1st gen CX-9 transmission protection?

I have a 2010 cx-9 GT with 145 kmls. I don't have any problem with the transmission till date, and same as everyone with this trani I'm a bit concerned about changing the atf. I'm planning to add 7 or10 oz of this product "Lubeguard platinum 63010", to the atf. My part guy saying this will extend the life of my atf and restore it's original characteristics. Now my concerns are:
1. If I go with adding 7 or 10 oz of this formula, should I extract 7 or 10 oz of the existing atf before? Or this quantity is negligible and I can just add it without extracting any atf.
2. The instructions printed on the Lubeguard bottle states to add 1 oz formula per 1 Qt atf. So if I decided to go with it, can I add the whole 10 oz bottle neglecting that cx-9 transmission hold about 7 Qt only? So can I add 10 oz instead of 7?
 
With drain plug, you can not change all of fluid. Also, CX9 does not use regular ATF. you should buy it at dealer or online. driver manual has information for fluid. i read an article before i changed my transmission oil said " no additive in cx9 fluid. use same type of fluid."

changing the transmission fluid
1- remove the air filter box
2- open the filler plug
3- lift the vehicle on level
4- open the small hex plug then open the leveler tube. ( i dont remember the sizes)
5- drain the fluid
6- close the leveler tube then small hex plug ( if small plug rusted, you may need to buy new one, mine seized)
7- fill around 5qt of fresh fluid and close the filler plug
8- adaptation: turn ignation on (with out engine starts), move the gear knob on each mode. R - N - D. every mode wait couple of sec. do it 2 times.
9- start the engine, press the brake pedal and do #8.
10 - drive the vehicle about 1 mile with low RPM and make sure use triptronic.
11- park your car and keep engine running.
12- lift the vehicle
13- open the small plug and get over filled amount.
14- until fluid comes out like spit out, then close the small plug
15- all done.
 
Thank you for the detailed steps. Should I repeat this 2 or 3 times after few thousand miles to change also the fluid in the torque converter?
 
Thank you for the detailed steps. Should I repeat this 2 or 3 times after few thousand miles to change also the fluid in the torque converter?
If you are planning to do it for 2-3 times to clean entire fluid, you should do it sooner than 1000miles. maybe 100 miles. but it will not be %99 clean.

If you are handy and can get responsibility, you can try to drain the fluid in transmission cooling line. you may find some videos on youtube.
 
If I remember correctly, by performing a drain and fill, you'll get maybe 1/3 of the fluid out. I would do a drain and fill 2-3 times, only driving maybe 50-100 miles between.

I did 1 drain and fill on our CX-9 when we bought it. With 136k miles on the clock, I wasn't sure if it had even been done. Prior to the fill, shifting into 4th gear was clunky. After the fill, transmission shifted much better. I'm planning on doing it again here before too much more snow flies. (170k miles on it now)
 
People who did the drain and fill method reported that they get about 3 to 3.5 quarts of fluid out when they opened the drain plug. The total capacity is about 11 quarts. This means that it is going to take a lot of drain and refill cycles (6 or more) to get more than 90% of the old stuff out.

If you really want to change the fluid using this method, I'd just plan on doing a drain and fill on the transmission every time you change the engine oil from now on.
 
11 qt capacity?! In the manual it state total capacity is 7.4 qt. For 2010 cx-9. If so 2 or 3 drain and fill are more than enough.
 
2-3 drain and fill should be plenty. It's not a difficult procedure, should only take about a half hour to complete. Plan 3 successive Saturdays, and you should be good for another 50k miles. (at least with respect to the transmission)
 
Sorry I misremembered the capacity. It is 7.4 quarts, not 11. You need to buy 11 quarts to do the 3 drain and refills.
 
11 qt capacity?! In the manual it state total capacity is 7.4 qt. For 2010 cx-9. If so 2 or 3 drain and fill are more than enough.
I remember the sticker on transmission says 9L (9,5qt)

Also, make sure you change the fluid of transfer case. if you own AWD
 
I remember the sticker on transmission says 9L (9,5qt)

Also, make sure you change the fluid of transfer case. if you own AWD
No thanks God it's FWD, less headache I think.
Btw my mechanic advise to put extra atf above the fill line, about a third or half of a qt extra. Is it safe to run it with a bit extra atf?
 
No thanks God it's FWD, less headache I think.
Btw my mechanic advise to put extra atf above the fill line, about a third or half of a qt extra. Is it safe to run it with a bit extra atf?
If transmission system does not a leak, make it exact level. It is not like engine that burns/vaporize the oil.

Also, the mechanic at the dealer who did give me the instruction said put 5qt of transmission fluid then drive then open the small plug to drain the overfilled.
 
There's more than just opening the small drain plug after a drive. The temperature of the transmission fluid plays a role. I believe it's supposed to be about 100 degrees Farenheit when the final drain is done. Then you let the fluid run until it's just a trickle and the level is set.

To get the temperature of the fluid you need a scan tool that has access to that PID or use an infrared thermometer. The latter is not as exact, but it's better than just guessing.

I would not feel comfortable with a shop that thinks 'close enough is good enough' myself.

PS - another method is measure exactly what came out and put that exact amount back in. This method is best done when the transmission is cold and the fluid is at room temperature.
 
When I did mine, I found the Castrol 1-gallon jug was the exact amount that came out.

I pulled the plug, let it drain into the pan, dumped the whole 1-gallon jug into the fill port, drove around to get up to temp, pulled the level plug, and a VERY small amount came out. (maybe a quarter of a cup or less) When I emptied the drain pan into the Castrol jug, the fluid filled it up to the level from new. The jug size proved to be very convenient for a drain and fill.
 
the method of how much drained from car, put that mount of fluid is not correct, If radiator replaced and never added fluid / bought used vehicle and do not know the history of the vehicle.
 
I would not recommend additives that chemically alter the transmission oils properties. But there are other more effective solutions that can accomplish the same thing, aka Hydrogenated DLC coatings. Some auto manufacturers are using vapor deposition methods to coat rubbing pairs with hydrogenated DLC coatings from the factory, however once those coatings wear off, they gone for good. Not only is it expensive and time consuming, but it has limited life span in an engine or transmission so it's only used in specific applications by OEM's.

That's where an In Situ Hydrogrenated DLC coating (Synthetic Magnesium Silicate Hydroxide) comes into play. You can achieve super lubricity as well as high levels of anti-wear properties by using this: https://shop.tribotex.com/products/transmission-automatic



If your skeptical, I CHALLENGE you to come up with more testing and validation than what I have provided on this technology below (I have more if you really want to dive deeper yet). I've been using in a 2012 Prius C I got used with 80k, a 2016 modified Mustang GT 5.0 that makes 480 HP with just a Ford Performance Power Pack 2 and TriboTEX (the power pack 2 is rated for 455 HP and the engine stock was 435 HP) and now on a 2018 CX-9 with about 33k on clock.

There are engine, automatic transmission, manual transmission, transfer case / diff formulas that vary by concentration of the synthetic MSH. My ONLY caution is that during the wear in process for automatic transmissions or bikes with wet clutches, you do not want to do any towing or constant full throttle / hard launches, if it forms on torque converter lock up clutch disks or your wet clutch during the wear in phase, your transaxle or wet clutch will slip constantly until it wears off = not good!

It is considered a PERMANENT coating and will typically last about 80,000 miles in an auto-trans and around 40k in an engine, however if you have a track car like my 2016 Mustang GT was that sees constant high RPM 4,000 to 7,100 RPM, I would expect to replace it at half that interval in engine applications.

Remember this is NOT an oil additive, it is an In Situ Hydrogenated DLC coating that forms via Heat and Pressure on wear surfaces over hundreds of miles of use (typically around 500) and is considered permanent (no way to get it off except via wear and tear). It does NOT alter the oils chemical formula, it only uses the lubricant as a carrier to the contact sites during the wear in process.

Of particular interest for transmission applications is the Weveden Hypoid Gear Oil test, it is THE MOST gruelling gear oil test, if it passes this with flying colors, it's a good lubricant with strong EP additive capabilities. Also note that hydrogenated DLC coatings promote better oil adhesion, which means it allows you lubricating oil's hydrodynamic film to support higher loads before it collapses into mixed mode or boundary layer lubrication regimes than what the oil could support on bare metal or zinc tribofilm coated rubbing pairs.

Also of note is that MoDTC (organo-molybdenum) additives reduce the wear rates of hydrogenated DLC films, so for engine applications it's even more beneficial to run motor oils that have MoDTC additives.

I generally do NOT recommend oil additives because if the formula gets too out of whack, you can increase friciton and wear instead of reduce it! You can also adverse affect the hydraulic properties in a negative way by accident, unless you understand the chemistry, your simply playing Russian roulette with chemicals.

In only recommend this technology because I actually HAVE the research behind, how it works, how it interacts with common motor oils formulas and additives etc. along with documented testing.

I would reccomend fresh fluid then add TriboTEX automatic transmission formula, then at your next oil change add TriboTEX standard engine formula. During the wear in, just drive the car normally.

Benefits of In Situ Hydrogenated DLC Coatings:
1. can be applied to existing technology without disassembly / rebuilds
2. can be re-applied once the coating wears off without disassembly.
3. the film wears off, not the surfaces of the rubbing pairs
4. can compensate for some surface wear by covering the surface asperities (aka roughness of the surface due to wear) via building up layers of worn rubbing pairs up to several hundred microns
5. achieves super-lubricity of rubbing pairs
6. a newer anti-friction additive called MoDTC developed by Infinium in 2009 is highly beneficial for the life of hydrogenated DLC coatings, essentially TriboTEX will last longer when pairing it with motor oils containing this organo-moly anti-friction additive that is now in many motor oil formulas
7. reduces oil consumption by creating a better seal between the piston rings and the cylinder wall
8. more power to the wheels by reducing lost energy to friction (in all application areas)
9. not susceptible to water absorbption like MoS2 or Hexagonal Boron Nitride where they can actually become abrasive, thus increasing friction and wear (hence why MoS2 is used in axle greases still but not in motor oils, CV axles are sealed via the boot, so no moisture can enter, not so with an engine during heating and cooling cycles, humid / wet driving conditions etc.)

Downsides
1. Long wear in process of around 40 motor hours or approx 500 miles
2. Cost, it's a bit pricy but has some significant benefits. There's an old adage however that GENERALLY remains true in most situations, you get what you pay for!
3. In applications of torque converter lock up clutches or wet clutchs, if subjected to heavy use (drag launches, towing or frequent heavy throttle use) during the wear in process of the gears in the gearbox / transmission, it may form on the disks causing slippage. However I have not seen any reports of that issue in auto trans, but TribTEX does give that warning for bike applications.
 

Attachments

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  • TriboTEX_block_on_ring (ASTM G 77).pdf
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  • Mechanism behind the interaction of TriboTEX and ZDDP.pdf
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  • MoDTC and TriboTEX Interaction.pdf
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  • Affordable Diamond-like Carbon (DLC) Coatings.pdf
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Then the OP should be informed as to the proper temperature to use when doing the final drain. Guessing based on a drive is not accurate either.
 
And to give you yet more legitimacy against the common meme of "anything added to your motor or transmission oil is automatically snake oil", I once again challenge the nay-sayers to discredit the following attachments.

I do NOT get paid by TriboTEX in any way, shape or form. I am merely passionately curious about how things work (hence my degree in Electrical Engineering), cars are both a necessary evil of the modern era and in some instances, fun.

Growing up I became a home mechanic to save money, but I"ve always looked for legitimate solutions and stayed away from gimmicks as best as possible and unless there is a plethora if testing / validation, I generally avoid "after market" upgrades in most cases.

Regarding the 2016 Mustang GT, I almost never recommend anyone reflashing their PCM, this was a case of Ford Performance making an emissions legal and warrantied upgrade PCB calibration along with hardware changes from a higher tier car. Very specific and well tested. But I would not do that with my CX-9 or any other car as I'm not aware of any other manufacturer offering OE upgrade PCM calibrations etc. Chevy and Dodge offer suspension and exhaust upgrades for the Camaro SS / Coverette and Chargers / Challengers but no alternate PCM calibrations, hence had I gone with one of those the PCM would have stayed stock just for reference.
 

Attachments

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  • SBIR Phase I_ Flat ceramic nanoparticle.pdf
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  • Operando formation of an ultra-low friction boundary film.pdf
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  • TriboTEX Named Winner of Defense Innovation Award 2017.pdf
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  • TriboTEX Wins 2017 Technology Acceleration Challenge Award.pdf
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Then the OP should be informed as to the proper temperature to use when doing the final drain. Guessing based on a drive is not accurate either.
Why not just have the dealer do the flush? Then it's on them. The OP can then test drive the vehicle first after the change to ensure they didn't over / under full it before doing anything further. If something is off they will deal with it.
 
Why not just have the dealer do the flush? Then it's on them. The OP can then test drive the vehicle first after the change to ensure they didn't over / under full it before doing anything further. If something is off they will deal with it.
Dealers and repair shops do transmissions flush without giving any warranty and the car owner will be responsible for any tranny malfunction. This is a 2010 with 250 kmiles still with the factory atf. The car still run good, so will not take the risk of a fluid flush for sure. Drain and fill is my only option using toyota t-iv atf hopefully. I'm Just gonna research a bit more about atf level adjustment. I hope it will go well in the end. Thanks for everyone's feedback.
 
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