2007 Mazda 3 D & F or Flush?

[cb450sc]

My daughter purchased a 2007 Mazda 3 with the 5 speed auto transmission a couple of months ago. The car has 100,000 km on it. I don't know the service history. The dealer recommends doing a ATF flush. This is alittle beyond me but I can do a drain and fill. Any advantage or disadvantage to either technique on this vehicle? I plan on using OEM fluid if I do the drain and fill.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

100,000 km is only 60k miles. Only one drain and fill is sufficient

But if you want to do three, certainly nothing wrong with it. There is no benefit to a machine flush, and many automakers specifically say not to power flush a transmission!

 

[SatinSilver]

At 60k miles I would do two drain and fills. Space them out a few weeks or 500 miles apart. Then keep doing a drain and fill every 30k miles.

 

[SF0059]

+1 SatinSilver

 

[pbm]

+2 what SatinSilver said....this is excellent advice.

 

[SF0059]

P.S. - One thing to look out for on the MZR equipped Mazdas is blown motor mounts. They are fluid filled and they will split and spill the fluid. Look for staining on the inner wheel well on the passenger side of the engine bay.

Great engines, though. The MZR is such a sweet runner. Not the most fuel efficient in the world, but a heck of a lot of fun.

 

[i_hate_autofraud]

It's more then a drain and fill, you gotta get the old filter out too!

 

[UNC197]

I have the same transmission in my Mazda3. You will get about 3.5 quarts on ATF out when you drain it. I have used Valvoline Maxlife ATF, Castrol Import ATF, and Valvoline Import ATF. I could never tell much difference between them when driving. I do a drain and fill every other oil change, so about every 14K-15K miles just because I feel like it.

 

[KrisZ]

I would perform a cooler line exchange, but D&F is fine and easy to do on these vehicles. Try finding a local Petro Canada distributor and get their Duradrive, synthetic ATF. Very good fluid and probably the cheapest option in Canada.

 

[MaximaGuy]

Originally Posted By: slacktide_bitog
100,000 km is only 60k miles. Only one drain and fill is sufficient

Completely concur 60K miles is a young transmission with little dirt and almost completely used ATF.
These small cars are just perfect less power, low wear on transmission, mounts, suspension everything.
Drain and fails are just fine, keep doing this every 30K and it will last a long time w/o abuse.

 

[cb450sc]

I ended up getting 6 quarts of Idemitsu Type M ATF from NAPA. I have read that this is the factory fill. It says on the bottle that it is for Mazda's with the M-V designation. The only other fluid that I could find that was M-V compliant was Lucas ATF. Our local Mazda dealer does not even sell the Mazda fluid and puts in Mercon 5 which Mazda says not to do. I think I will do two drain and fills a week apart but it looks like I will need another quart (thanks CharlieJ).

 

[cb450sc]

I did the first drain and fill today. I couldn't believe how bad the fluid was. It was grayish black in colour with not even a hint of the red colour it should be. I am going to do two more D & F now that I see how bad the fluid was. One good thing... no metal flakes on the magnet.

 

[Hall]

Originally Posted By: cb450sc
I did the first drain and fill today. I couldn't believe how bad the fluid was. It was grayish black in colour with not even a hint of the red colour it should be. One good thing... no metal flakes on the magnet.

Very possible that the fluid is just fine, not "bad" at all. Many fluids change color and it isn't a bad thing nor an indicator of anything negative. The fact that there was no metal flakes on the drain plug magnet is pretty telling....

 

[MaximaGuy]

Originally Posted By: hallstevenson

Very possible that the fluid is just fine, not "bad" at all. Many fluids change color and it isn't a bad thing nor an indicator of anything negative. The fact that there was no metal flakes on the drain plug magnet is pretty telling....


IMO, 60K ATF has served its purpose based on any yardstick.
No point debating color and whatnot, it had to be replaced, BITOG folks recommend consistently 30K D&Fs.
If you know how to replace the AFT, $30 of ATF over 30K miles in cheap insurance