Noticing that when cold the automatic transmission in my 2003 4 cyl seems to make a overly harsh shift from 1st to 2nd. There's a kunking sound and a bit of lash can be felt. It goes away when warm and was less noticeable when I used the manual shift mode.

Just had the CAT replaced and the shop did a "102 point" inspection so I even have a pH type strip of the fluid. But I haven't changed it. BTW: There's 88K on the odom.

Is this the sign of tranny problems?

What can I do to avoid yet another major cost for this POS?

Thanks
yustr

 

Mine goes klunk, your's goes kunk . This does mean tranny issues.
Remember this saying: "You can pay me now, or pay me later"?!
You are the latter, you are "pay me later".
The "pay me now" refers to people that spend hundreds of dollars on preventative maintenance such as spark plugs, flushing and installing new coolant (as well as oil, brake fluid, p.s. fluid, tranny fluid), cleaning throttle body, cleaning the MAF, clean the EGR valve, changing the oil and changing the PCV valve (Mazda never changes the PCV valve, so do it now!). Highly doubt PCV is on checklist or spark plugs, or MAF and throttle body cleaning)
The "pay me later" refers to you because you did not do all the above so now you must pay thousands of dollars! This includes items such as catalytic converters generally speaking because engine was not properly taken care of. Do you have any service history of changing items at all? Automatic or standard tranny (i'm guessing automatic by the way you explain "manual mode")? These are all important facts we need to help make a proper diagnosis.

If your car is an automatic, you should be due for your second tranny oil change! If you haven't yet, you get big problems. Do not be fooled by "lifetime" fluids!
I'm going to give you some wonderful articles to read about transmissions:
How often should the automatic transmission fluid... — Yahoo! Autos
Flush it or Forget it |*MotorWeek
Transmission Talk |*MotorWeek

 

Condescension not appreciated

That aside, will changing the fluids improve the situation or not?

Is flushing recommended or not? I've read both.

How long do I have before failure?

Is there anything else to be done to extend the life?

Anyone want to buy a blue 2003???

 

I wouldn't take the reply as condecending, but rather just PM on your vehicle. I'd suggest service the transmission, don't have it flushed, rather have the screen and fluid changed. I have 118k miles on mine, and think the fluid has been changed once. As posted do not believe in synthetic oils/fluid are long lasting for XXXX miles, they aren't. Unless you are having shift/pulling performance problems with it, just preventative maintenance (PM) will get you through. That being said, this applies to "normal" driving

 

Made a little quirk about your kunk! The rest is reality. I do understand this is serious for you, however you left me a bone, couldn't refuse! I do honestly try to help people but like to have some fun, explain things in a slightly awkward manner some times, otherwise it's boring!
Now for serious stuff:
Many people have no idea about transmissions and I thought the way I explained it was clever with the pay me now or later scenario. Who knows how long you have. My tranny went after 20,000 miles from 0. The first 20,000 miles of the car, then I smartened up and installed an external tranny cooler and do flush and fills with synthetic fluid. Flush and fills should be done every 30,000 miles, if you haven't done it some people have recommended just draining the oil and re-filling a few times a few weeks inbetween. Draining the tranny will not drain fluid from the torque converter so a few changes are required.
Do some searching on-line to satisfy your curiosity. The more knowledge you read the better you are making a decision. I would also phone a few transmission shops on their opinion of changing fluids. Oh yeah, if mostly city driving the end may be near.

Good luck. Blue is a nice color, mine's blue!
Wow, just hit 1200 posts! More than my other posts on 2 other Mazda forums combined!

 

yustr:

It is probably a sticking valve, then it gives under pressure and it goes "kunk!" That is the beginning of trouble and I hope the the tranny fluid service will fix it for you. If it doesn't add "Lucas Oil Transmission Fix". If that doesn't work save up for a big bill.

This video is long winded but it shows how it starts small like "kunk" and ends big.