My family and I are planning to drive down to the In-laws in Florida from NJ next week and I was wondering what sort of maintenance I should do prior to the drive down. I have a little over 42k miles on the car now. I just got the oil changed 2 weeks ago and replaced the cabin air filter last week (did it myself). At the last oil change, the service guy said I should get my transmission fluid changed and the fuel injectors cleaned. He quoted me around $300 to get these 2 things done. Question is....should I pay $300 to get this done? Should getting some fuel injector cleaner from autozone be enough? What about the transmission fluid? I did some research on my own but it's hard to get solid advice. I've read too many conflicting stories on car maintenance that it's hard to know who to believe.
Road trip coming up...need advice.
- Thread starter simonnyc
- Start date
kleptomaniak
Member
I am new to this site, and I plan to start contributing more, but you should get your tranny fluid changed if it is more on the brownish side. I change my every 30K, because I use mine in sport shift mode often. In any case, with 40K you should just have the fluid change to have peace of mind. I doubt you need the FIs cleaned as long as you maintain your air filter element. On your way up, try using s tank full of premium gas, and dump some FI cleaner. to me that is all you'd need to clean your FIs. You injectors should still be pretty clean in my opnion.
kleptomaniak
Member
Unfortunately I cannot recommend a good FI cleaner, because I tend to use good quality gas. I go with chevron 89/92. I check my filter element once a month, and put in a bottle of fuel water removal in the tank once a year. Many people don't know this, but water accumulates in the tank, causes rust and promotes carbon deposits, and that is what causes a dirty FI system.
But I think you can pretty much find a decent injecting cleaning product from the shelf. You might also consider using a proper water removal addative for fuel once a year inthe future.
recommended for long trips:
Mazda5 Bra.. for stone chips, bugs, road debris..
it's not fun using the touch up paint to cover those
stone chips.
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=134496&d=1216004759
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=134495&d=1216004616
Mazda5 Bra.. for stone chips, bugs, road debris..
it's not fun using the touch up paint to cover those
stone chips.
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=134496&d=1216004759
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=134495&d=1216004616
If you've had regular service, 42K is really nothing. We have 46K on our car and I wouldn't hesitate to take it cross country. We have the 5-speed and I don't have the service manual next to me, so can't answer whether your tranny fluid needs changing. But I've noticed recommended service intervals have really spaced out in the last few years. Even the dealers I've dealt with haven't really done much with the 5 at scheduled services.
Re: FI cleaner, I use Techron. It wouldn't hurt to dump a bottle in.
Re: FI cleaner, I use Techron. It wouldn't hurt to dump a bottle in.
- :
- 2008 Mazda5 5MT Sport w/ Popular Package
No need to put premium gas on your car, it might actually run funky as the engine is not designed for that. Oil change, check all levels and oh, I've used STP for the Fuel Injector Cleaner, does OK.
Once oil is changed give it a double check 1-2 days later (or overnight) to ensure is not dripping (leaking) before the trip. Once on the road is difficult to see and fix (yeah, an old bad experience)...
Once oil is changed give it a double check 1-2 days later (or overnight) to ensure is not dripping (leaking) before the trip. Once on the road is difficult to see and fix (yeah, an old bad experience)...
We had 50k on ours before trading it in, don't recall doing the tranny fluid but I'd have to check the records. All I ever did was oil changes every 4-5k, tire rotation every 10k, fuel injector cleaner every 15k... STP cause ya can get a deal on the 3packs. Do not bother with premium fuel, people that don't understand the difference get caught up on the "premium" label. I could agree that an occasional fillup at a higher end gas station may help... but no need to bother with premium... likely it'd cause more problems if anything. Fill up the coffee jug, load up the portable dvd player, update your podcasts, fill up your tires, take a combo jumper box/compressor deal and have a fun trip ;P
we're doing a down south road trip soon also, from PA to LA (but we only have 1K miles on the car!)
preparation is the key. check air pressure and keep it maintained. you sould like you're good to go.
those 'recommended' items are pure profit for the oil change places. they try to scare you into getting services done. BUT, w/ an auto trans, the fluid AND filter should probably be changed once a year, or maybe every 2, depends on your driving and mileage. I wouldn't trust a quicky place to do it right, however. fuel injector cleaner? all they are doing is running a bottle of stuff through the tank, right? it's not like they are taking the injectors apart and running them in a megasonic, so just run a bottle of techron if it makes you feel better.
+1 on the comments about 'premium' fuel; high octane gas is NOT 'better' gas, just more resistant to detonation, actually its bad to run it in the winter. if you want to run 'better' gas, do some research on 'top tier' gas stations.
enjoy your trip on I-95!
Thank you all for your comments/advice. I went to Target last night (car was running on empty) to pick up a bottle of the techron stuff but they didn't have any so i picked up Gumout Regane. I didn't know anything about it but fortunately there are a lot of good reviews on it so hopefully it'll help. i also filled up on premium gas to see if i get any noticeable performance gains. haven't noticed anything so far so i guess i'll go back to regular gas. i haven't rotated my tires in a while so i'll probably get that done early next week along with getting the tire pressure checked. best time to check tire pressure is after i've driven on them for a while, right? not after my car was sitting in the garage overnight.
I did a trip from NJ to orlando last year Feb. 3 weeks after i bought my 06' with 40k on it. Didnt do anything to it for the trip, only washed it packed it and took off. But i did check my fluids and pressure at every gas stop. So just make sure your oil is new and all the fluids are topped off and enjoy the ride.
kleptomaniak
Member
I run premium in my car twice. Running premium will absolutely not damage your car. try it. Even though the car runs on regular, premium will actually yeild you slighty better MPG and better response.
Personally, I wouldn't put injector cleaner in. I used to do that back when I had poorly maintained cars (bought from poor maintainers, but I was pretty bad, too) but I was reading my Volvo manual the other nite & Volvo recommends NOT using FI cleaner in any of their vehicles. I would buy a few tanks of Chevron on the trip.
Get the tranny fluid changed. I don't think anyone on the forum here has had tranny probs, but that is one preventative maintenance solution that is as failsafe as regular/early oil changes.
Big one is tires. Have a good tire-only national chain check them out & tell you if you should rotate now or after you get home. I do mine w/every oil change, but the aftermarket Falkens that came w/the car suck. 6K miles and they are balding pretty bad. I may have to roto every 2-3K to keep the fronts from wearing early.
Get the tranny fluid changed. I don't think anyone on the forum here has had tranny probs, but that is one preventative maintenance solution that is as failsafe as regular/early oil changes.
Big one is tires. Have a good tire-only national chain check them out & tell you if you should rotate now or after you get home. I do mine w/every oil change, but the aftermarket Falkens that came w/the car suck. 6K miles and they are balding pretty bad. I may have to roto every 2-3K to keep the fronts from wearing early.
kleptomaniak
Member
simonnyc: in these forums there are lots of advice from well-meaning Mazda5 owners, which is great. Often times in could lead to confusion with all the conflicting advice/opinions we offer, but in terms of what gasoline to use or using FI cleaners or not (both of which I have done with any problems), we seem to agree that your Mazda 5with 46K is in its best year. Other than regular fluid changes, which might include tranny fluid, you need not worry about cleaning out your FIs so early. Service advisers are paid comission on how much service they sell, so they tend to oversell service. The tranny fluid is something that you might need though and check your front brake pads. In any case, your experience will dictate what you feel was a valuable bit of advice and what wasn't in this forum. Have fun.
kleptomaniak
Member
And as a final bit of piece of mind, here are the fuel requirements straight from the Mazda 5 manual:
"Vehicles with catalytic converters or oxygen sensors must use ONLY UNLEADED FUEL,
which will reduce exhaust emissions and keep spark plug fouling to a minimum.
Your Mazda will perform best with fuel listed in the table.
Fuel Octane Rating* (Anti-knock index)
Regular unleaded fuel 87 [ (R+M)/2 method] or above (91 RON or above)
* U.S. federal law requires that octane ratings be posted on gasoline station pumps.
Fuel with a rating lower than 87 octane (91 RON) could cause the emission control system
to lose effectiveness. It could also cause engine knocking and serious engine damage."
What you can gather from this information is that it okay to use premium gas if you want. Higher octane will not hurt your Mazda 5 ever. What will hurt your vehicle's performance is going below the 87 octane minimum requirement. I contend that when I use premium, I actually see a slightly better MPG and throttle response benefit.
Cheers
"Vehicles with catalytic converters or oxygen sensors must use ONLY UNLEADED FUEL,
which will reduce exhaust emissions and keep spark plug fouling to a minimum.
Your Mazda will perform best with fuel listed in the table.
Fuel Octane Rating* (Anti-knock index)
Regular unleaded fuel 87 [ (R+M)/2 method] or above (91 RON or above)
* U.S. federal law requires that octane ratings be posted on gasoline station pumps.
Fuel with a rating lower than 87 octane (91 RON) could cause the emission control system
to lose effectiveness. It could also cause engine knocking and serious engine damage."
What you can gather from this information is that it okay to use premium gas if you want. Higher octane will not hurt your Mazda 5 ever. What will hurt your vehicle's performance is going below the 87 octane minimum requirement. I contend that when I use premium, I actually see a slightly better MPG and throttle response benefit.
Cheers
- :
- 2008 Mazda5 5MT Sport w/ Popular Package
I agree, won't damage your car (did somebody say that? (scratch)) but again, the Mazda5 engine is not designed for it, so it is not ideal and can act funky. If it was an MZR 2.3L DISI Turbo engine (MazdaSPEED3, CX-7) then Premium is recommended for it so that is OK
I tried Premium due to need once or twice, and made no difference. The improved MPG is an urban legend, just Google it.
I'm not an expert but I own 2 Mazda5s so I feel comfortable with my reply. Oh, and I can also confirm that the quality of the regular gas greatly varies among diff brand gas stations
I tried Premium due to need once or twice, and made no difference. The improved MPG is an urban legend, just Google it.
I'm not an expert but I own 2 Mazda5s so I feel comfortable with my reply. Oh, and I can also confirm that the quality of the regular gas greatly varies among diff brand gas stations
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Engine compression ratio and cam timing dictate the octane requirements. An engine designed to run on 87 octane fuel (reg) will not be able to take advantage of higher ocane fuel, but will likely perform just as well as when running regular.
There is a possibility that some companies may offer different additives in their high octane fuels not available in reg. fuel. Seems to me that Chevron offers more Tecron in their higher grade fuels.
Fuel quality is the variable that makes the biggest difference in vehicle performance. Buy your fuel from some independent stations and you may run the risk of getting stale/poor quality/dirty etc fuel.
Buyer beware
There is a possibility that some companies may offer different additives in their high octane fuels not available in reg. fuel. Seems to me that Chevron offers more Tecron in their higher grade fuels.
Fuel quality is the variable that makes the biggest difference in vehicle performance. Buy your fuel from some independent stations and you may run the risk of getting stale/poor quality/dirty etc fuel.
Buyer beware
Jumpbox/compressor combo to the rescue (dance)
