trans issue (premature wear)

D

daan

Member
:
06 "5"
I have an 06, with auto. I bought the 5 right at 19K, just before Christmas. I noticed the car (van? whatever) shifting funny (like the transmission has to think about it for a minute before actually changing gears). I checked the fluid, and it was low and almost as dark as the engine oil.(nervous) I definitely don't abuse my car, and my wife drives more "grandma-like" than I do. It's not normal to burn the fluid in this short of mileage, is it? This is actually my first auto-trans vehicle so I don't really know. I do know that I'm glad I have a warranty, since the car is going back to the dealer tonight.
 
transmission_fluid_withverbage.jpg


If it’s black, hopefully someone was an idiot and put in engine oil by accident, or else you tranny really is fried! Eek… good luck with the dealer, sounds like the previous owner wasn’t too bright. :(
 
previous owner's wife probably left it in 2nd in manual mode and drove it on the highway not realizing the engine was at 5k rpms. "wow, this thing has pep" lol
 
The fluid was definitely like the one on the left. And a good friend of mine killed her trans doing the "2 instead of D" thing.
 
jandree22: Good pic of the varying fluid conditions! (thumb)

Color is the easiest way, and smell is another way to check fluid condition.

I have never left it in the manual mode, and usually only utilize the manual shift feature to take off in second gear, or downshift. Other than that I just let it do it's thing. However, twice my family has driven it and left the e-brake on for a block or two. (Boy this car has no zoom at all!)(smash) I guess they were used to them fancy cars that automatically release the e-brake. LOL(confused) At least brake pads are cheaper than a transmission.
 
I looked at mine the other day and thought it was a bit too dark. I'll check it out more at the dealer friday while I am there.
 
Get the fluid changed. Either flushed or drain and re-fill 2 or 3 times would be my recommendation. From then on, check the fluid periodically and drain and refill every 25 - 30,000-miles. I doubt your transmission is destroyed (yet). You could also clean it up with Auto-Rx if you want to.
 
Update,
the shop called. THey did the door recall, apparently the seat recall was done before I got the car. They also changed out a bunch of bushings in the front and rear suspension. While they were in there, they noticed the heat wasn't real warm, and adjusted the "blend door" behind the dash. Now the important part, they said the fluid did look bad but there were no "stored codes" in the computer for the trans. They drove it around and couldn't get it to slip like I was feeling though. They are going to keep it overnight and test it some more. THey want to charge me to change the fluid "unless we find something wrong in there", then it will be a warranty repair.
Anyway I;m enjoying the Mazda 6 loaner in the meantime. Man cars sure have changed since I bought my last one in 1992...
 
daan said:
Now the important part, they said the fluid did look bad but there were no "stored codes" in the computer for the trans. They drove it around and couldn't get it to slip like I was feeling though. They are going to keep it overnight and test it some more. THey want to charge me to change the fluid "unless we find something wrong in there", then it will be a warranty repair.
Click to expand...
Overall, sounds like they're treating you good. Even though you'd have to pay out of pocket, the bold part is fair and par for the situation.
 
jandree22 said:
Overall, sounds like they're treating you good. Even though you'd have to pay out of pocket, the bold part is fair and par for the situation.
Click to expand...

Jandree, do you really think this is a fair response on the part of the Dealer....
After all, the Dealer did say that the fluid looks bad. I would think that if the car is under warranty and the fluid looks burnt at only 20K then the Dealer should replace it without any charge. I would give them Hell until they agreed to change it for free.
Of course if the Dealer refuses to comply, then the other recourse is to write Mazda USA with a formal complaint and see if anything comes out of it.
But to have burnt fluid at 20K is not acceptable.....Just my 2c.
Anthony
 
On a principle level, I agree with you. Its pretty ridiculous that the ATF is burnt after 20k. However they are holding up their warranty end of the deal if any transmission damage is present.

The ATF itself is for the lack of a better phrase, a wearable part. You would be hard pressed to find any dealer that would replace fluid under warranty unless they go above and beyond. For that matter, a dealer could argue that a fried clutch at 20k is also a wearable part.

BUMPER-TO-BUMPER

Mazda warrants that new 2007 and 2008 Mazda cars and trucks will be free of defects with normal use and prescribed maintenance for 36 months or 36,000 miles, which ever comes first. Ordinary maintenance items or adjustments, parts subject to normal wear and replacement and certain other items are excluded. This transferable "limited warranty" is included on all new Mazda vehicles sold and serviced in the United States.
Click to expand...
 
jandree22 said:
On a principle level, I agree with you. Its pretty ridiculous that the ATF is burnt after 20k. However they are holding up their warranty end of the deal if any transmission damage is present.

The ATF itself is for the lack of a better phrase, a wearable part. You would be hard pressed to find any dealer that would replace fluid under warranty unless they go above and beyond. For that matter, a dealer could argue that a fried clutch at 20k is also a wearable part.
Click to expand...

You don't by chance own a car dealership do you .......(lol2)
Seriously though, I would raise hell with the dealership to get this fluid changed for free.
On the other hand, if he plans to keep the Mazda5 as a long term vehicle it would be best to get the fluid changed regardless of who has to pay for it.
 
antlind said:
You don't by chance own a car dealership do you
Click to expand...
Funny you shoud 'joke' about that. No, I don't... but my brother is a Service Advisor at one dealership and my dad is a Service Manager at another (both Chevy). :)

I guess that gives me a different outlook on dealership service depts. They a-l-w-a-y-s get a bad rap, albeit sometimes justifiably so, but I guess the reason I have to defend them is they're constantly in the shaft position of being the middleman between the bitching customer and bitching corporate. Naturally if there's a discrepancy between the two, they're going to cover their ass and err on the side of caution towards the business/corporate interests. Just realize that chances are, they've seen every warranty claim in existence... and it does them no benefit to reject your warranty request as long as Mazda corporate will honor it (either way the dealership gets paid).

I should note, that most techs/advisors/etc do care about the customer when there are actual issues that need resolved(this is an example of that)... but when you come in complaining of rattles or other nitpick crap, they will roll their eyes and laugh at you (lol2)

So yeah, bottom line, definitely fight it and see what you can get out of it, but don't think they're crooks if they say no. EITHER WAY, yes, you NEED to get the ATF changed... this is not something to put off.
 
The fluid is getting changed as we speak. I don't really expect them to do that for free (any more than changing the oil or maybe a brake pad). Now if the new fluid looks burnt again after a couple weeks/months that's a different story... the fluid itself is a "wear item" so I don't mind that but if something in the transmission is bad causing that wear then I think that would be a warranty issue. I plan on keeping this vehicle long enough to give it to my daugter for her car (and she's 5 months old). I tend to keep cars until they're so rusty they CAN'T be fixed anymore.
 
At the dealership today they looked at my fluid and thought it was "OK". I think it may be a little dark for less than 18000 miles. Did your fluid smell burnt? My car was a rental, so WHO KNOWS! They replaced the front tires when they got the car...... with less than 17,000 miles. Is that normal?

I'll check mine out some more tomorrow and may look into changing it myself. I'm not afraid to do that.

I'll recommend Legend Automotive in Columbia, MO. Larry H was my service guy and he let me stand around and talk to him while he checked the alignment on my car. I even went on the test drive with him. Very nice group. I guess Larry is usually a Mercedes tech. He's been there a while. He has definately been on the GM side too.
 
knowing how I drive rental cars, I'd replace the tranny fluid. And since it was a rental, it wouldn't suprise me much that the tires were shot and replaced.

I believe the saying goes, the fastest all terrain vehicle on the planet is your friends rental car!
 
"Nothing parties like a rental"...I looked at several used 5's before I got this one. Most of them were ex-rentals, either from Hertz (or the like) or actual dealer-owned rentals. This particular one was owned by a person though. The front tires were replaced just before I bought the vehicle, I'm hoping due to the "premature tire wear" issue instead of the PO doing burnouts or something. Anyway all my issues were resolved and it cost me all of $160. I'm happy, and I think the car shifts better now.
 
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