just FYI, I was able to check the transmission dipstick WITHOUT having to disassemble the air intake........
I can understand why some may want to, it makes it easier, but just giving another option that it's not necessary......
first need to drop the plastic panels,
for the CX-5 you DO NOT NEED to lift up the front of the car,
there is more than enough clearance.
these are the type of screws to remove, some philips, some 10mm, and some 8mm panel fasteners...
here is picture from underneath, you can easily access the dipstick and dipstick bolt:
it is reachable from underneath:
there's plenty of room to get a stubby ratchet with 10mm socket
the bolt holding down the dipstick is 10mm size:
this picture shows the dipstick can easily be removed from underneath without having to disassemble the air intake
dipstick reading, hard to tell but looks ok to me, not low not high, just in the middle....
fluid is super clean though, I have 16,000 odometer miles
as others have mentioned, Mazda design allows dirt to accumulate as shown:
dirt can get under the dipstick, I cleaned it carefully making sure dirt doesn't go down the hole:
I ripped a small piece of my detailing clay bar and used clay slowly over the dirt and the clay grabbed most of the debris,
then like Gova used a damp cleaning wipe to clean the remaining residue, worked quite well, obviously, I threw out the clay,
no way I was going to use it again for detailing, the encased debris will cause scratches.
make sure to clean off dirt on O-ring before putting it back in:
tools used:
safety glasses, stubby ratchet with 10mm socket
gloves, one of my mechanic friends gave me this tip, use old golf or batting gloves, a lot more dexterity, works great!!
panel fastener tool remover:
my trusty Worx for the underpanel 10mm scrwes, my wife thinks it looks like a gun
probably do drain and fill at around 35,000 miles, will do as above and measure what drains out and get a long flexible tube funnel and pour back thru the dipstick hole the same amount. I like the fact that car can be done level on the ground, and no need to remove air intake assembly; just need to remove the plastic paneling which needs to be done anyway to get to the transmission drain plug, and most of all can do it myself without going to dealer, I'm sure those monkeys would get tons of dirt into the fill hole.
also just an FYI, if you plan to drain and fill, I recommend changing the aluminum washer, thanks to yrwei52, here's the part number,
Mazda 99564-1400 (same washer for the engine oil plug)
