Transmission Fluid Change at 110,000 Miles? 2014 AWD CX-5

[GRD139999]

I bought a 2014 Mazda CX-5 AWD Sport with 102,000 miles on it and according to the service history, the transmission fluid has never been changed. I know my vehicle has the lifetime fluid in it, so should I bother changing my fluid now that the car is reaching 110,000 miles on it? The owner's manual says nothing about changing the transmission fluid but that's only up to 60,000 miles. I'm a little worried I'll change the fluid and then something will go wrong with the transmission. If I change it, should I do a drain and fill or remove the filter too?

 

[yrwei52]

there was not much metal contamination in the fluid when I changed it. my transmission was not having problems before hand.

Not sure why you couldn’t understand the concept of a full ATF change. You’d only replaced a half of the old ATF. 3X drain&fill simply is the only way to replace the most of 8.2 quarts of the old ATF and your ATF is 102,000 miles old. You certainly want to get rid of the old fluid as much as you can. It’s nothing to do with iron powder contamination mentioned in the TSB. The TSB simply exposed Mazda’s official way to replace the entire ATF as this’s never mentioned in any of the Mazda Workshop Manuals.

 

[GRD139999]

Here is Mazda’s official ATF replacement instruction for contaminated ATF AFTER the transmission has been installed with new torque converter:

⋯
6. Replace the automatic transaxle fluid (ATF) with new ATF according to the instructions on MGSS.
NOTE: Replace the ATF drain plug gasket after the last refill (3rd time) in step 9.
NOTE: For 2023-2024 Mazda3 and CX-30 and 2024 CX-5, ATF A7 is used. Verify according to the designation on the A/T dipstick.

7. Perform Initial Learning according to the instructions on MGSS.

8. Drive the vehicle at 20 mph for 3 minutes to agitate the ATF in the torque converter, oil passage, and differential chamber that does not come out of the oil pan drain to evenly mix old and new ATF.
• If actual driving is difficult, perform the drive with the vehicle lifted up on a 2-post lift and drive at 20 mph for 3 minutes.
NOTE: In the case of a 4WD vehicle, warning lights may turn on when the vehicle is lifted up and driven, but this is not a malfunction. The fault code can be cleared after completing the work.
Approximate time: 10 minutes for initial learning (step 7) and 3 minutes for actual driving (step 8).

9. Repeat from step 6 to step 8 two more times.
NOTE:
• ATF replacement is performed 3 times in total for step 6.
• Initial Learning is performed 4 times in total for step 5 and 7 combined.
• Make sure to dispose of/recycle the used fluid in accordance with federal and local guidelines.

I understand but this is a tsb for a specific car getting a new torque converter due to iron contamination. They probably dont do this for every Mazda that rolls into the service shop needing transmission service, even at a mileage similar to mine. I did not know to drain and fill 3x when I did the service. it's too late. im going to drain and fill every 20k miles and replace the strainer at 100k. I'll be alright.

 

[yrwei52]

I understand but this is a tsb for a specific car getting a new torque converter due to iron contamination. They probably dont do this for every Mazda that rolls into the service shop needing transmission service, even at a mileage similar to mine. I did not know to drain and fill 3x when I did the service. it's too late. im going to drain and fill every 20k miles and replace the strainer at 100k. I'll be alright.

The TSB is for inferior single lock-up clutch used only for cylinder deactivation in torque converter which contaminated the ATF. The 3X drain&fill procedure is to replace the contaminated ATF fully. People do drain&fill 3X for normal ATF change is to maximize the content of fresh ATF. That’s why you want to do drain&fill 3X trying to replace your 102,000 miles old ATF as much as you can in this change. You still can do additional drain&fill 1 or 2 times if you want to. But do it only one time is still better than do nothing.

Actually @ceric did say doing the ATF change multiple times earlier (post #8) in this thread. You had to overlook it. And I personally will do 2 ~ 3X ATF drain&fill once for every 50K ~ 60K miles.

Drain-n-refill 2-3 times.
On the last time, change the filter.
That is, if you intend to keep it for a few years.

Lifetime?
Automakers mean that the fluid has no change schedule.
It lasts through the warranty period.
After that, not their concern, but yours.

 

[Snorting2.5]

More than a half of the ATF stays in the torque converter and you can’t drain it out even if you drop the pan. 3X ATF drain&fill gives you about ~87.5% of the fresh ATF which is also Mazda’s official procedure (3X D&F) mentioned in an AT torque converter replacement TSB for iron powder ATF contamination problem only on the 2.5L NA with CD due to excessive wearing of the lockup clutch in the TC.

2017~2024 CX-5 Chirp Noise from Automatic Transaxle on 3-4 upshift - Bulletin

Yes, but you'd still want to ensure that the bottom of the pan is clean before doing this.

 

[GRD139999]

The TSB is for inferior single lock-up clutch used only for cylinder deactivation in torque converter which contaminated the ATF. The 3X drain&fill procedure is to replace the contaminated ATF fully. People do drain&fill 3X for normal ATF change is to maximize the content of fresh ATF. That’s why you want to do drain&fill 3X trying to replace your 102,000 miles old ATF as much as you can in this change. You still can do additional drain&fill 1 or 2 times if you want to. But do it only one time is still better than do nothing.

Actually @ceric did say doing the ATF change multiple times earlier (post #8) in this thread. You must overlooked it. And I personally will do 2 ~ 3X ATF drain&fill once for every 50K ~ 60K miles.

yeah I did not realize he meant 2-3 times all at once.

 

[yrwei52]

Yes, but you'd still want to ensure that the bottom of the pan is clean before doing this.

Yes, dropping the pan, replacing the filter cartridge, and cleaning the magnet is nice. You can do it at the beginning or at the end of 3X ATF drain&fill process. But for DIYers cleaning the old RTV and applying the new RTV on the pan are a tedious and tricky business. It could leak afterwards if you aren’t careful.

 

[yrwei52]

yeah I did not realize he meant 2-3 times all at once.

I imagine you paid someone for the job? Make sure to use only the Mazda ATF FZ as you’re mixing a half of fresh ATF with old fluid. It’s not too late to do additional drain&fill multiple times even right now for you. Instead of your original plan doing the next drain&fill in 50K miles, you can do the next drain&fill in next few days, and the 3rd one shortly if you prefer. You want some time driving the vehicle in between each drain&fill to agitate the ATF in the torque converter, oil passage, and differential chamber that does not come out of the oil pan drain to evenly mix old and new ATF. Then go back to your original planned 50K/60K-mile interval.

 

[GRD139999]

I imagine you paid someone for the job? Make sure to use only the Mazda ATF FZ as you’re mixing a half of fresh ATF with old fluid. It’s not too late to do additional drain&fill multiple times even right now for you. Instead of your original plan doing the next drain&fill in 50K miles, you can do the next drain&fill in next few days, and the 3rd one shortly if you prefer. You want some time driving the vehicle in between each drain&fill to agitate the ATF in the torque converter, oil passage, and differential chamber that does not come out of the oil pan drain to evenly mix old and new ATF. Then go back to your original planned 50K/60K-mile interval.

I did pay someone. I cut it down from 50k to 20k miles drain and fill then filter change at 100k.