal clean-up on ATF pan without scratching the surface is PIA. Try to use Mazda OEM ATF FZ as you’re mixing less than half of fresh ATF with old ATF each time you do a drain-and-fill. And never refill the amount of the fresh oil based on the amount you drained out as many have verified Mazda has under-filled ATF from factory. Read the following 2 long threads for ATF change experiences and suggestions especially the 3 documents from Mazda Workshop Manual provided by Anchorman:

ATF Drain/Fill

Transmission fluid change without filter replacement
 
Hello,

I will follow your instructions (y), thank you very much for your advice and for the links of the 2 threads.

Wishing you a good day 🙂
 
ATF drain and refill on Skyactiv CX5. (should be similar for other Mazda models)

My local dealer said they use a special suction device to get more fluid out. Not sure how that is done. Maybe Yrwei52 knows. They raise the charge to more than $250 now. Filter, seal and magnet cleanup.

BTW the I have watched how he cleaned up the intake carbon deposit many times. Very tempted to do it myself. Doesn't seem that difficult to do. Hard to find a shop that provide walnut blasting for Skyacrtive. Most shops only do BMW/VW/Audi.
 
ATF drain and refill on Skyactiv CX5. (should be similar for other Mazda models)

My local dealer said they use a special suction device to get more fluid out. Not sure how that is done. Maybe Yrwei52 knows. They raise the charge to more than $250 now. Filter, seal and magnet cleanup.

BTW the I have watched how he cleaned up the intake carbon deposit many times. Very tempted to do it myself. Doesn't seem that difficult to do. Hard to find a shop that provide walnut blasting for Skyacrtive. Most shops only do BMW/VW/Audi.

special suction device is likely nothing more than a hose down the filler hole and draining through there. It’s easier for them to do that vs dropping the pan but it won’t get any more fluid out.

but if they are truly doing a new filter and seal with magnet cleanup, they’ve already dropped the pan. Maybe they suck the ATF out prior to dropping the pan vs a simple drain? Sounds suspicious lol.

i did the intake valve cleaning following that video. Not difficult but it’s tedious and time consuming cleaning the valves. ~4 hrs taking my time as well as cleaning the throttle body and MAF sensor, replacing the manifold and throttle body gaskets when reassembling.
 
ATF drain and refill on Skyactiv CX5. (should be similar for other Mazda models)

My local dealer said they use a special suction device to get more fluid out. Not sure how that is done. Maybe Yrwei52 knows. They raise the charge to more than $250 now. Filter, seal and magnet cleanup.

BTW the I have watched how he cleaned up the intake carbon deposit many times. Very tempted to do it myself. Doesn't seem that difficult to do. Hard to find a shop that provide walnut blasting for Skyacrtive. Most shops only do BMW/VW/Audi.
I agree with ruthrj. More than half of the ATF is in torque converter and valve body, and they can’t be drained out no matter what. A commercial ATF flush machine can intercept the old ATF and feed fresh ATF with ATF in circulation by hooking up outside ATF lines to the outer ATF cooler. But Mazda SkyActiv-Drive transmission feeds engine coolant into an ATF cooler piggybacked to the transmission. So unless the Mazda dealer can find a special ATF cooler adapter to have ATF outlets to hook up, there’s no way to flush the ATF entirely and cleanly. Some “special suction device” stil won’t do the job. I believe your dealer will do simple ATF drain-and-fill, may not even replace the ATF filter cartridge unless you can watch them doing the job.

How old is your CX-5 and how many miles does it have? I’d try CRC intake valve cleaner first unless I have some obvious valve carbon deposit symptoms.

CRC intake valve cleaner experience
 
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I'll just again say I traded my 2015 with 106K miles on it, it's first 27.7K were as a rental, and I drove it hard, too, and the transmission was doing great...
 
I'll just again say I traded my 2015 with 106K miles on it, it's first 27.7K were as a rental, and I drove it hard, too, and the transmission was doing great...

My previous car was a 2009 Mazda 6 without a Skyactive transmission - The transmission made it all the way to 220,000+ KM without a flush until it started to indicate a transmission sensor issue.

There was nothing wrong with the driveability in it either. IT was just indicating a solenoid problem.

I suspect that transmission flushes aren't really required for long term (7-10 year) ownership of a vehicle, UNLESS someone is towing or putting undue stress on the transmission.
 
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