Excellent write up. Thanks for the time and effort you put in. I will be doing this at 30K. I dont believe in lifetime transmission fluid.

btw do you have a pic of how dark the fluid was at the time of changed? and how many miles?

 

The fluid is pretty nasty looking - definitely not blue. It has a yellowish/ green tint to it. Here is a pic but it is kind of hard to show that color.

It kind of looks like swamp water.
I am just about to hit 40k Miles.

 

Wow that looks to be bad. I wonder what mazda will say to this.

 

Man that's pretty dark, wasnt even thinking about changing it while i had this car(forecasting selling before 100,000).

 

I don’t think the color itself tells the whole story but the old fluid did not seem as slippery as the new stuff. This FZ ATF is super thin - it feels like a 0w or oil based "personal lubricant." Honestly with how simple a drain and fill is, I personally would not do the recommended 100k service/intervals. I think 30-60-90k- etc would be within reason for sure. But, I am not an engineer or oil specialist or rocket scientist or anything like that so this is all just my opinion.

 

Great write up and pictures. I will change mine in the next week or so. 32k miles. Recalling what the sales guy told me when I bought the car "Do not change the transmission fluid or you will have special agents knocking at your door, in fact you won't even be able to purchase the fluid"..... What?????

 

Haha that's funny. The dealers don't carry much of the fluid (both I went to had 4 or less quarts) but you can definitely get it.

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Where do you discard used transmission fluid? Do places that accept used oil also take this stuff?

 

You would have to check because it might be different for where you live but I just take mine in to the parts store (Advance/ O'Reillys/etc.)along with motor oil. I put it all in the same cans and have never had an issue. As long as it's not mixed with brake fluid or coolant you should be fine.

 

@boyl0121 Slightly off original topic, but when you were under there how much more of the trans does it look like you can disassemble? Aka... can I get to the differential?

Thanks again for biting the bullet first.

 

You know everything looked really normal/ standard to me. Having never done anything with a fwd diff I would think that if you pulled the tranny you could swap the diff. It all just looked like regular bolts and stuff. Definitely not "sealed" in any way. I would have to look again to be sure though. It would be awesome if someone (Quaife?) Made an lsd for these.

 

Well, the fun part is that if I can get to the diff, there should be no reason that I can't make myself a replacement. :cheesy: Expensive, but my neighbor does machining for military contracts and can pull off some amazing geartrain stuff. When I hit 30k I'll remember to try pulling the diff, thanks!

 

Sorry for bringing back an old thread and I'm a first time poster as well.

Anyone have any thoughts as to why the stock FZ automatic fluid in my '15 CX-5 would be clear versus blue? I purchased vehicle new with like 8 miles on it. Transmission operates perfectly. I have a littler over 4K miles on it now. Sorry for posting this in the 3 forum... just not a lot of discussion on the fluid changes elsewhere in the SkyActiv autos.

Thanks!

 

Sorry for bringing back an old thread and I'm a first time poster as well.

Anyone have any thoughts as to why the stock FZ automatic fluid in my '15 CX-5 would be clear versus blue? I purchased vehicle new with like 8 miles on it. Transmission operates perfectly. I have a littler over 4K miles on it now. Sorry for posting this in the 3 forum... just not a lot of discussion on the fluid changes elsewhere in the SkyActiv autos.

Thanks!

I wouldn’t worry about it being more clear than blue. The fluid only has a slight blue tint when it is brand new. After I changed mine and rechecked it you really could not tell it was blue at all. You might be able to tell the color better on a white paper towel, but honestly its very faint coloring - not like standard "red" atf.

You have a dipstick for the transmission on the 2012? The 2015 also? There is no dipstick on the 2013 Skyactiv Touring that I have. Hence, no place to add new fluid. I'm guessing I'm just going to leave it alone. I never changed it on my 2002 Saturn (though it is a manual transmission) and it still shifts smooth at 197K miles...

You should definitely have a dipstick you your 2013 unless you got a weird trans or they completely changed the skyactiv trans after one year (very unlikely I think) It is kind of hard to see down under the intake/ Maf area.

 

You have a dipstick for the transmission on the 2012? The 2015 also? There is no dipstick on the 2013 Skyactiv Touring that I have. Hence, no place to add new fluid. I'm guessing I'm just going to leave it alone. I never changed it on my 2002 Saturn (though it is a manual transmission) and it still shifts smooth at 197K miles...

 

So I decided that 72k miles on my stock fluid and filter was enough and changed them this weekend.



I bought 4 quarts of FZ fluid and a FZ01 21-500 filter from ebay or amazon or somewhere that advertised that it fit Skyactiv 6at transmissions. Using @boyl0121's write up, it was a relative breeze. One thing I noticed is how loose the pan bolts are. I could almost take them off with a nut driver. Keep that in mind when retightening, since we don't have torque specs for this job quite yet.

The fluid came out looked like used motor oil.. Doesn't ever look like it was blue. Maybe Mazda put the wrong stuff in (dipstick calls for FZ).

FZ on left, old fluid on right:





Here's the before and after of cleaning the pan. The magnet does its job!






Be careful when removing the old gasket material, I used a metal razor blade at first and quickly made scratches in the paint. Not good. I changed to gasket remover spray and a plastic razor blade. It took a while, but I got it spotless.





Filter out:





Here's the old filter with the PN to prove it:





And the old filter on top, new on bottom:





The dealer service rep said these just have a screen filter and wanted to hook up to the cooler lines and flush it for over $200. Well looking at this car, the filter is NOT just a screen, but a pleated paper/fiber element like most oil filters. There also is no external cooler. Engine coolant lines run to a cooler mounted directly to the transmission. Glad I did it myself instead of the dealership idiots.

Cooler on lower left/


The filter is held on by two bolts and I recommend using a 1/4" drive ratchet to remove and tighten them. Since we don't have torque specs, just try to keep They are only like a M6 bolt and aren't very tight from the factory.



I used this same ratchet to tighten the pan bolts also. Definitely don't want to over torque these and warp the pan. I used permatex ultra black RTV, following the directions on the tube. Finger tighten bolts first, then let it set for an hour, then tightened the rest of the way (wasn't much.) and let it cure for 24 hours before putting oil in.

I measured out the exact amount I took out and it came to exactly 4 quarts while dropping the pan and changing the filter. I learned afterwards the trans holds over 8 quarts of fluid, and looking underneath the car, there's an access hole at the bottom of the bellhousing. This is presumably for a torque converter drain plug, but I didn't investigate any more. Maybe next filter/fluid change I'll order more fluid and look to see if I can drain the converter.:yes:

 

Good info @outtaLuck, thanks for sharing. Its amazing how nasty that "lifetime" fluid is isnt it? I have changed mine twice now (~77K miles) and it has come out looking like swamp water/ dirty oil both times.

 

How often do you guys change it? I have a 2014 and there is no guide on how to.

Although there is a service guide, they don't specify filter.

 

Thanks for posting this thread. I changed the tranny fluid on my 2013 last weekend and created a write-up on it:
http://mazda3revolution.com/forums/...-how-guides/119410-2013-skyactiv-6at-transmission-fluid-change.html#post1545882

I decided to create a new access hole for the tranny plug instead of taking off the plastic shroud. A 2" hole saw got the job done quickly and easily.

With only 14K miles on the car, I was surprised how dirty the fluid was.

 

Lifetime fluid my rearend!!!

I have a 2013 Mazda 3 skyactive with 35k miles on it. I am pretty good about changing my transmission fluid in my previous cars at about the 60k mark via drain and fill.

I don't think there is anyway this fluid would last longer that 100k and that would be asking for it. The fluid was pretty dirty when I drained it. I followed the generous guides posted above, FYI just want to shout out to the guy who first posted it!!

I cut an access hole for the future, because I will be doing it again fairly soon.

I took it for a drive afterward and shifting has a very noticeable improvement, the transmission doesn't lug the engine in lower gears nearly as bad, gas mileage has improved a bit 2-3 miles, on the same stretch of road

The first PIC is the side by side comparison. The 2nd one is me shining my shop light through it! It came out looking like used motor oil, but a lot thinner.

I sorry Mazda can say whatever they want, but this is not lifetime fluid.

FYI....if your having trouble locating some fluid, Ravenol makes Mazda atf fz fluid. You can buy it by the gallon in Germany,UK and Poland. So when Mazda says that this is a super special fluid its... Well is just BS. Just do a Google search for "Ravenol atf fz"

 

Link to pictures No 8 and No 9 down the page show where the auto trans dip stik and fluid funnel would go for checking and replacing fluid. http://mazda3revolution.com/forums/...-how-guides/119410-2013-skyactiv-6at-transmission-fluid-change.html#post1545882

 

Does anyone know if there is a replacement gasket I can order? I'm no expert in gasket sealer and would prefer the old fashion rubber gasket.

This is the part # I keep finding when searching: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000HUE5TU/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3VSQNN2N4TASN

 

Does anyone know if there is a replacement gasket I can order? I'm no expert in gasket sealer and would prefer the old fashion rubber gasket.


First of all, THANK YOU to the OP for the write up. I'm new to the forum an just started thinking about my transmission fluid. I couldn't find the dang dip stick! This is exactly what I was looking for and after seeing and reading everyone's results, at 81,000, I believe I am LONG over due!
With so many miles, I definitely want to drop the pan and replace the filter as well. Does anyone have and update on the mentioned rubber gasket? Is it the right part for our pan? Is it recommended to get the gasket sealer over rubber?

Many thanks!

2013 Skyactiv

 

I don't have a skyactiv model, but I do mine every 3 oil changes(bout 15-22.5k miles) just drain and fill when you do the oil cheap insurance against tranny failure, mazda does not list a change interval but instead says if it becomes burnt change it, well by the time it becomes burnt you already messed something up, so 30-60k mile intervals is a safe bet to have a safety net, 15-30k is better if your a car nut like myself and cannot stand dirty looking fluids. don't even get me started on the way the fl22 coolant looks even when new.

 

Has anyone done this on a Gen 3 yet?

 

You supposed to check the level with the engine running?

 

If you don't drain the torque converter as well I think you are only mixing your new oil with roughly the same amount of old.

 

this^ drain and fills get roughly 1/2 of the old fluid out on our cars. even just taking the pan off and replacing the filter will still only get about as much, so another drain and fill next oil change will help get 80-90% of the old out which will help a lot. I have done 2 thus far and can attest after 61k on stock fluid (bought used, so assuming it was not changed since dealer serviced it regularly according to the records in the car at purchase but no schedule for tranny from mazda) it still was very light red but figured better safe then sorry. $20 worth of fluid every 20k miles is a lot better then a $4000 tranny job, lol (no pun intended but that made me laugh) I don't have skyactiv so mine would not be blue, however burnt, or contaminated fluid will be brown like that no matter what dye was in it when new and at 72k miles it would definitely be dark like that from debris and heat cycling. transmission fluid is not "naturally" red or blue or yellow etc (whatever color comes stock) it is very very refined crude oil just like engine oil, however engine oil does not get dyes added, but transmission fluid does for 2 reasons 1 If it did not it would be hard to see a leak or see it on the dipstick as it is pretty much clear without dyes because it is so finely refined and very slippery thin 2 because you would not want brown colored tranny fluid and oils to confuse you about leaks or dipsticks most are red so the blissfully ignorant can tell the difference. but as it ages, heat cycles, picks up debris and wears down or even burns if it gets too hot it will brown no matter original color, as the contamination is the same stuff pretty much oil gets and oil starts that nice honey color and gets black as it wears.

and the job of any lubricating fluid is not only to lubricate (oil, tranny fluids) but to capture debris and safely remove it from between moving and working parts and transfer it to a safe place (aka the filter) to be caught and filtered out to prevent needless wear by debris scarring from contact. that's really why color alone is not the determining factor for fluid changes mileage, age and conditions are better judges of when filters/fluids need to be changed. my oil could be blacker then tar on the dipstick after I run 120mph for 40 miles but that does not mean I need to do anything to it if I just changed it 1500 miles ago. that means it is doing its job and capturing carbon buildup, preventing sludge and capturing debris to deposit in the filter as it cycles through same with the tranny fluid, now if it has gone from light red/blue to brown fast (like 12k miles or so) then you have an issue that needs addressing but being brown after 72k miles is not an indication of a problem, but an indication of working fluid.

now if it has changed tints so err on the safe side and change for a longer lasting car, but just because it has changed color does not mean it has failed yet. smell, mileage, age or low fluid is a better indicator of this. everytime you check the tranny fluid take some on a paper towel and smell it, note if it smells like a sweet oily smell (good) or a new road or roof tar smell (bad, burnt) regardless of color. then note the color on the towel, has it gotten very dark since the last check? if yes it shouldmost likely be changed but does not mean it has gone bad yet. feel some of the fluid on the stick, can you feel grit? if so time to change, how many years has it been? more then 5, change how many miles? more then about 40k change it.

 

Fair comment,I just wanted to point out that your oil might still look discoloured after you changed it. My wife's Ford Focus auto with 80 odd thousand on the clock still has very clean looking red fluid.(I think its a Mazda box 2002) My Jaguar XK a couple of years ago had transmission problems at about 80,000 miles which was completely cured by an oil change,to my massive relief. My current vehicles are a Gen3 Mazda 3 auto and a Mitsubishi L200 manual.

 

exactly, which is why color alone is not the determining factor for fluid changes, it should be considered, but only along with other factors like mentioned in my above post

 

you would need something to hook to return and output lines for tranny cooler to pump the new fluid in and pump the old fluid out and drop it in a tank, but flushing is not recommended on the 3 or any car really, drain and fills and the occasional screen/filter change is all it needs, as flushes can knock pieces of dirt or debris out (good) but also lodge them where they don't need to be (bad) so clean the pan really good when you drop it for the filter change and put 1 or 2 medium strength magnets in the pan (the pan drain is already magnetic, or there is a magnet in the pan already, cant remember to pull metal flakes out for removal later as all trannys get metal debris from use over time. best way is 3-4 drain and fills and you get pretty much 100% of the old fluid out, you can do it all in a day do one then drive 10-15 miles do another and repeat until you feel most or all the old fluid is gone or when you start to drain and what drains out is the color the fluid should be and not dark or with debris in it.

 

I think that is probably what they did,just pumped it through till it came out clean.They did remove the sump plate and renew the filter as well I remember. I have been looking for the invoice with no luck at the moment. Most of the contaminant in the oil is probably from the clutches in the gearbox,I know there are a fair few in the six speed box. Gone are the days when we could strip a Borg Warner 35 and fit new brake bands! When we were racing in the sixties and seventies we rebuilt all the Hewland boxes up to and including the DG300.