Vague Transmission Oil Change Recs Vs Common Sense & Reality

[cx5_2014]

I will change the fluid every 25k-30k miles. I have done this on every metric auto tranny car I have owned and have never had to replace a tranny. I doubt I will ever change the filter and will just do drain and fills. I'm just at the point in my life, I'm not gonna scrape and reapply RTV to a pan. If someone made a kit for the cylinder deactivation 2.5's that included a pan gasket that REALLY fit, I might do it. My wifes 2009 CX-9 was sold with 230k miles and it shifted like new when sold with only fluid drain and fills. So did my daughters 330k mile Lexus RX330. Maxlife ATF + Lubegard. I stuck with the Aisin and MAzda Blue ATF for the 2016 and 2019 CX-5's I recently bought. There is a guy that goes by Callisto on another forum that claims to be a Mazda Tech and says that he uses MAXLIFE and Lubegard in his CX-5 transmissions. He seems legit. My gut tells me I could use red ATF and Lubegard and do fine but I just don't have the stones to do it!

I've usedaxlife and have no idea what lubeguard is. What is it?

 

[sinistriel@]

I've usedaxlife and have no idea what lubeguard is. What is it?

Its a set of additives meant to change chemistry inside universal ATFs, they have a TCC shudder fix that is ok but some of the other additives can damage piston seals. It claims to be able to alter the chemistry and friction coefficient of fluids to hit a variety of specs that the base universal can't.

 

[TheMAN]

I know nothing about whines and a little bit about the fluid. Back in June I realized that the transmission fluid was not refreshed at 60K miles along with the rear diff and transfer case. My memory has failed me. So I started searching and considered the wide-application ATFs that claim to be suitable for Mazda FZ. According to their spec sheet, they are also good for Mazda M3, M5, all the earlier ones, and many other makes. It sounded like it could work. However, what I could get in two days (thanks for Jeff) at that time was Idemitsu M3/M5. It wasn't the closest match, but I figured it was the next best match. Besides, it can't be worse than the oem fluid with 153K miles. My first drain/fill was with red type M. For a few days, yes, I wondered if the mixture is turning into a cherry chocolate sludge in the transmission.

Further research then led me to Aisin MFZ on Rockauto (More Information for AISIN ATFMFZ). The second/third drain/fill in the following weeks were both with Aisin MFZ. It was a relief to see that fresh red type M mixes well with dirty brown FZ. I use a drain pan to observe/measure the contents before dumping into the shop's tall reservoir. No sludge, no drama.

If the fluid could be the problem, put the right stuff in to eliminate one suspect. For my MINI, I have had to replace one part at a time, anything that is remotely relevant to a persistent misfiring. After my last attempt, she won't even start any more. I can finally take a break.

using the wrong fluid is a faster way to kill a transmission than to just wait out another few miles while waiting to get the right kind

I will change the fluid every 25k-30k miles. I have done this on every metric auto tranny car I have owned and have never had to replace a tranny. I doubt I will ever change the filter and will just do drain and fills. I'm just at the point in my life, I'm not gonna scrape and reapply RTV to a pan. If someone made a kit for the cylinder deactivation 2.5's that included a pan gasket that REALLY fit, I might do it. My wifes 2009 CX-9 was sold with 230k miles and it shifted like new when sold with only fluid drain and fills. So did my daughters 330k mile Lexus RX330. Maxlife ATF + Lubegard. I stuck with the Aisin and MAzda Blue ATF for the 2016 and 2019 CX-5's I recently bought. There is a guy that goes by Callisto on another forum that claims to be a Mazda Tech and says that he uses MAXLIFE and Lubegard in his CX-5 transmissions. He seems legit. My gut tells me I could use red ATF and Lubegard and do fine but I just don't have the stones to do it!

maxlife and lubegard is great for older cars, always had good results in old toyotas... but on a skyactiv? no chance I'm putting that stuff in!

maxlife is only safe for transmissions that used Dexron III/Mercon/Mercon V and others that are close to it, but nothing else

 

[SparkYellow]

I am planning to change the filter and reseal the pan in two weeks. Don't want to, but really have to. There is a slight leak that I have noticed at the last round of drain/fill.

In mid-June I went to a reputable shop for inspection and was told about a leak and several other things. In their report, it was stated the tire pressure was adjusted to 35 psi on all 4. Sticker on the door jamb says 36/33 front/rear. They gave me a quote on the worn/torn engine mounts, noting OEM parts/numbers for a FWD. Mine is AWD as shown on the rear badge. I decided to DIY and found no traces of fluid around the trans pan at the time. However, at the last drain/fill, there is a leak from the seam above a corner bolt. I wonder how that particular corner became loose? The shop said one of my rear shocks was leaking, neither showed any leak.

Mazda does not make a gasket for the CX-3 pan. Many aftermarket filters offer a paper gasket but the fitment is questionable/poor. I booked a lift for a full day so I can clean, scrape, apply RTV and wait for it to cure. Will get a couple other tasks done while waiting.

 

[SparkYellow]

using the wrong fluid is a faster way to kill a transmission than to just wait out another few miles while waiting to get the right kind

Well back then I didn't know I could get definitive answers from you eh?! I make decisions based on the information that I can gather and understand at the time.

Without adult supervision, I have made many questionable choices.

 

[SparkYellow]

But the Valvoline MaxLife ATF bottle doesn’t say it meets Mazda “FZ” spec, hence it isn’t FZ compatible, period.

The full product information sheet is five pages long and available online.

MaxLife Multi-Vehicle Automatic Transmission Fluid - Valvoline™ Global - Valvoline™ Global

Try Valvoline MaxLife Full Synthetic Multi-Vehicle Automatic Transmission Fluid, designed to maximize performance and suitable for most light duty vehicles and CVT...

www.valvolineglobal.com

US_Val_MLMultiVehicle_ATF_EN.pdf - Docusign CLM

sharena21.springcm.com

Even if FZ is listed, it means that Valvoline finds it to be compatible. It doesn't mean that Mazda agrees or confirms. The next step is to look at the oil spec and compare the numbers. There is a thread on Bob is the Oil Guy where a group of oil geeks presented a pretty balanced view of the situation.

 

[SparkYellow]

I read somewhere that max life was good for fz so I used it. I think the viscosity is thicker on the max life which is why I hear a slight whine from the trans while driving but so far I've put 46k on since I did my 3x drain and fill with Valvoline. If I were to do it over I'd use Mazda atf fz

Was the last D/F done at home or at a shop? Either way, have you checked the fluid level recently? It is one more thing to blame when things go wrong. If it is low, could there be a leak?

 

[cx5_2014]

The whine apparently is normal I've heard. I did the work myself and have done a 3x drain and fill and then another 1x drain and fill 30k miles later. The level isn't low I checked it at 122° F/50°C and it was running in park and checked to be full. It's as easy as checking oil as long as the temp is right. My trans temp at full running temp is usually at about 87°C or more so it doesn't have to run for to long to heat up. I'm just gonna NG to keep using max life since it's been in there almost 50k miles already. I'm not sure about lubeguard since it shifts perfectly already and is smooth as butter. Why change anything. Btw I've never changed the filter. I hope that it's still filtering.

 

[N7turbo]

The only whine that is normal on these transmissions is the one that occurs when accelerating to highway speeds in 5th or 6th gear from around 40-60mph. It is fairly high pitched and sometimes mistaken for the turbo, but all my NA CX-5s had it too. It should be very quiet otherwise.

 

[TheMAN]

The whine apparently is normal I've heard. I did the work myself and have done a 3x drain and fill and then another 1x drain and fill 30k miles later. The level isn't low I checked it at 122° F/50°C and it was running in park and checked to be full. It's as easy as checking oil as long as the temp is right. My trans temp at full running temp is usually at about 87°C or more so it doesn't have to run for to long to heat up. I'm just gonna NG to keep using max life since it's been in there almost 50k miles already. I'm not sure about lubeguard since it shifts perfectly already and is smooth as butter. Why change anything. Btw I've never changed the filter. I hope that it's still filtering.

it's not "normal" if it wasn't there when the car was new and eventually showed up

our 3's (same trans as CX-5) is nearly 57k and it's still "whisper quiet" (knocks on wood), running the CORRECT FLUID (flushed at 50k)

you're playing russian roulette with the wrong fluid, and the damage might be done for running the wrong fluid for that long... but do you want to keep the damage going or stop it now by flushing out all of that stuff for the right one?