Lifetime Mazda Skyactive AT Fluid

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I was questioning the OCI for the 6 speed AT on my 2018 Mazda 3.

Manual says lifetime, and I have doubts about that.

Dealership told me its lifetime as well. There is also a customer servicing his 2012 mazda 3 AT skyactive with 990 000 km and apparently never changed the transmission fluid and the dealership claims they have all the records to prove its been serviced there since new.

So, is there any truth in the lifetime bandwagon?
 
No such thing as lifetime fill, even though most cars go to the junkyard on the factory fill, so lifetime fill predates lifetime fill :sneaky:
But yes, many cars can go 600k miles on the original ATF with no problem.

Maxlife will be fine to use in your Skyactiv transmission. Change it once the warranty expires, and every few years thereafter.
 
I changed mine (in a 6, but same difference) at 30k and plan to keep up on drain and fills. It’s very simple and even has a dipstick. Fluid is a bit expensive, paid $18/quart last time, this time it was $24/quart. But I don’t believe in lifetime fluids.

At 30k it wasn’t dirty or burnt up, but makes me feel better to maintain it.
 
We are mixing up kilometers and miles here. OP was referring to 660,000 km which is only 410,000 miles. Besides what does MaxLife have to do with anything?
 
These days ATF is speced for 120-150k mi by the ATF manufacturer. You probably can push it to 200k miles before getting signs of serious issues. For most people this is lifetime already.

I still have the habit to D/F it every 60k on my 2016 Mazda(s) 3
 
OK I misread 990 as 660 must be a long day. I stand corrected.
 
Lifetime fluid is the life of the transmission. If you trade a vehicle in every few years, then no worries about changing it. But if you like to keep it for year and years and rack up 200k miles, or more, every 30 - 40k miles drain and fill would be good.
 
No such thing as lifetime fill, even though most cars go to the junkyard on the factory fill, so lifetime fill predates lifetime fill :sneaky:
But yes, many cars can go 600k miles on the original ATF with no problem.

Maxlife will be fine to use in your Skyactiv transmission. Change it once the warranty expires, and every few years thereafter.

Are you 100% sure MaxLife will work compared to the OEM ATF ?
 
I had the same issue with Subaru and CVT fluid drain/fill. What ended the craziness of "lifetime" fluid talk was when I asked for a definition of lifelong in writing. I like to keep my vehicles to 200-250k. I can assure you my definition of lifelong is not what Subaru North America deems lifelong.

I'll be at 100k soon and will do another CVT service.
 
1. "Lifetime" has no definition in terms of mileage or time - surely at some point lubricant is not going to be any good. Its job is to "get used up" to spare the mechanical components it's lubricating.
2. "Lifetime" really means "average lifetime" of the vehicle or component and I have no idea what that number is and it's different for every vehicle/component.
3. Lots of people never even reach 150k miles on their vehicle - most(?) never reach 100k miles.

So "lifetime" to me means during my average time/distance of ownership, which is usually under 100K miles, I do not need to change the fluid. If I was going to keep a vehicle past 100 or 150K miles I would change any "lifetime" fluid.
 
Regardless of the "lifetime" claim, I'd change the ATF every 30,000 miles in any vehicle I intended to keep a long time.

For Mazda Skyactiv ATF, stick with the factory blue FZ ATF, which is full synthetic, or possibly Ravenol's blue version, also full synthetic.

The "universal" ATFs that are red do not appear to agree with these transmissions, which have design differences for fuel saving. Even Amsoil does not claim to have a compatible replacement. Check its site by using any recent Mazda year and model if you want to confirm this.
 
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OP, I have the same trans in my CX-5.

I change the fluid every 75k miles. I used Ravenol FZ most recently. Shifts great.

Stick to Mazda, Ravenol, or Aisin. Just my 2 cents.
 
My experience -- At 55000 miles, I did four back to back drain and fills in our 2015 Mazda CX-5 using Valvoline Maxlife. The factory FZ fluid came out brown (I know, color doesn't tell you much). By the third drain, the mixture of ATF that came out finally started to resemble the red color of Maxlife. Mathematically, I should be over 75% Maxlife now...can't really get ALL of the FZ out. Car has done great over the past 7000 miles. The only issue was despite making sure that the dipstick indicated the correct level, I could smell the Maxlife during the first hundred miles or so of driving.
 
MaxLife claims to support all kinds of mutually incompatible ATF specs, where it would not be possible for one fluid to meet all those different specs. But the only one doing the recommending is Valvoline, not Mazda. The Mazda FZ spec is not licensed to third parties by Mazda. The MaxLife also doesn’t come with a warranty. I would stick to Genuine Mazda FZ type fluid only for that transmission, or leave it alone.

“MaxLife Multi-Vehicle ATF is not an OEM licensed product. The respective vehicle manufacturers have neither evaluated nor endorsed MaxLife Multi-Vehicle ATF in these applications.”
 
At least the Ravenol FZ brand fluid says it is specifically for Mazda Skyactiv transmissions that require type FZ fluid and is sold for nothing else. Ravenol don’t claim it meets 50 other transmission fluid specs too. It does not seem any or much cheaper than the genuine Mazda ATF though.
 
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