Auto transmission flare changing from 3rd to 4th

[Moonlighter]

2016 CX5 Akera Diesel AWD auto. Location Australia.

Car is 6 months old. 6500kms.

When the engine is cold, and I first drive off, the gear change from 3rd to 4th flares most times.

By flares I mean it's like it partially misses the gear change and revs up anywhere between 500-1000rpm and then changes gear. Only does it the first time it gets to that 3-4 gear change, next time it gets to that change its fine. Only does it on the 3rd to 4th gear change. And once the car has warmed up a touch, no problems.

If I stop the car for a couple of hours and then come back, start and drive off, and it will often do the same thing again. Just the once!

It's been doing this since new. Very annoying, it simply shouldn't happen.

Mentioned it twice to my dealer- first time at the 1month/1000km check, when they say they've checked software and diagnostics and no fault codes showing up. That time they said they did a sw update, but frankly, it made no difference.

Second time was about 2 weeks ago when it was in for warranty replacement of the EPB control unit, they said they checked and couldn't find anything.

I had a 2013 CX5 GT diesel before this car and had no such issues.

Any thoughts??

 

[erhayes]

Transmission flare of 500 rpm is considered a problem IMO. Check the fluid level. If you are very heavy throttle on a cold engine, that acerbates the problem.. Ed

 

[Moonlighter]

I will get the dealer to check it again. Ive emailed Mazda Australia explaining the issue and asked them for assistance. No reply yet. Might ave to wait until the new year, I guess.

I am usually gentle on the throttle, but have tested it with a firmer throttle and it does the same thing, just worse.

We have been having some quite hot days here lately, up around 33C and on those days, it hasn't done it.

 

[yrwei52]

⋯ when it was in for warranty replacement of the EPB control unit

I understand you're in different region, but would you please elaborate this warranty replacement of your EPB control unit? I saw the TSB and it seems to only affect in very cold weather condition. My dealer says "no codes, no replacement". Do you have any symptom or codes and what made you to go to dealer getting the EPB control unit replaced?

I do believe your transmission is having issues and a replacement is imminent. There're several reports in this forum that their 2016 transmission got replaced due to a batch of faulty parts got assembled into the transmission. Their symptom was a little different and mostly they had delayed engagement from Reverse to Drive or vise versa. The good thing is this issue should be flaring up over time, and eventually it shows up consistently. At that time your dealer should be able to feel it and proceed the proper warranty service.

 

[Chris_Top_Her]

Turbo not at operating temp yet?

 

[Moonlighter]

The relevant TSB has no reference to cold temps. You must be looking at a different one.

The one relevant to this issue is ref no R052/16A "Noise from rear brake/trace of rear brake dragging". First issued June 20 2016 and revised August 2 2016. You can see it at post #13 on this thread, along with further explanation of the issue:
https://www.mazdas247.com/forum/sho...and-Electronic-Parking-Brake-Service-Bulletin

I put a post up earlier in that thread re this issue, but basically, I was getting a noise much the same as if I had a "warped" rear brake disc. It was more noticeable after the electric hand brake had been used. Informed dealer of those issues and symptoms and my belief that it was rear disc related. No codes. Just a rhythmic drumming noise when braking, most noticeable under a gentle trailing brake. More noticeable some times than others. Sometimes no noise at all, others VERY noticeable, even embarrassingly so.

Dealer initially diagnosed it as excess run out in front discs (I disagreed but hey - they are the experts!) so front disc rotors were replaced under warranty. Problem not solved, so back we go to the dealer again, at that stage the TSB had just been received or noticed by the dealer, and they found the car was within the VIN range and given the symptoms, warranty replacement of the EPB control unit was approved.

Problem solved.

I've read the reports re transmission failures and the symptoms reported by those cases are completely different to mine, no mentions whatsoever of a flare. Have checked all TSB's too and can't see any that reference a flare. I have none of the other gear selection issues, and, as I stated, the flare only happens once - the first time the car is driven away when it's been parked overnight or at least several hours and has coooled completely down. It hasn't gotten any worse.

I think it's more likely a simple issue such as transmission oil level, or possibly a sensor. If no-one here on the forum has has had the same issue, I will just wait and see what reply I get from Mazda Australia.

I understand you're in different region, but would you please elaborate this warranty replacement of your EPB control unit? I saw the TSB and it seems to only affect in very cold weather condition. My dealer says "no codes, no replacement". Do you have any symptom or codes and what made you to go to dealer getting the EPB control unit replaced?

I do believe your transmission is having issues and a replacement is imminent. There're several reports in this forum that their 2016 transmission got replaced due to a batch of faulty parts got assembled into the transmission. Their symptom was a little different and mostly they had delayed engagement from Reverse to Drive or vise versa. The good thing is this issue should be flaring up over time, and eventually it shows up consistently. At that time your dealer should be able to feel it and proceed the proper warranty service.

 

[Moonlighter]

The problem has stayed the same, got no worse or better.

I escalated the issue to Mazda Australia corporate. Gave them all details. Asked if they could assist to get the problem solved.

Got a call from their customer service rep today.

They've spoken to my local dealer and have now booked the car in where they will download all sorts of data from the car, run tests and will send data to Mazda Australia technical specialists for analysis. They are currently not sure whether it's a software issue or hardware, but seem confident that they will get to the bottom of the issue and resolve it one way or another.

They've booked me a courtesy car for 3 days just in case the process takes some time.

Earliest time we could get it booked in was 13 Feb.

Will update with results after then.

 

[Anchorman]

The problem has stayed the same, got no worse or better.

I escalated the issue to Mazda Australia corporate. Gave them all details. Asked if they could assist to get the problem solved.

Got a call from their customer service rep today.

They've spoken to my local dealer and have now booked the car in where they will download all sorts of data from the car, run tests and will send data to Mazda Australia technical specialists for analysis. They are currently not sure whether it's a software issue or hardware, but seem confident that they will get to the bottom of the issue and resolve it one way or another.

They've booked me a courtesy car for 3 days just in case the process takes some time.

Earliest time we could get it booked in was 13 Feb.

Will update with results after then.

It sounds good that they are taking you seriously.

 

[Moonlighter]

Update on the resolution of this issue.

The car went into the local dealer on Monday for them to attempt to resolve this issue, and, at the same time, to have its 10,000km/6 month service. They wanted to keep it for a few days so they could thoroughly investigate the transmission issue so they gave me a loan car to take home. New Mazda 3. Nice car.

Got a call lunchtime yesterday (Wednesday) from the dealer to say that the CX5 was ready to collect.

Spoke to the service adviser when I got there.

No issues with the 10K service. (As an aside, Mazda here does set price servicing with the cost only varying if extra items are requested/need to be done. You can go to the Mazda website, put your car's rego number in, select the service and ot tells ypu the cost - in this case a 10,000km service would be $322. However, I elected to supply my own oil, which as diesel owners will know has to meet the ACEA C-1 classification or JASO DL-1, 5W-30, full synthetic. I supplied a 5 L bottle of locally produced Penrite Enviro DL-1 oil that meets these specs that I picked up on sale for $40. This reduced the service cost to $215 !! That Valvoline oil that the dealer uses must be really soecial stuff!!)

They did data checks and then did a PCM update followed by executing the transmission relearning process. Then they took it for several test drives over 2 days to confirm that the transmission was performing without faults, especially when the car was first started in the morning, which is when the issue was most commonly happening.

When I collected the car, it had not been started or driven for about 2 hours. So with some trepidation i drove out of the dealers yard and headed off.

To my relief the transmission shifted smoothly thru all gears. Went for a 10 minute drive around the suburb, stopped to fill up the tank with diesel, and all good. A couple hours later, drove my wife into the city, about a 40minute drive away, and then back home again.

All good. In fact, i think that the auto is shifting crisper and smoother than it ever has since I bought the car. To be honest, I had long felt that the auto on this car was not as smooth as its immediate predecessor, which was a 2013 CX5 GT diesel.

This morning I took it for another drive, this tlme a run to the Gold Coast, about a 50 minute drive, most of it down the M1 freeway. Now the car had sat overnight so it had cooled right off, so if it was going to flare, the first half mile after leaving my driveway would likely be when any problems would arise, based on past experience.....

All good! 3rd to 4th gear change was nice and direct, no flare at all. The drive to the Coast was fine, and I am becoming more sure that the auto is performing more smoothly and directly than it has ever done.

I am always cautious about calling a problem "resolved" after only a day or so, but its certainly looking positive. Will update again in a week.

 

[Unobtanium]

I myself have had zero incidents of my transmission flaring, either. However, I will bring it up at the next service and see if they can't make it a bit crisper or ward off anything by doing what they did for yours, which, as I understand it, was just the re-learn process?

 

[Moonlighter]

I myself have had zero incidents of my transmission flaring, either. However, I will bring it up at the next service and see if they can't make it a bit crisper or ward off anything by doing what they did for yours, which, as I understand it, was just the re-learn process?

They did a PCM software update, followed by the relearning procedure.

 

[Unobtanium]

They did a PCM software update, followed by the relearning procedure.

I will inquire. Thanks!

 

[madar]

Sounds like they knew what they were doing and treated you right on top of that. So good to hear it wasn't hardware related and that a simple procedure solved your problem.

 

[Moonlighter]

Yes, but I can only wonder why it wasnt fixed the first time they said they did the same thing back when i had the 1000km checkup done. Mustnt have been done properly that time is all I can think of.

Anyway, as I said so far its looking good. I will report again in a week or so to update on if it stays fixed!

 

[Unobtanium]

Yes, but I can only wonder why it wasnt fixed the first time they said they did the same thing back when i had the 1000km checkup done. Mustnt have been done properly that time is all I can think of.

Anyway, as I said so far its looking good. I will report again in a week or so to update on if it stays fixed!

I'm leery of that kind of stuff, too. My Jeep had the N23 recall done which screwed the 4WD Low up. Chrysler battled owners for over a year with various "re-programs", each time saying they fixed it, or the last one needed to be re-done but with a slightly different way of doing it, etc. All of that failed after a few thousand miles/weeks, and I just bought a computer out of Canada from a wrecked jeep that never got the damn recall.

 

[Moonlighter]

Oh well, it was too good to be true!

The flaring between the 3-4th gear change is back. Started doing it again on Saturday 18th. So the "fix" lasted just 3 days. Damnit!

I was able to get it on video this morrning and drove straight to the dealer and showed them. The foreman is going to drop past on his way to work tomorrow morning and we will take the car for a run when it has sat again overnight so he can experience it first hand.

So, back to the drawing board. Twice now they have done the PCM update and transmission relearning process. Batting 0-2. I think at this stage we can safely say that doing that again isnt going to solve the problem.

Ho hum......

Will keep updating as we progress.

 

[yrwei52]

Oh well, it was too good to be true!
The flaring between the 3-4th gear change is back. Started doing it again on Saturday 18th. So the "fix" lasted just 3 days. Damnit!

Sorry to hear that. We're happy when your dealer seemed to have fixed your transmission problxem after PCM update and transmission relearning process. Unfortunately my comment in earlier post still stands. Well, at least your Mazda dealer opens on Sunday so that you could take your CX-5 in. Our car dealers are all closed on Sunday in Texas!

I do believe your transmission is having issues and a replacement is imminent.

 

[Conrad 16.5]

Oh well, it was too good to be true!

The flaring between the 3-4th gear change is back. Started doing it again on Saturday 18th. So the "fix" lasted just 3 days. Damnit!

I was able to get it on video this morrning and drove straight to the dealer and showed them. The foreman is going to drop past on his way to work tomorrow morning and we will take the car for a run when it has sat again overnight so he can experience it first hand.

So, back to the drawing board. Twice now they have done the PCM update and transmission relearning process. Batting 0-2. I think at this stage we can safely say that doing that again isnt going to solve the problem.

Ho hum......

Will keep updating as we progress.

I think that we can safely say that going through the procedure again isn't going to solve the issue but I'll bet that doesn't stop the dealer from trying it again...

 

[Moonlighter]

Sorry to hear that. We're happy when your dealer seemed to have fixed your transmission problxem after PCM update and transmission relearning process. Unfortunately my comment in earlier post still stands. Well, at least your Mazda dealer opens on Sunday so that you could take your CX-5 in. Our car dealers are all closed on Sunday in Texas!

International date line - today is Monday here! Dealers closed Sundays hre too.

 

[yrwei52]

International date line - today is Monday here! Dealers closed Sundays hre too.

Oops! Forgot Australia is 14 ~ 17 hours ahead of Texas, Central time zone! (braindead