Hello Everyone,
I haven't posted here for a while. I've just been racking up km's on my '08 Mazda5. I'm now sitting at 476,000km. I know, that's an unbelievably high number, but it's true. It still runs strong. The engine still uses no oil and is as reliable as anything out there. The clutch and transmission are fine. It's maybe getting harder to tug the sifter into 2nd gear, no doubt the syncro is getting worn, but once it's all warmed up it works slick.
But, it's always in the back of my mind, what if the engine goes and I'm stranded on the side of the road. My 5 owes me noting, but it would still be inconvenient as hell to get stranded hours from home in the middle of the night. So, I started looking for a replacement vehicle. The only vehicles nowadays that come close to the practicality of the 5 are either three row SUV's (Toyota Highlander, Hyundai SantaFe XL, etc...) or a mini van that isn't really very mini (Toyota Sienna etc...). I didn't' really like these options because the vehicles are larger and use significantly more fuel. Plus, the SUV's are all-wheel-drive that adds weight and complexity.
I was thinking of another 5, but Mazda, in their wisdom, quit making them. So I started looking for a used anything because new vehicles seem to be quite expensive lately! Go figure? I saw some used 5's, but they were the newer '12+ models, and I don't particularly care for the grin on the front bumper, nor the horizontal tail-lights. Then I found a used '10 Mazda5 with only 87,000km on it! I picked it up quickly for what I thought was a good price. My only regret is that it has an automatic transmission instead of a manual. Oh well, I've only awakened my passengers once as I stabbed the brake pedal with my left foot as I was getting ready to clutch for a downshift to get ready to corner (in my defense, it was the middle of the night and I had been on the road for quite a while).
When I got it, I pulled the engine dipstick. Yes, it could use an oil change. The engine oil wasn't black, but it wasn't clear either.
I pulled the transmission dipstick and it was black. Like, no red at all; black. I had both oils changed. My mechanic said that the transmission oil was definitely in need of a change, and that there were some metal bits stuck to the magnet at the bottom of the oil pan. No surprise, the vehicle spent it's whole life in the city going up and down the gears. I'm sure it rarely saw the highway. The transmission still shifts fine with the new fluid and filter. Yay. I've now put on about 5000km of mostly highway miles. Love it.
I'm just wondering what kind of life expectancy I should expect for this automatic transmission. With regular fluid changes (every 50,000km or so) is it reasonable to expect I can get another 200,000-300,000 km out of this vehicle before needing transmission work? Am I fooling myself? What do you people with automatics say?
I haven't posted here for a while. I've just been racking up km's on my '08 Mazda5. I'm now sitting at 476,000km. I know, that's an unbelievably high number, but it's true. It still runs strong. The engine still uses no oil and is as reliable as anything out there. The clutch and transmission are fine. It's maybe getting harder to tug the sifter into 2nd gear, no doubt the syncro is getting worn, but once it's all warmed up it works slick.
But, it's always in the back of my mind, what if the engine goes and I'm stranded on the side of the road. My 5 owes me noting, but it would still be inconvenient as hell to get stranded hours from home in the middle of the night. So, I started looking for a replacement vehicle. The only vehicles nowadays that come close to the practicality of the 5 are either three row SUV's (Toyota Highlander, Hyundai SantaFe XL, etc...) or a mini van that isn't really very mini (Toyota Sienna etc...). I didn't' really like these options because the vehicles are larger and use significantly more fuel. Plus, the SUV's are all-wheel-drive that adds weight and complexity.
I was thinking of another 5, but Mazda, in their wisdom, quit making them. So I started looking for a used anything because new vehicles seem to be quite expensive lately! Go figure? I saw some used 5's, but they were the newer '12+ models, and I don't particularly care for the grin on the front bumper, nor the horizontal tail-lights. Then I found a used '10 Mazda5 with only 87,000km on it! I picked it up quickly for what I thought was a good price. My only regret is that it has an automatic transmission instead of a manual. Oh well, I've only awakened my passengers once as I stabbed the brake pedal with my left foot as I was getting ready to clutch for a downshift to get ready to corner (in my defense, it was the middle of the night and I had been on the road for quite a while).
When I got it, I pulled the engine dipstick. Yes, it could use an oil change. The engine oil wasn't black, but it wasn't clear either.
I pulled the transmission dipstick and it was black. Like, no red at all; black. I had both oils changed. My mechanic said that the transmission oil was definitely in need of a change, and that there were some metal bits stuck to the magnet at the bottom of the oil pan. No surprise, the vehicle spent it's whole life in the city going up and down the gears. I'm sure it rarely saw the highway. The transmission still shifts fine with the new fluid and filter. Yay. I've now put on about 5000km of mostly highway miles. Love it.
I'm just wondering what kind of life expectancy I should expect for this automatic transmission. With regular fluid changes (every 50,000km or so) is it reasonable to expect I can get another 200,000-300,000 km out of this vehicle before needing transmission work? Am I fooling myself? What do you people with automatics say?