2013 Mazda6, 2.5, Auto Trans. Currently 185k on the odometer. Last Summer no start in P but started in N. State Inspection in October so I waited till then to have my mech replace the neutral safety switch so I could give him some billable work. Long story and I won't bore you with details, but he messed up, had to drop the pan but got the job done. In the process I got new tranny fluid (Mazda V) and filter a little prematurely, but it got done. He lost the clip that holds the cable on the selector shaft and safety wired it on. The shift cable was loose on the shift shaft. That caused a shift selector problem. I had to keep stopping and pushing the cable on the shaft. The D light would blink on and off, then stay off and it would start shifting (downshifting) erratically. He had to get me a clip, and it solved the shifting problem...until today. It still starts fine in P, but it has reverted back to the D lamp on the dash going out and the tranny starts downshifting while driving. Not a good thing. I drive about 1000 miles a week for work so I need this thing to run dependable and not destroy the tranny.

Can someone offer some guidance on what to do? I searched this forum, and other sites. I see a number of "maybe" solutions, but nothing "for sure". Could it be the new neutral safety switch is failing even though it still starts in P? Some say that solved their problem. Others that have had the problem and their mech replaced the tranny control module said that didn't fix it. It never had any shifting or starting issues until the neutral safety switch failed last Summer. My trusted mechanic ended up with the job from Hell, and it should have been an easy repair for him. I have changed and flushed the tranny fluid 4x since new so it is well maintained. It is a PITA to drop the pan but I do it because it is the right thing to do. I like the car and plan to drive it till it won't, so I would like to find "The" solution to this issue. Certainly someone on this forum has had a similar problem and knows exactly what the fix is. Please share!

Thank you,

Rob

 

C'mon...I thought someone would have some advice to offer. It happened again last evening. I was cruising along on a highway around 65, the D on the dash went blank, and it downshifted. I pulled the shifter to the manual position and it showed it was in 3rd gear. I pulled it back and 4 appeared and it upshifted, one more pull and 5 appeared with another upshift. I went a few miles in Manual 5, then put the shifter back in the normal Automatic position and D was lit up. It stayed that way for the rest of my 30 or so mile trip to the hotel. Today I had (2) 17 mile commutes back and forth to my work site without issue. When the issue isn't happening, the car runs and shifts perfectly. I'm hoping someone will read the thread and offer some advice. Thank you in advance.