Trans fluid change?

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Mazda 5
Went in for an oil change and came out being told I need a transmission flush to the tune of $200. Said it was "burnt". Seriously or is this merely an up sale? Haven't checked for myself, but I'm skeptical of anything that comes of a "free vehicle inspection", and distrustful of techs who know just the right words to use to scare you and make you bite. The vehicle is a 2013 and has about 47K (around town and highway, no towing or unusual heavy load driving) on it. Would a drain and replace be more appropriate given mileage and age? Surely ATF has more longevity than 3 years and <50k miles.
 
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The manufacturer wants you to think fluids are "lifetime", but they aren't. I changed mine in my 08 at 35k and I should have done it sooner, as it was very brown. I don't know the difference with the 2.5 and 6spd automatic yours has, but the 5 speed automatic was very hard on fluid and Mazda gave no service interval. I wonder how many 06-10 5's suffered transmission failures due the fluid being cooked? Such a small volume vehicle compared to say, a Honda Odyssey, it would never get the attention for early transmission failure.
 
I decided it was probably best to do it rather than not to because of my own notion. But still, I would have thought there would have been better longevity. I'm starting to wonder if Mazda was a good choice...

In the end I got out under $100. Everytime the woman behind the counter (dealership) crunched the numbers the bottom line kept going down. Ultimately she said she thought to was simply too much and took another $50 off. It pays to take a cute 10 year old with you!
 
Our 2008 Mazda 5 GT has only has 50k on it, but it's been problem free mostly. Some suspension issues early on, but that was common on the earlier cars. Has never stranded us or broken down. Keep the salt off of it in the winter (hard to do in Cleveland, I know) because Mazdas enjoy rusting in the Rust Belt. Ours serves as a third car now, living out its life in Washington DC as an airport car.
 
Went in for an oil change and came out being told I need a transmission flush to the tune of $200. Said it was "burnt". Seriously or is this merely an up sale? Haven't checked for myself, but I'm skeptical of anything that comes of a "free vehicle inspection", and distrustful of techs who know just the right words to use to scare you and make you bite. The vehicle is a 2013 and has about 47K (around town and highway, no towing or unusual heavy load driving) on it. Would a drain and replace be more appropriate given mileage and age? Surely ATF has more longevity than 3 years and <50k miles.

It's about time for a drain and fill, yes. I do a drain and fill every 15-20k miles, using only Mazda fluid. Every single time, the car has shifted better afterwards, even if I think the fluid looks OK.

When I bought my Mazda5, with 47k miles, the fluid looked grey. Now it usually looks like a dirty red, but the longer I run it, the more the red goes away. Long story short, yes, do a drain and fill every so often, your car will thank you for it.
 
Bought mine brand new

Did valvoline fluid drain and fill at 55km miles

Will do another at 100k, after that I am done with Mazda's and can willl go bye bye
 
Perhaps.
I don't use Mazda fluid as it does not seems to held up as well as aftermarket.
 
Is this: Genuine Mazda 0000-77-112E-01 the right kind of ATF for mazda 5s?

That looks to be correct. But I align with Vasy on this. Seems like the OEM mazda/ford fluid doesn't hold up well with many M5 owners reporting that. There are lots of proven alternatives that seem to hold up better, and cost less (Valvoline, Castrol, etc.). Some people will say "oh but the manufacturer knows best", but I say BS to that. The manufacturers don't have their own oil/chemical plants. They contract with the lowest bidder that will slap their label on a fluid that meets their spec. And if mazda cared that much, they would spec recommended ATF change intervals. Just my $0.02.
 
Thank you for your replies. What particular type of valvoline, castrol, etc. would be suitable for our mazda 5? Theres just so many of them.
 
Thank you for your replies. What particular type of valvoline, castrol, etc. would be suitable for our mazda 5? Theres just so many of them.

As already mentioned, Mazda's Type M5 ATF (part 0000-77-112E-01) is it if you need/want OEM. As to aftermarket choices, there are tons:
Motorcraft FNR5 XT-9-QMM5 (Ford equivalent of M5 ATF Silentnoise713 already mentioned)
Beck Arnley 252-2005
Idemitsu Type-M 10113-042P
Valvoline MaxLife Full Synthetic (red bottle)
Castrol Transmax Import
Castrol Transmax Full Synthetic Multi-Vehicle
Red Line D4
 
Personally I use: Castrol Transmax Import.
Had it in for about 3/4 of my cars life and so far ok.
I did initial full flush with 2 gallons of that stuff and now change a gallon every two years just in case.
 
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