Transmission Fluid and Filter

Hello All, this is my first post and I thank everyone in advance for their contributions. My daughter just picked up a Mazda2 and of course this Dad is responsible for maintaining the car. The car seems to be in great shape and just had its oil and air filter changed but I don't think the transmission has been touched. It has 37K miles on it and was wondering if anyone has dropped their tranny pan and changed the filter. The fluid seems okay but I'd like to at least drain and refill if nothing else. If anyone has done this procedure, any feedback would be appreciated. Looking forward to being on this forum.

Welcome to the forum! You guys made a great choice the Mazda2 is an amazing car! As far as trans filter I'm not so sure on. I plan to do the fluid in the middle of December but I think I will just drain and refill with new.

I recently did two drains (no pan drop) trying to get rid of break-in material. Drains were about 500 miles apart. My car has a little over 8000 miles on it. Most of that is city stop-and-go.

I will say that the fluid that comes out looks a lot worse than what you see on the dipstick. Also, each drain yielded about 2.5 qts of fluid for me. Car was on ramps so if you're doing it on a level surface that may be slightly different. Tranny drain bolt is same as oil pan bolt (19mm) and even uses same crush washer.


This was my first drain

Good man!

And don't worry about the filter unless the car was untouched for 100k miles. Just do the 3 quarts at every oil change and it'll live forever!

Ok, thanks guys for the info. I assume you're using the factory Mazda fluid?

Just a couple of notes when it comes to Mazda automatics:

1. Change the fluid regularly. You can either do a 3-quart drain-and-fill every 5-10k, or every 30k do a full flush (about 8 quarts). Either way, this is not "fluid for life" by any means -- it must be changed.
2. Use genuine Mazda ATF M-V (M5) fluid. It is not the same as Mercon V. If dealers try to convince you otherwise, find another dealer.

Well, just did a drain and fill. Surprisingly, almost exactly 3 quarts came out. The car was level as I have access to a lift. I'm glad I read to put a sheet of plastic against the suspension components opposite the drain plug so it acts like a shower curtain and doesn't get on the car. The Mazda MV fluid lists for $14.35 a quart at the local Mazda dealer and was able to get them down to $9.50 a quart. Not cheap stuff. The only non factory Mazda MV fluid I know of is made by Beck Arnley but I can't find that stuff anywhere at the local auto parts stores including Autozone, O'Reilly's, NAPA and Pep Boys. I found the stuff on-line but who wants to wait for shipping?

BTW, the fluid that came out was not as dirty looking as Phage's photos but was definitely not red either.