My automatic 2005 2.0 Litre transmission is starting to get rough: options?

[Google]

It's only got 50,000 miles on it. And just recently, it is starting to shift intermittently noticeably rough (most of the time) from 1st to 2nd. I had the transmission flushed at 20K and I just did it recently, a little premature to see if it would help with the shifting.

I already have the PCM update from many years ago about the rough shifting when cold, that was resolved with the update. I haven't heard of any newer update to address any rough shifting from 1st to 2nd gear. While this doesn't happen all the time, it happens most of the time.

I find it odd that this transmission is wearing out so soon (mileage wise). The dealer said it is also too soon.

Mazda says they only do transmission swaps. I don't trust any transmission shops to do any work on this transmission.

I am contemplating what I should do? Maybe I should try to sell my 3 before the issue gets worse? My wife bought last a 2014 Mazda3 GT in April so I likely won't want to get into long term debt and buy a new car at this time due to the high monthly payments. I don't really like any of the new cars out there now. I just need reliable transportation to and from work. I am considering leasing for 24-36 months max because the car has a warranty. I don't have good luck with used. Any suggestions?

 

[concept]

My 1989 MX6 GT's auto transmission had 160,000 miles on it when I sold the car, and that trans never had a problem. My daughter's Protege has over 100,000 miles on it - no problems with it, either. My point is that it is unlikely that your models trans commonly fails at 50,000 miles. Have you seen this issues posted in forums, often?
When you drain the fluid, are there any metallic pieces in it? If not, it could be that an internal adjustment is necessary. If you can get ahold of a factory service manual, it may contain info that would help you to decide what to do, next. Personally, I would not try to sell it to some unsuspecting person.

 

[fatdoggy89]

Does this only happen when cold? From what I've seen on many forums, 1st gen Automatic Mazda 3's have shift shock when cold on 1st to 2nd gear. this goes away as soon as the car warms up (usually after 10-15 mins of driving). My car (05 2.3 mz3) currently has 83k miles and only shifts rough when cold.

 

[hotcracker69]

one thing that can make a tranny fail pretty quick is using the wrong fluid and/or improper level of the fluid.

do you know for SURE that they use the right fluid?

 

[Ball Droid]

my 2005 had 175k miles when I noticed hard shifting from 1st to 2nd gear.

mechanic removed the tranny pan and saw lots of metal shavings.
he said the only fix is a tranny swap/rebuild which costs more than my car is worth.

what I did was to start the car in 2nd gear whenever possible.
now I have 195k miles.

 

[Google]

It's a common scare tactic that ruthless transmission shops play on people's fear when they take down the transmission oil pan. Metal shavings are normal wear and tear. That's why there is a magnet in the transmission pan.

Nowadays, Mazda no longer takes the pan apart or goes underneath to do a transmission flush. It's done in the engine compartment with a special machine where it sucks the fluid from the transmission hole (where the dipstick is). The 2014s do not have a transmission dipstick...go figure that one out, cuz I can't.

In my case, the rough shifting happens mainly when the car is warm. There is a bulletin for the computer that was made available many years ago, around year 2006 for the rough shifting in cold.

Additionally, I started to drive in "manual" mode and when I did so, the rough shifting didn't show up. After driving in the semi-automatic mode, the rough shifting disappeared, but returned as soon as several hours to a few days once I had my stick back in full automatic mode. I almost think there could be something wonky going on in confusing the onboard ECU/PCM (computer)?