I have a 2010 Mazda3, automatic transmission, with 17k miles on it. Couple weeks ago I had the oil changed and tires rotated, and the tech said that the transmission fluid was dark brown and needs replaced. I have also noticed that the car seems more sluggish and is taking longer to switch gears. Does this sound like an issue that I should have checked out by the dealer under warranty, or should I just have my local shop replace the trans fluid? Has anyone else noticed this issue so early in their driving experience?
Transmission Service Needed?
- Thread starter js_mazda3
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17k seems pretty low IMO. Granted this is apples to oranges by my Miata only has had 1 transmission fluid change and that was this year after 20 years and 75,000 miles. On top of that I only changed it because my car has seen some abuse on the track so I figured it wouldn't hurt.
My fiancee's '09 3 has 50,000 miles with the same transmission fluid.
Looking at the Mazda documentation related to my and her Madza3's neither of them specify a transmission fluid interval in the maintenance schedule sections of the OM. That said, you should be good for at least 50k miles or 5 years I would think. I'd get a second opinion before having them change it.
My fiancee's '09 3 has 50,000 miles with the same transmission fluid.
Looking at the Mazda documentation related to my and her Madza3's neither of them specify a transmission fluid interval in the maintenance schedule sections of the OM. That said, you should be good for at least 50k miles or 5 years I would think. I'd get a second opinion before having them change it.
Check the owners manual it will tell you what the service interval is for it. Did you take it to a quick lube place or a dealership? Quick lube places will tell you that your fluid is dark brown on a brand new car if they think they can get you to take the deal. Then most of the time not even change it. If your car is running like you say it is just take it to a dealer and have them check it. It should still be under warranty.
It seems like a few, well maybe a lot of quickie lube places are just rip-off joints. I started changing my own oil years ago and never have to worry if it's done right. My daughter has a 2010 Mazda 3, 2.5 with automatic. It's a very easy car to change the oil on, unlike my over engineered GTI - don't get me started!
It is very true that a lot of them are rip offs. At my last job when our fleet was large and we had more oil changes then we could do in a week we would use one. Over half the cars they did not even change the oil in and still charged us for it. The owner of it was not very happy when he found out he was loosing 500+ oil changes a month.
IT dosent say in the owners manual and theres a good reason - In 2010 when they dropped the 2.5 MZR into the Mazda 3 it had a dedicated transmission cooler on the drivers side inlet to the right of the main grill as you look at the car head on . They dropped that cooling unit in the second quarter of production to save money . So the intervals are going to be different for most people depending how you drive and take care of your car . I have 33K aND ON my 30 k service my trans fluid was fine according to the dealer and they would have changed it in a heartbeat to make more $$$ but didnt so read what it says about the color and viscosity that are the best indicators of when its to be changed - theres NO set mileage - none listed in the manual . BY the way I have the cooler which extends the life of the fluid significantly !!!! buy stoping overheating in traffic slogs
Your service advisor is taking you for a fool, you shouldn't need to worry about the transmission fluid whatsoever, I would however have them check the carburetor fluid.
Kidding aside, have you confirmed the transmission fluid colour yourself? I have a feeling they want you to spend your money until to eliminate those causes until they figure out that they have to perform some actual warranty work, which is stupid because Mazda Corporate will reimburse the dealer.
Kidding aside, have you confirmed the transmission fluid colour yourself? I have a feeling they want you to spend your money until to eliminate those causes until they figure out that they have to perform some actual warranty work, which is stupid because Mazda Corporate will reimburse the dealer.
I'll be the first to admit that I over change my ATF but when I sucked 2 quarts out of our 2012 2.5 it looked pretty dark to me for only having 10,000 miles on it:
I guess I could have sent some off to be checked but it was still darker than I expected for that short of a time. The car doesn't get driven hard at all and doesn't really spend much time in traffic but it does get quite hot here in the summer.
Like I said, I tend to spend more on ATF than I probably need to but I like to pull a couple quarts out every other oil change and replace them with new fluid. Honda had a bulletin some time back recommending a method where the techs drain and fill their transmission 3 times with running it in between to get as much old fluid out as possible without doing a flush (which they recommend against). So I just pump what I can get out through the fill tube (which is typically around 2 quarts) and replace it to try to do similar just over a longer time.
Compared to the cost of a transmission when we get up into the 6 digit miles I figure the ATF is relatively cheap.
Trevor
HandA Accessories
http://Mazda.HandA.com/mazda3.html
I guess I could have sent some off to be checked but it was still darker than I expected for that short of a time. The car doesn't get driven hard at all and doesn't really spend much time in traffic but it does get quite hot here in the summer.
Like I said, I tend to spend more on ATF than I probably need to but I like to pull a couple quarts out every other oil change and replace them with new fluid. Honda had a bulletin some time back recommending a method where the techs drain and fill their transmission 3 times with running it in between to get as much old fluid out as possible without doing a flush (which they recommend against). So I just pump what I can get out through the fill tube (which is typically around 2 quarts) and replace it to try to do similar just over a longer time.
Compared to the cost of a transmission when we get up into the 6 digit miles I figure the ATF is relatively cheap.
Trevor
HandA Accessories
http://Mazda.HandA.com/mazda3.html
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C
cymx5
Edit. I see that the owner's manual does not give a time frame for changing transaxle fluid...what the heck???
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