2012 tranny leak

R

rykerjenbob

Member
:
mazda5 2012
I hate to start my first post complaining, but I have a serious problem. I have 4700 miles on my mazda 5 and I was rotating the tires and noticed something on the ground under the vehicle. Got under there and I have a tranny fluid leak. It probably has done it since we bought it. The undercarriage of the vehicle is coated in fluid. Checked the dipstick and it is on low. I am really not happy right now. I have to take the day off of work and drive 3 hours one way to the closest Mazda dealer on Tuesday. This is my first ever Mazda and so far I am quite unhappy.
 
rykerjenbob said:
I hate to start my first post complaining, but I have a serious problem. I have 4700 miles on my mazda 5 and I was rotating the tires and noticed something on the ground under the vehicle. Got under there and I have a tranny fluid leak. It probably has done it since we bought it. The undercarriage of the vehicle is coated in fluid. Checked the dipstick and it is on low. I am really not happy right now. I have to take the day off of work and drive 3 hours one way to the closest Mazda dealer on Tuesday. This is my first ever Mazda and so far I am quite unhappy.
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That sucks that it's a 3 hour drive to get it repaired. However thats why you have a warrenty and well crap happens. Maybe you can call that dealership up and advised them that you have leaking fluids. At that time I would inform them that the nearest dealership is 3hrs away and see if they can foot the bill to have it repaired at another local dealership for you. I do not think that would be asking to much.
 
I already talked to the dealer and they didn't offer anything. As a matter of fact if they don't have the parts I will have to drive home and then come back again after they get the parts. I hope this isn't a sign of things to come.
 
What city and state do you live in? Call before hand to see if they have the parts in stock for that type of repair. If they dont know then see if they will provide a loaner while your car is in for repair. Stress that you don't want to possibly damage the car due to the leaking fluids.
 
I live in Washburn, Maine. Closest dealer is in Bangor, which is where I bought the vehicle. The dealer said they have to look at it before they will order anything. I'll make sure to bring some fluid and check it on the way down. I could have mazda roadside tow it down to the dealer, but then I have to have someone drive me down to pick the car up. So another person has to take the day off of work. What is even scarier was the service guy I talked to had to look in the service manual to find the location of the dipstick tube. I had already found it on my own. I've been working on cars for 25 years so I know how to check fluids. It should be a fun day on Tuesday.
 
Personally I'd call them and see if they don't have the parts if they would be willing to give you a loaner car tell they get the parts in and yours repaired.
 
I see that you have multiple threads on the topic. I'm not the moderator but it would be nice to see just one thread about this issue. Well that being said, if you don't get anywhere with the dealer, call Mazda Operations North America and explain to them the situation and ask them what other options are available to you. You can always pursue the route of local repair and then get it reimbursed by Mazda dealer. You can always open multiple case with BBB and dealer will do anything to resolve it as I did that with a Honda dealer out in Illinois. Dealer wound up coughing up for the bill. If you get no where, contact your lawyer to make a few phone calls on your behalf, that usually wakes up the dealer. Good luck!
rykerjenbob said:
I live in Washburn, Maine. Closest dealer is in Bangor, which is where I bought the vehicle. The dealer said they have to look at it before they will order anything. I'll make sure to bring some fluid and check it on the way down. I could have mazda roadside tow it down to the dealer, but then I have to have someone drive me down to pick the car up. So another person has to take the day off of work. What is even scarier was the service guy I talked to had to look in the service manual to find the location of the dipstick tube. I had already found it on my own. I've been working on cars for 25 years so I know how to check fluids. It should be a fun day on Tuesday.
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I wish you luck. Stuff happens to every brand (yes, EVERY brand) and it's usually taken care of with no problem if you are in warranty and haven't done a bunch of goofy mods to your car. I feel for you but this would be no big deal if the dealer was a short drive away. I would never buy a car if there wasn't a dealer nearby. You can't expect the dealer to guess what parts they need without even seeing the car. Don't feel too bad, I had a Brand new Chevy pickup that left me stranded with 280 miles on clock and was only 3 days old. I couldn't even get Chevy to tow the vehicle an 10 extra miles so I wouldn't be stranded in the middle of no where on a Saturday night, I had to use AAA. Im sure it will be fine in the end, good luck.
 
So I guess this guy comes here to cry, then doesn't even bother to give us a follow up? I like the way he says " I hate to start my first post complaining" then proceeds to complain. I wonder if he did something to cause the damage and is too embarased to come back. Assuming this is even real, of course. I wonder what he expected us to do? Oh well. MY Mazda 5 is running like a champ.
 
I agree, very seldom you see something like this for a Japanese brand but does happen of course. Could have also been abused right out of the dock and onto the dealer's lot, and why not. Someone told me one time that it's basically routine that a new car coming off the ship gets damaged and repaired in a hurry before it get delivered to the dealer's lot.

Though it's not a guarantee but I am skeptical now to buy a car with more than say 1 or 2 miles on the odometer since I had lots of issues with my '07 Odyssey Touring that had little over 10+ miles on the odometer which I bought "new" - just something I would avoid entirely if I can these days when I'm buying a new car.

Going back about 20 years ago, I used to work at a rental car company in New York City. A guy named "Junior" that worked in the garage used to abuse the crap out of the new rental fleet in that small confined space enough so that left you wondering "how the heck he's doing that..."

Also, what I did not understand is why would you buy a brand of car that comes with factory warranty (are there new car that does not come with one?) that you know firsthand that the dealer is not around within arms reach to take advantage of it? It's like health insurance; sooner or later, you're going to use it no?

chitownpete said:
So I guess this guy comes here to cry, then doesn't even bother to give us a follow up? I like the way he says " I hate to start my first post complaining" then proceeds to complain. I wonder if he did something to cause the damage and is too embarased to come back. Assuming this is even real, of course. I wonder what he expected us to do? Oh well. MY Mazda 5 is running like a champ.
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Mine too :) I broke 34 MPG on the highway today after I put Valero regular gas in last night. I could not believe it, unbelievable! To me, for some strange reason, after I broken in to about 3K miles barrier, something very pleasant started happening. Car's running so nice now, and boy, the mileage... I just had to pinch myself ;)
chitownpete said:
MY Mazda 5 is running like a champ.
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Ok so a follow up for everyone who thinks I am full of it. I drove the 3 hours one way to the dealer. They saw the leaking fluid in various places around the tranny. The wiped it off, took it for a 5 min drive. It didn't leak while they drove it. They said we can't fix what we can't see, good luck let us know if it happens again. That was in November. I drove it home and haven't looked at it until today when I noticed a small puddle under the vehicle and guess what? It is leaking again in the same spot. Don't know why it takes so long in between leaks. Not sure what I am going to do this time.
 
If the tranny's leaking in various places, put a cardboard underneath the tranny overnight and check in the morning where the spots are to get an idea where it's dripping from. You can bring that to the dealership as an evidence, and tell them they need to check the seals. If you drove for 3 hours to the dealership, you're very lucky. Personally, I would not have, unless you know for sure that you can get Mazda to pay for the failure. Transmission should be covered under the powertrain warranty. I recommend you take a picture of the cardboard, and send it to Mazda and the dealership and have them replace the seals.
rykerjenbob said:
Ok so a follow up for everyone who thinks I am full of it. I drove the 3 hours one way to the dealer. They saw the leaking fluid in various places around the tranny. The wiped it off, took it for a 5 min drive. It didn't leak while they drove it. They said we can't fix what we can't see, good luck let us know if it happens again. That was in November. I drove it home and haven't looked at it until today when I noticed a small puddle under the vehicle and guess what? It is leaking again in the same spot. Don't know why it takes so long in between leaks. Not sure what I am going to do this time.
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They saw the fluid all over the bottom of the tranny when I took it in. It looks to me to be leaking around the dipstick filler tube where it inserts into the transmission. You can see fluid at the bottom of the tube and there is a plastic piece to the left of the tube that is covered in tranny fluid. I explained this to the dealer when I took it in. They said if they couldn't see where it was leaking from that they didn't know what to replace and they didn't want to start throwing parts at it. They said it looked like it was overfilled at one point and acted like I did it. Sounds like they are trying to cover there rear already. Not happy about it. I won't drive it down to the dealer this time of the year because of the weather. I'm keeping an eye on the fluid levels if it gets low, I will call mazda roadside and have them tow it down to the dealer. Not that it will do any good. I'm also going to take it to my local garage to have them verify that something is wrong so at least I have more proof.
 
I hadn't check the tranny fluid level yet, so I just did it. Followed the directions in the manual and it is on the very bottom low mark. Called the dealer, service dept was closed, talked to my salesman he said don't add anything so they can see it is low and to call service dept on Monday. Probably gonna use roadside assistance to have them tow it down. I don't dare drive it that long of a distance if it is leaking fluid.
 
That's total B.S. in my opinion that they have to see where it's leaking from. I would recommend you contact the dealer's local BBB and file a formal complaint, call/email Mazda HQ in California, and also look up the business on BBB and get the owner's name and address and send a certified letter to them explaining the situation that you had contacted Mazda N.A. HQ. Keep at it like bulldog and it will get resolved.
rykerjenbob said:
They saw the fluid all over the bottom of the tranny when I took it in. It looks to me to be leaking around the dipstick filler tube where it inserts into the transmission. You can see fluid at the bottom of the tube and there is a plastic piece to the left of the tube that is covered in tranny fluid. I explained this to the dealer when I took it in. They said if they couldn't see where it was leaking from that they didn't know what to replace and they didn't want to start throwing parts at it. They said it looked like it was overfilled at one point and acted like I did it. Sounds like they are trying to cover there rear already. Not happy about it. I won't drive it down to the dealer this time of the year because of the weather. I'm keeping an eye on the fluid levels if it gets low, I will call mazda roadside and have them tow it down to the dealer. Not that it will do any good. I'm also going to take it to my local garage to have them verify that something is wrong so at least I have more proof.
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Thanks for the advice guys. I'll talk to the service dept. on Monday and see what they want to do. If it doesn't get fixed this time I will definitely start contacting all of those places.
 
Well they came and got the van today. Mazda roadside is going to tow it down to the dealer, I didn't feel safe driving it 3 hours with such a low amount of tranny fluid in it. I did drive it to work which is only 3 miles one way and when I got home I checked the level again and it was even lower, out of the safe range. I told the mazda service manager that it is even lower and his response was: ya the level would be lower if you checked it while it was cold, in condensing tone. I told him I checked it while it was warm and he had nothing to say. I'm not hopeful it will get fixed this time either I really think they believe I am making the problem up. He stated the last time I was there that they had never had a problem like this before, so in his mind apparently it could never happen. I guarantee that when they check the fluid levels they will lie and say they are fine. I had two other people check the levels to make sure I was correct. If it is not fixed this time I will take it to my local garage just to have something on paper that there is a problem and then call Mazda USA and start complaining.
 
Just a small update: Haven't heard anything from the dealer, I mean nothing. I don't even know if they got the van on Tuesday. The service guy didn't say when they would look at it, I figured it would have at least been this week. They could have at least called and let me know it actually got there.
 
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