Advise on Auto Gearbox Sound on 2016 Mazda 3 Petrol

LowEndTorque

LowEndTorque

LowEndTorque

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Hi guys,

We have a 16 plate Mazda 3 hatchback, petrol Auto. The car has done about 44,800 miles.
I have noticed the below sound on 'D' mode in past couple of months after the car has been driven for more than 8-10 minutes and once it is at a standstill.
The sound lowers once the gear is flicked to any mode from D and does not come back again when you switch back to D mode. I wanted to know if that is normal.

I do understand the car should have had a gearbox service by now. I had requested the Mazda dealership to carry that out earlier this year, but they ignored it and did the bits as per the manual and parked it for next year (long story, I have since decided to move the service and MOT at an FNG).

Do you guys think that a transmission fluid change would help with this? The car also feels a bit sluggish to up-shift when accelerating harder on slip roads to join Motorways/dual carriageways. But that could be due to the NA engine and nothing to do with a fault. And yes, I only noticed that sound when I switched the Auto Stop-Start off in heavy traffic.

Reference video for sound

Pardon the sound quality as Imgur has post processed the sound after upload. You may have to turn up the volume on your device for hearing it.
 
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Sounds more like it's vibration poss coming from somewhere else but triggered by being in gear.

My auto mazda 6 (2015) so same gen made similar noise, just combo of being in gear esp if on brake and other vibrations.

As for feeling sluggish, these Mazda 3 just are and the autos doubly so even in 2.0 guise. Also pretty thirsty on fuel. I had the 175bhp turbo diesel sport auto mazda 6 (from new) and that was pretty rapid but notably more power and torque. Tried the petrol auto in both 6 and 3 and they felt really slow. Also had as courtesy cars during services, warranty work etc.

Worth booking in to an independent rather than Mazda if worried.
 
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Scrutinize said:
Worth booking in to an independent rather than Mazda if worried.
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Hey.. Thank you so much for your reply. :)
I did get it checked with an Indy, they tightened some loose plastics underneath, but that didn't help. Guess it is just normal then.

My long shot is, it is the auto stop start fighting the system when I turn it off. Will get the gearbox serviced next year and see if that helps.
 
LowEndTorque said:
Hey.. Thank you so much for your reply. :)
I did get it checked with an Indy, they tightened some loose plastics underneath, but that didn't help. Guess it is just normal then.

My long shot is, it is the auto stop start fighting the system when I turn it off. Will get the gearbox serviced next year and see if that helps.
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I had a 2015 auto 6 from new and then a 2018 (facelift) auto 6 and put over 140k miles between them.

Pretty sure its a torque convertor system ie traditional automatic and they always grumbled/rumbled as it's how power is transferred and held on brake etc. Dealer explained it to me early on as queried it. Pretty robust gearboxes though.

No issues though.

Bar the dpf regen oil issue that plagued the 2015 era auto diesel skyactives (just means a dealer paid for oil change under warranty periodically) both were brilliant.
 
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don't know if its the same as mine, but i have a 2019 (new shape) and the automatic box is sealed with a lifetime warranty, and as such, you cant change the gearbox oil
 
ShiWarrior said:
don't know if its the same as mine, but i have a 2019 (new shape) and the automatic box is sealed with a lifetime warranty, and as such, you cant change the gearbox oil
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It probably is the same gearbox. Manufacturers do say it is sealed for life, however after much deliberation to the Mazda dealership they did say a transmission fluid change will be carried out at Year 10, which is next year for our car. I am going to stop dealership history anyway and go to an FNG for rest of the car's life.
 
strange, i did a full mazda service on it this year (bought the car in April) and i asked them to check the gearbox oil, and they said you cant as its all sealed for life
 
ShiWarrior said:
strange, i did a full mazda service on it this year (bought the car in April) and i asked them to check the gearbox oil, and they said you cant as its all sealed for life
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I was told the same, but I prod them a bit more. IMO any sort of oil related to moving parts in a car needs to be replaced after a certain interval.

The ZF gearboxes in BMWs are also sold along the same line that they are sealed for life. Yet ZF themselves advise to replace transmission fluid after a certain mileage/age.
 
ShiWarrior said:
tbh i cant even see it anywhere in the manual / service manual anywhere
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The owners manual suggests fluid change at about 112k miles for manual transmission. Likewise I couldn't find any details on auto.

A little Google search landed me on the below comment. Anecdotal, yes, but it made sense. :)

www.mazda3revolution.com

Mazda 3 2017 Automatic Transmission fluid change interval.

Hello, I was just wondering what's is the ATF Transmission fluid change interval for a 2017 Mazda 3 Touring? and also what type of ATF fluid does it take? Thank You So Much!
www.mazda3revolution.com www.mazda3revolution.com

How long it lasts... that's a strange way of putting it. From day 1, wear particles from the clutch-pack, the steels, the bands, the drums, and friction materials from the lock-up clutch on the torque converter get generated. The ATF filter is not a bypass filter with tight filter media, but rather, is a quite coarse media through-filter. It would become occluded if it were tight-media. The generation-rate of wear particles in the ATF is totally contingent on:
type of driving done (city, expressway, etc); and
relative vigour with which the car is used (jack-rabbit starts or driving like Grandma).

Beyond wear particles generated, ATF life is impacted by the ambient conditions, the load the car pulls (affects slippage of torque converter and consequently heat produced), and the effectiveness of the ATF cooler. That heat can chemically change the ATF. Also, the degree to which gears and rolling element bearings shear the ATF - that lessens it's viscosity. Lower viscosity than spec'd by the designers can cause more wear.

Wear particles circulating hasten the wear of the steel pistons in the aluminum valve body, wearing it out sooner. Said wear particles also wear out rolling element bearings sooner.

There's no such thing as 100-120 k miles' life for ATF. With all of the bad things happening, 50k to 60k miles is reasonable... Sooner - better yet!
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