2023 Mazda CX5 drain/fill mileage question

[linuxology]

Hello:

I have a 2023 Mazda CX-5 with about 33,000 miles on it. Is it time to do a drain/fill filter change on the transmission? The fluid still has a sweet smell to it. What is the recommendations on this type of unit to do a drain/fill/filter change for longevity? Is it overkill at this stage?

 

[SShooterZ]

Sounds like a perfect time. Not sure you can have overkill on new/fresh fluid anywhere in a vehicle. Seems like a pretty straightforward procedure so why not do it, especially since you're not going to get all of the old fluid out anyway on the first change.

 

[panthermike]

Wouldn't hurt a thing! I serviced our CX-9 around 60k miles. Around 90,000 or so, it started developing a harsh 2-1 downshift, and did not seem quite as smooth as usual. At 98,000, took it to Mazda and much to my surprise it needs a new transmission, and has been at the shop for a few weeks due to back order. Thank goodness for the extended warranty I got which covers the vehicle until 2031 or 150,000 mi!

Perhaps more frequent fluid changes could have helped? Maybe not, but fairly easy to do on these.

 

[JavierH19]

If easy to dump and fill then do it frequently. No reason not to. Don't have to change the filters every time they take a long time to load up enough to merit changing.

Best to drain with the transmission cold so the fluid isn't expanded which would make you pour in a touch more than it truly has but I highly doubt an extra .2 quarts would hurt anything even then. Truthfully many transmission from many brands come overfilled from the factory without real issue from what I've seen. There'd be a problem if you continuously did that adding .2 over and over again though.

Maxlife and extended protection both spec mazda fz fluid and I haven't heard of them causing issues in them. The new restore and protect atf also lists fz so that's 3 options.

All 3 have the same 5.9 kv100 and 28 kv400 though maxlife has a ccs of 11k while RP lists 10k and EP lists <10k. So maybe the EP has a better base with less polymers than the other two. Can't go wrong with any of the 3 though.

Castrol transmax lists FZ as well but is a touch thicker at 7.1 kv100 and 34 kv40 with a higher vis index and a low 9200ccs. but that's not enough to affect anything. It has worked great in a jatco mitsubishi i service frequently.

 

[Dave Hess]

I would wait till 50K miles and do 2 drain / refills.

I used AISIN ATF from Rock Auto and buttery smooth shifts at 145,000 miles.

I did 50K, 90K and 140K mile drain refills. I did not drop the pan and replace the filter.

 

[Pew]

50k fluid/100k filter is usually recommended on the Mazda forums for maintenance heavy people. 50k/50k for both after that.

 

[linuxology]

Sounds good. Moving forward on it. Attempting to decide if I should do filter as well. A bit more painful, but not impossible.

 

[JavierH19]

Sounds good. Moving forward on it. Attempting to decide if I should do filter as well. A bit more painful, but not impossible.

I think a filter every 100k up to 150k is fine so just drain and fill until you reach an interval there. I did the cartridge filter on the mitsubishi at nearly 90k and it looked basically new with nothing in it.

I've heard of so many transmission on the original filter nearing 300k or even 400k still working normally. They do load up but it takes very a long time and longer still with the fluid changed regularly.

 

[linuxology]

Ok. Thanks so much. I was not looking forward to that RTV scraping. Think I will just do the fluid change this time as recommended. Nice having a drain plug because on a 2005 Ford Focus you don't have the option. I truly appreciate everyone's insights, experience, and the knowledge shared.

 

[iCurious]

Subjective but I change mines 20k-30k since new.

 

[Pew]

Ok. Thanks so much. I was not looking forward to that RTV scraping. Think I will just do the fluid change this time as recommended. Nice having a drain plug because on a 2005 Ford Focus you don't have the option. I truly appreciate everyone's insights, experience, and the knowledge shared.

That's actually the reason why I haven't replaced the filter yet for my cx5 lol. @120k-ish miles and did the fluid around 100K but I don't feel like dealing with the rtv yet. Luckily there's a gasket available.

 

[gogydm]

We ended up replacing the pan as it was inexpensive and really tough to scrape. The transmission side is not as bad.

 

[stormgol]

i am at 63 690 Miles and my Transmission is doing funny things on my 2024 Signature CX-5. unlimited Mileage 5 years on transmission. my dealership has transmissions in stock. many in stock. they will change it.

 

[Tdog02]

I did a fluid exchange at around 97,000 miles on the 2020 in my sig. It was exhibiting the torque converter chirp between 3-4 gear. I did not change the filter and I used ravenol fz fluid. I filled once, drove 50 miles and then dumped and filled again. It has stopped the noise and the transmission shifts smoothly.
When I get 20,000 miles on this change I will drop the pan and put in a new filter. It is a DIY job for sure, cause anyone else will charge labor by the book. That gets expensive real fast.

 

[Hall]

I did 50K, 90K and 140K mile drain refills. I did not drop the pan and replace the filter.

Attempting to decide if I should do filter as well.

IMO, if you do drain and refills routinely enough, you can probably get away with skipping the filter replacement.

I thought I've seen places that sell "kits" for this and they include a gasket, so at least that would make filter changes easier/cleaner.