Absolutely yes.Anyway we have another mazda 3 (2016), with about 260k miles. It was recently taken to the dealership for a possible timing chain replacement but turns out it wasn't the issue. The diagnostics revealed all kinds of other issues one of which was the transmission pan was leaking. The suggestion was to remove and reseal the pan. Is this do able by a certified mechanic (meaning it's easily accessible),
Absolutely not.and not just "at the dealership only"?
Yes. The only time I would be careful about a full transmission service would be in the event of serious transmission issues. Not just some jerking/hesitation or whatever.Even at 267K miles?
We'll probably get the drain and fill done at a transmission shop since I can't get under the car.
At your mileage assuming no prior transmission service, ensuring the bottom of your pan is clean is a critical, very overdue service. You're lucky that your pan needs to be replaced, otherwise I'm sure you wouldn't have bothered.Even at 267K miles?
We'll probably get the drain and fill done at a transmission shop since I can't get under the car.
Yup, there's really no jerking or hesitation issue so far and the car has never had any transmission service before (no fluid flushes or drain/fill).
Absolutely not.Perhaps just leave it alone?
Depends whether it is the gasket or the pan itself. I'd just get a new one.How does one actually reseal a pan when there's leaks, does one buy a new fluid pan or best to keep the original one?
I agree with this.Most people who service their transmissions regularly do it at 30k-50k mi intervals, and they'll typically drop the pan the first time so that they can replace the transmission fluid filter as well, since the filter would have caught any of the metal wear from the initial break-in of the car. After that, it would be just standard drain and fills at each interval.
At 10 years and 250k mi, if you've never serviced the transmission, it's probably best to leave it alone so that you don't make anything worse. Definitely don't do a transmission flush. The fluid has likely gunked up over time and there are deposits that will come loose during a flush. Those deposits can clog the valleys in the transmission and cause some serious shifting issues. Again, it's probably best to leave it alone and ride it out until the transmission dies, then replace the transmission or scrap the car at that point. There are cars out there that have never changed their fluid out and driven 350-400k mi, but I wouldn't rely on that.