2016~2023 CX-9 Differential and transmission fluid long life?
- Thread starter Sami1981
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Jack Rabbit
Banned
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- 18 Mazda CX5 AW
The definition of lifetime varies depending on who you talk to:
Mazda says lifetime but do they consider lifetime to be the warranty period of 5 years/60 k miles ? Just enough until the warranty period is over then it doesn't matter what happens?
For some owners here, they feel the need to change it at 30 k miles. which seems to be too soon.
Myself lifetime of my vehicles is 10-14 years and over 200 k miles. I would never feel comfortable running it that long without a fluid change. My mechanic mentioned maybe waiting until 100 k miles.
For the tranny, it would be your preference on when to change but I would think somewhere between 60 and 100 k miles might be advisable.
This is the first lifetime fluid vehicle I've owned so I probably might change the fluid at the 60 k miles mark. My previous vehicles tranny fluid were usually changed at around the 45-50 k mile mark and those transmissions lasted over 12 years & 200,000 mile life of the vehicle(s)
But doublecheck your manual for any exceptions.(like differential submerged in water, etc.) Also, if you are in the desert with sand, etc. You may be on a severe conditions service schedule for the transmission and differential. This should all be in your manual.
Differential aren't really exposed to the high heat that engine oil and transmission fluid is.
So that would be your preference as well.
Mazda says lifetime but do they consider lifetime to be the warranty period of 5 years/60 k miles ? Just enough until the warranty period is over then it doesn't matter what happens?
For some owners here, they feel the need to change it at 30 k miles. which seems to be too soon.
Myself lifetime of my vehicles is 10-14 years and over 200 k miles. I would never feel comfortable running it that long without a fluid change. My mechanic mentioned maybe waiting until 100 k miles.
For the tranny, it would be your preference on when to change but I would think somewhere between 60 and 100 k miles might be advisable.
This is the first lifetime fluid vehicle I've owned so I probably might change the fluid at the 60 k miles mark. My previous vehicles tranny fluid were usually changed at around the 45-50 k mile mark and those transmissions lasted over 12 years & 200,000 mile life of the vehicle(s)
But doublecheck your manual for any exceptions.(like differential submerged in water, etc.) Also, if you are in the desert with sand, etc. You may be on a severe conditions service schedule for the transmission and differential. This should all be in your manual.
Differential aren't really exposed to the high heat that engine oil and transmission fluid is.
So that would be your preference as well.
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Jack Rabbit
Banned
- :
- 18 Mazda CX5 AW
118000 kilometers is roughly 73k miles so yeah you should probably find an auto service /garage that might do the fluid change for you or do it yourself.
Remember lifetime meaning by Mazda(and other carmakers) may be when the warranty period expires then when the transmission fails, that was the life of the transmission.
And you are in a hot, sandy climate. So the transmission fluid probably gets a lot hotter where you live which reduces the transmission fluids lubricant properties.
What color is your fluid? It should be a red.
Compare your fluid to internet images to see how used or burnt your fluid is.
And find an independent garage service place to look at your vehicle. The owner of the Mazda dealership may have a hidden agenda to keep people coming back for new cars or may truly believe in lifetime fluids.
Has anyone sent in a lifetime transmission fluid to Blackstone for analysis?
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- Canada
I believe some transmission oil analyses have been posted here before. I did a search and found this useful thread:
Skyactiv Transmission Fluid Analysis Thread
I thought it made sense to put this in a separate thread from the regular oil analysis. Anyway I did my first transmission fluid change (3 drain/fill sessions a week apart) starting around 71,200 miles. During the first, I captured a sample and sent it away for analysis. And before you ask, yes...
Jack Rabbit
Banned
- :
- 18 Mazda CX5 AW
Good info. Seems like maybe should have done around 40,000 to 50,000 miles to get all the wear metals out then can maybe have it done every 60-70,000 miles thereafter. The one post with the gray/silver colored tranny fluid convinced me it still needs changed a little sooner than laterI believe some transmission oil analyses have been posted here before. I did a search and found this useful thread:
Skyactiv Transmission Fluid Analysis Thread
I thought it made sense to put this in a separate thread from the regular oil analysis. Anyway I did my first transmission fluid change (3 drain/fill sessions a week apart) starting around 71,200 miles. During the first, I captured a sample and sent it away for analysis. And before you ask, yes...mazdas247.com
Based on how long I keep my vehicles, am setting my schedule to change at the 40,000, 100,000, 160,000 and 220,000 mile marks. Almost similar to what I did with last vehicles.
Others can adjust shorter or longer based on their needs. For hot desert climates, I might want to change sooner.
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1--The fluid certainly CAN be changed.
2--All the fluids are longer lived than in years past. The only way to tell the condition of the fluid for sure is to send a sample to a testing lab. In the U.S. it costs $30 for a test of the ATF at a lab that deals with individuals as well as fleets (Blackstone). You may need to ask around in your country to find such a lab.
3--High temperatures greatly shorten the life of lubricants. More precisely it is time-at-temperature. The longer the fluid is hot the shorter the fluid's life.
The general rule of thumb is to drain the transmission and replace the 1/3rd to 1/2 the fluid that drains out about every 50,000 miles (80,000 km). The remainder of the fluid is in the torque converter and does not drain. For our cars this is about 5 quarts that is renewed, which freshens the fluid adequately. Our transmissions don't have external cooler hoses, which is the usual connection to flush the fluid, so I'm not sure how one would do a complete renewal, maybe three drain & refills?
Gear oil is even longer lived, but it is never a bad idea to renew it as well.
2--All the fluids are longer lived than in years past. The only way to tell the condition of the fluid for sure is to send a sample to a testing lab. In the U.S. it costs $30 for a test of the ATF at a lab that deals with individuals as well as fleets (Blackstone). You may need to ask around in your country to find such a lab.
3--High temperatures greatly shorten the life of lubricants. More precisely it is time-at-temperature. The longer the fluid is hot the shorter the fluid's life.
The general rule of thumb is to drain the transmission and replace the 1/3rd to 1/2 the fluid that drains out about every 50,000 miles (80,000 km). The remainder of the fluid is in the torque converter and does not drain. For our cars this is about 5 quarts that is renewed, which freshens the fluid adequately. Our transmissions don't have external cooler hoses, which is the usual connection to flush the fluid, so I'm not sure how one would do a complete renewal, maybe three drain & refills?
Gear oil is even longer lived, but it is never a bad idea to renew it as well.
