transmission, to flush or not to flush?

[rweatherford]

Next time just ask for his boss. If you don't get that person go find the business office and ask the nice receptionist who his boss is and if you could speak to them.

Some service managers are that way and I haven't figured it out. I am a very mechanical person and know about as much as the upper service techs that work at dealerships every day. If I had the books they have I would know more. I have watched the service managers from a distance really work some people who don't know a roller rocker from lower plenum.

Knowledge is your friend and so is the internet.

 

[meackerman]

on the other hand since he is the only Mazda Service Advisor, I don't really want to piss him off at me, at long as he's there.

 

[daan]

Flush it. Especially if you want to keep it for more than a couple years. Mine burned the fluid in less than 20K, it shifted sluggishly, and once it got flushed out, it shifted better.

 

[meackerman]

its been flushed.

 

[Wuster]

So was there a noticeable difference in how the AT shifts now?

I also have a question for the folks who changed the transmission fluid... did your transmission fluid have a slightly "burnt" smell to it?

The AT fluid color in our 06 Mazda5 is a light red in color, but if I check the AT fluid after driving the car, there is a slightly "burnt" smell to it. But when I check the fluid the next morning after the car sat all night, there is no smell.

I was wondering if anyone else had encountered this problem.

 

[meackerman]

not that I noticed, but then I'm not the primary driver.

 

[stanteate]

Where do you put the transmission fluid in? I just got a Mazdaspeed3 and the manual does not really say. There is a dip stick? This is my first turbo, I still feeling my way around.

StanTeate

 

[rweatherford]

I put mine in the dipstick tube and it was a very slow process.

 

[bulwnkl]

Glad you got it flushed. Also glad our '06 is an MTX. What I read on here makes it clear that the 5's A/T should be drained and refilled no less frequently than ~20k miles, maybe 15k. That avoids the expense of a flush because you just buy the ATF and pull the drain plug, then refill. Still, the colors and smells clearly show that this vehicle's A/T isn't going to live to a ripe old age without changing the ATF very, very frequently and regularly.

 

[Wuster]

So got the transmission flushed today.

Good part: Noticeable different in shifting and acceleration (seat of the pants).
Bad part: I'm kinda surprised that Mazda transmission fluid only lasted 25k miles