2014 CX5 Transmission Failure

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2008 Mazda CX-9 Touring FWD . 2014 CX-5 GT FWD
At around 100k, experienced the dreaded torque converter judder / shudder mostly after shifts on hills or above 3rd gear. Put in a little tube of Lubegard Instant Shudder Fixx and that did in fact fix it, but of course, that's only a temporary fix.

Went to stealer to have them read the tranny on their magic box and they saw no failures or codes, so just said we can put in a new (reman) tranny for the bargain price of $5500. Even the service advisor almost choked saying the amount.

Called around local shops and the estimates ranged from 3-3.5k. Typical as I've rarely heard of anyone these days getting tranny work done for less. It's a racket, but I digress.

Shop does what they called a rebuild but I quickly realized the tranny was not rebuilt but replaced. On questioning they swear it has all new innards, 18 month guarantee, blah blah. They also claim the cooler failed putting water in the fluid. Yeah, BS as I did a drain/fill after the problems started and saw nothing. Oh yeah, and it has a pan gasket (not rubber) instead of RTV. They agreed that if it leaks they'll RTV it. Smiling thieves one and all.

I left them 5 quarts of oem FZ fluid that I had on hand to use, but upon checking their fill level (slightly over), noticed it was yellowish on dip and greenish at drain. When I questioned them on this, they showed me the correct part number, but since they didn't buy the extra quarts necessary from the stealer a block away, I suspect they used some equivalent fluid. Owner gave me the old 35 years experience and it's just hydraulic fluid after all BS. I'm in the middle of a drain/refill now just to be sure.

Quick tip: use a Thermopen or similar instant read probe thermometer to test tranny fluid temp from dipstick. Just don't jamb it in there very far. LOL

To top it off, they put the subframe back in poorly so my steering wheel is off - not uncommon after tranny work I know. The alignment doesn't pull but it's off. They've agreed to adjust the subframe (fix their work) but I am wondering if I shouldn't just go havce a competent alignment shop do the work anyway. Thoughts?
 
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Has the failed transmission ever been serviced (D&F etc) during its 100K service life?
 
At around 100k, experienced the dreaded torque converter judder / shudder mostly after shifts on hills or above 3rd gear. Put in a little tube of Lubegard Instant Shudder Fixx and that did in fact fix it, but of course, that's only a temporary fix.

Went to stealer to have them read the tranny on their magic box and they saw no failures or codes, so just said we can put in a new (reman) tranny for the bargain price of $5500. Even the service advisor almost choked saying the amount.

Called around local shops and the estimates ranged from 3-3.5k. Typical as I've rarely heard of anyone these days getting tranny work done for less. It's a racket, but I digress.

Shop does what they called a rebuild but I quickly realized the tranny was not rebuilt but replaced. On questioning they swear it has all new innards, 18 month guarantee, blah blah. They also claim the cooler failed putting water in the fluid. Yeah, BS as I did a drain/fill after the problems started and saw nothing. Oh yeah, and it has a pan gasket (not rubber) instead of RTV. They agreed that if it leaks they'll RTV it. Smiling thieves one and all.

I left them 5 quarts of oem FZ fluid that I had on hand to use, but upon checking their fill level (slightly over), noticed it was yellowish on dip and greenish at drain. When I questioned them on this, they showed me the correct part number, but since they didn't buy the extra quarts necessary from the stealer a block away, I suspect they used some equivalent fluid. Owner gave me the old 35 years experience and it's just hydraulic fluid after all BS. I'm in the middle of a drain/refill now just to be sure.

Quick tip: use a Thermopen or similar instant read probe thermometer to test tranny fluid temp from dipstick. Just don't jamb it in there very far. LOL

To top it off, they put the subframe back in poorly so my steering wheel is off - not uncommon after tranny work I know. The alignment doesn't pull but it's off. They've agreed to adjust the subframe (fix their work) but I am wondering if I shouldn't just go havce a competent alignment shop do the work anyway. Thoughts?
If I were in your situation, a 2014 CX-5 with 100K miles, I’d find a transmission from a salvage yard cheap ($500 ~ $600?), preferably from a 2015 or later model years which had been revised as described in the TSBs, then put it in to replace the failed transmission. After that, I’d sell the CX-5 or trade it in for a new car. Or I’d try that magic transmission treatment fluid to mask the shudder problem then trade the car in. Most shops now don’t do transmission rebuild, they get a rebuilt one and put it in like you had found out.

I’d let the transmission shop to re-adjust the sub-frame to a proper position, then take the CX-5 to a reputable alignment shop such as Brakes Plus to check out the alignment.
 
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Noticed this whining noise TSB that simply has AT replacement as remedy


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So this’s the 8th TSB for the same whining front input bearing problem which is caused by improper configuration of the transaxle case. The case modification had been mentioned as early as in 2014, and the problem still hasn’t been fixed and Mazda keeps modifying the case for all these years?

DESCRIPTION

This is caused by a damaged bearing in the transaxle due to improper configuration of the transaxle case. A modification has now been implemented on automatic transaxles with the following serial numbers:
 
I think I am going to start doing 20-25k mile simple drain and fills. I last did basically full AT fluid swap back in 2019 at 50k miles... now at around 67k miles. One-offs seem to be in the 3-3.4 quart range on mine. I'm not sure if these pressure switches are simply being affected by normal clutch material in an AT or not. May drop the pan AT drain and fill after the next one.



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Mine was like a steady dog whistling at any speed after about 10 mph which got me a trans replacement on my 2014
 
Hmm, may start doing ATF drain/fills more often then. No problems here, gearing up to do a drain/fill in a couple thousand more miles, but rather safe than sorry. Did 3 of them back around 71k and am at 108k now.
 
Being a little curious about the trouble code meanings and the effects of contamination, an internet search led to this:
I guess this explains why the TCM is updated as mentioned in the TSB(s). There's probably more info somewhere on the great internet if one is inclined to search for it.
 
I'll probably take mine in to get flashed after next AT fluid change. I'll have to double check again but recall switch replacement isn't required for my model year to get update. I guess I'll be paying an hour for shop time
 
I updated the TCM on mine during the Holidays. Doesnt seem any different in shifting but at least its on the updated version.
For 2013-2015 and on 2018-2019 its only TCM update according to the TSB.
 
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