Transmission pan rot?

[teetee1]

I went to a garage for auto transmission fluid flush for my 2015 Mazda 5 the other day and they said that the pan has rotted so they don't feel comfortable to flush the fluid when it will likely start to leak soon after they put the pan back on.

The car has been in MA with it's first owner and I bought it in RI. Does 6 years seem short for the transmission pan to get rusted to a point that it needs a new one? It is not leaking right now but theyau have a point that the surrounding area of the bolt holes got eaten away so they will likely destroy it by removing it and try to clean the mating surface.

 

[negusm]

6 years in the salt belt and near the ocean? Yeah, that could happen to the pan. Especially if they removed the plastic covers under the car.

I doubt the trans body would have gotten so bad they couldn't replace the pan though. Take it to a reputable shop that only does transmissions and see what they say about replacing it.

 

[edmaz]

I discovered quite a bit of rust on my daughter's 2011 3i tranny pan at just about the same vehicle age as yours. There was a heavy layer on the bottom of the pan, but virtually no rust on the upper section and the bolt hole flange.

However, in the process of replacing the pan, I discovered that it was less severely rusted through than I was expecting, and it appeared that it would probably have lasted at least 1-2 more years. The metal actually had enough integrity to be scrubbed clean and repainted. So the outside appearance was making it seem worse than it actually was. But the DIY pan replacement was not that big a deal, and the cost of the pan not overly high, so no big deal. Our vehicle had been primarily in New England as well, which makes it a close match to your situation.

So IMO you will need to replace the pan, however it may not be as imminent as the shop said it is. Perhaps a second opinion might be a good idea, unless you want to just go ahead and have it done immediately. And hopefully 'flush' does not mean with an external pump, because IMO that's not the best choice.

 

[teetee1]

Thanks for the comment. I had the same garage (The Transmission Shop in Coventry, RI) flush my auto trans on a 2010 Mazda 5 and it brought noticeable smoothness during gear shifting. I tend to trust them know what they are doing. It would be nice to do the drain and fill instead of blasting chemicals thought the tranny. I will confirm with them before I go.