I have a 2015 CX 5 Grand Touring. It has 67,000 miles on the clock, and, a replacement transmission and transfer case. All on my dime of course (7K miles passed the warranty period). Mazda USA says Skyactive Technology transmissions “have lifetime transmission fluid that only needs to be changed when a major transmission component or the entire transmission needs replacement”. I thought that was a good thing and very bold of Mazda to make that statement. Yet, I always wondered why my dealers service department would recommend a “transmission fluid exchange service” at the 43,000 mile mark when Mazda USA says it is a lifetime fluid. Were they trying to gouge me? Well, at 67,000 miles and $5,000+, I found out it may have been a good idea to have them look at what is going on in there.

From the above experience, I would now recommend having the transmission fluid exchange service performed just prior to the 60,000 mile warranty expiration point. Maybe an oil analysis service would also be good for accessing the condition of the transmission. If the transmission is out of warranty, I would recommend a transmission fluid exchange service with a product that offers a protection plan. If I had done that, the protection plan would have reimbursed me $2000-$4000 for the above repairs.

This situation has certainly altered my plans to trade the CX 5 in for a 2019 CX 5. I have been a Mazda owner for many years and really liked the brand. My first was a 626 Luxury Touring Sedan. I put 250,000 mile on that car. I also had a 1994 Miata. Now, I’m not so sure about the brand.

 

all the manufacturers say their fluid is lifetime transmission fluid. still a good idea to have it changed in teh 50000 - 60000 mile range.

 

Its not he fluid that goes bad its what get collected in the pan and filter that will cause problems.

I have always recommended to service transmissions at least the expected 50K mark of the service life of a gasoline powered vehicle.

MAZDA is not the only auto manufacture to have lifetime or no service schedule lifetime transmission. BMW for one states the same thing.

I have almost 25k on my 2018 Mazda 3 and getting ready to do the first transmission service. And I will also be sending an oil sample for analysis.

 

No first hand experience of my own with these 3rd party warranties, but I've read nothing but bad feedback related to them on multiple auto forums. The reports from owners typically say these outfits will use every trick in the book to dance out of their obligation, with some requiring costly 'service visits' to keep the warranty in effect.

AFA the transmission issue with your vehicle, you posted nothing which indicates it was caused by the transmission fluid not being changed. So is there anything on the paperwork indicating exactly why the transmission failed? Or did someone at the shop where the work was done tell you they believed the failure was a result of not maintaining the fluid?

Now I hope no one starts running around with their hair on fire, because I'm not trying to tell anyone they shouldn't be periodically changing transmission fluid (I do it and will continue to do so). The only point I'm trying to make is that not changing fluid does not unconditionally mean the transmission is going to fail. I'm not going to argue with anyone about that, but if you like to argue about these things, I'll put you in contact with a guy from a Dodge Caravan forum who never changes ATF on his vehicles, including one van with 300K+ miles. I don't argue with him either

 

Don't bother to give me his user name on the forum(s) he may be on I follow and belong to several Chrysler forums, most of the better ones like **ALLPar to which I contribute a lot of technical support and advise. Chances are that if he posted the information you say I have already posted a response about that!

You had pretty good response until you mention the guy with the A604/41TE.. I really dislike information forwarded as a supportive information that is somewhat questionable when reality is a bit different! Your "guy" may not have personally changed fluid but I know that he did not go 300k miles without his Caravan going to the dealership for something and while there I am sure he got all the FREE service done. Because these transmission that A604/41TE had a few problems and there were factory notification for updates and TSB over the years to get upgrades. Without them the transmission would not have gone the claimed miles. So while I think he may have 300k on his running gear I know at some point he had his Chrysler in the dealership for the FREE upgrades on the A604/41TE which would have bee a basic pan fluid /filter replacement. Ignoring the Chrysler Notification with a failed transmission the warranty would have likely been declined. 2 BTW my good personal freind is a retired Power train Engineer working at Chrysler to which I gained the actual Factory Service Guide and ALL the factory updates/upgrades for the A604/41TE while I was in the process of building a couple performance A604/41TE's

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https://www.allpar.com/forums/

 

As I understand it, the early transmissions that Mazda used (Jatco?) were
.less that bullet proof.
The newer Mazda built trannies are a couple of steps better.

My 2¢

 

If you guys want to do it yourself, here is a great video. As well is recommended to change the transmission filter.