[BenDoyle]

Hello again everybody,

I put out a lengthy post a few months ago about my poor automatic transmission performance. I've more-or-less learned to accept it, for the car is otherwise quite good. The consensus among fellow owners was that Mazda's most recent transmission software compromises performance and drivability far too much, in the interest of fuel economy. "So be it," I said, and tried to look past the rough shifts, grinding sensation, lugging, jerking and near-stalling from cold. Figured I was overly sensitive to these issues since my last car (a Volt) was completely linear with its stepless electric drive system (which I highly recommend).

And yet the Mazda finds new ways to worry me -- in heavy stop-and-go traffic today, it felt as if the transmission were about to fail -- and my passenger took notice. Every time I apply or release the accelerator, the car shunts backwards and forth. It jerks and clunks in and out of first and second gear every time, and it sometimes grinds or lugs, as if caught between two cogs. Worst of all, if I have to apply more accelerator pressure to FORCE a much-needed downshift, then let off (as not to shoot forward and rear-end somebody), there's not only a jerk, but a shift flare. (The revs will rise normally, spike, then drop to the next gear.) If anybody is interested, I can try to replicate this behavior on film.

The car is brand-new, Japan-built, mechanically sound and with just hit 8,000 miles. Not trying to sound whiny -- I'm more curious about these issues than anything. Should it bother me as much as it does?

 

[BenDoyle]

Have you had a Mazda service department look at it? Doesn't seem normal.

No, mentioned it offhandedly to the service advisor, but haven't chased it down.

 

[BenDoyle]

I would take it to Mazda, none of that is normal behavior for the Skyactiv Drive family. Based on the symptoms you are describing you may be having a torque converter that is failing or a valve body issue that is not locking/unlocking the converter when it should. Is the noise a grind or more of a squawk sound?

With windows down I get a loud whistle on the 1-2 change. Feels almost like I splurged for the turbo

The 'grinding' sensation I describe isn't a noise, but a 1-2 second moment where it feels like gears in a manual-transmission car being ground (grinded?), or like a very low RPM diesel truck chugging up a very steep hill. The grinding is far more rare -- it's possible that this symptom is related to high AT temps, such as today (104 degrees going through the Big Dig in Boston).

The 'clunk' is audible sometimes in heavy traffic when the transmission cycles through N-1-2-3-N-2-1-2-3-2-N etc etc. And I've found no way to prevent the 'neutral drop', which is very aggressive.

 

[BenDoyle]

Do you have AWD? The coupler can make a "grinding" type vibration when engaging in a turn. I've never got that feeling from my transmission though.

Nope, and I was very remiss to mention that the car is a 2WD. My apologies. FWD 2.5 Skyactiv-G

 

[BenDoyle]

First of all, I say thanks to everybody who has responded to and read this post. Your input continues to be a big help.

I did get a video, but it's not very good at showcasing the issues. It was gentle neighborhood driving from cold, which is not usually when I get a lot of transmission tantrums. I should have taken a video while driving through Boston the other day when it felt like every gear-change was the car's last. I'm hesitant to even use this video I took as evidence, because it doesn't seem bad at all.

The other thing that's funny about the problems I have is that they're somewhat intermittent. There are no days when I really feel as if the transmission is SMOOTH, but depending on load, temperature, distance, and driving conditions, the jerking, confusion, and hesitation, are either mild or more intermittent. Today, for example, the car has been OKAY. Not great, but not as awful as it was on the highway the other day. So I sort of gaslight myself into thinking it's really just fine.

 

[BenDoyle]

If you have an early 2019 and you installed a short ram/cold air intake, this could cause such a problem. However you would get warnings such as safety systems disabled, engine malfunction, stability control system failure, etc. I had the same issue. They recommended I flash the computer but I was too scared to do that. Fix was to go back to stock intake.

Unfortunately that is not my case, but I appreciate the input. Good to know about the intakes!!

 

[BenDoyle]

Have you gotten the car looked at yet? I was looking at a 22, but am kinda of hesitant right now.

I haven't had the time yet, and until something really bad happens, I probably don't have much of a case. It's hard to document and the issues seem to come & go.

My advice is to find THE Mazda 3 that you'd purchase, and take it for a 30+ minute test drive. Try it in traffic, especially. My guess is that the issues are only on some cars with this transmission.

 

[BenDoyle]

Hey man, were you ever able to figure out what was the issue with your transmission? I think I might be experiencing a similar thing, not as bad as you but I feel like the shifting should be a lot smoother than what it is now. My car only has 2000 miles and I haven't really thought about it much but after taking my wife brand new 2023 CX5 for a drive that thing has buttery smooth shifting compare to my 2022 Mazda 3.

Not yet but I am planning on looking at the AT dipstick out of curiosity. The car still drives about the same – sometimes fine, but often very annoying. Have driven a couple other cars (high-mileage 2015 4Runner and low-mileage Volvo XC60) and both have extremely smooth transmissions that are willing to gently downshift for acceleration ... but the Mazda is a different story. Will let you know if I find anything.

There was a great thread the other day about resetting the Skyactiv learning system for "factory fresh" behavior on your AT. That's another option I'm mulling.

 

[BenDoyle]

Sorry to hear that others are having little success in diagnosing these poor shift behaviors. I like my dealer, but I doubt they would be any better. Unfortunate to think that the transmission is slowly destroying itself, but not fast enough to do so under warranty!

If any Mazda Skyactiv 6AT owners want to chime in, please do so. The more information we have, the better. This weekend hopefully I will remember to look at my AT dipstick.

 

[BenDoyle]

Thanks all. To provide another short update:

My Japan-built 2022 is now at about 16,500 moderately hard miles. Whenever I drive other automatic cars, I'm still amazed at their smoothness. My 6AT is much the same as before. The following symptoms may sound familiar:

-Most of the time when cruising (30-50mph), it utterly refuses to downshift, unless you mash the throttle (dangerous and annoying). It likes to sit in 6th and flutter the torque converter instead; this means there is usually zero throttle response unless you force a kickdown. If you DO mash the throttle and let off too quickly, it gets confused and produces a wicked shift flare. Downshifts are sometimes imperceptible under light load, but moderate/heavy load makes them excessively harsh.

-Poor software tuning means that, if you put your foot down while it's starting to upshift, it won't stop -- it will just carry on upshifting, leaving you in the lurch unless you floor it.

-It's often very slow to engage when going from R-D at a dead stop. I've noticed that it most commonly gives me the "whiplash" effect when cold. On occasion, you'll go from R-D, hit the gas, and nothing will happen. The car will get very close to stalling out. Then there's another second or two with no throttle response, before the car slams into first and takes off (again dangerously) like a stabbed rat.

-Has a hard time taking off from stoplights in any kind of hurry. There will be a shudder and a brief pause before it gets up and goes. The torque converter often slips far too much from a dead stop, which makes it feel like a bad CVT. It will feel held back and then it will start to pick up speed after a few seconds. With this car, there's a constant feeling of 'catching up' with itself -- it's held back initially, but then it surges forward unprompted. A very hard car to drive in a smooth / linear fashion.

Some days, the transmission is pretty good. Other days, it sucks. It's not bad enough for me to surrender the $150 diagnostic fee at the dealer (because they'll tell me it's normal), but it can always get worse. With any luck it will grenade under warranty.

I continuously encourage other 6AT drivers to chime in with their own thoughts, opinions, and driving sensations.

Thanks to all for lots of great info and suggestions!

 

[BenDoyle]

Another interesting point -- I've noticed that adding a second passenger to the car makes it feel much smoother.

Debating whether the AT software reset is a good next step.

 

[BenDoyle]

The car has been nerfed for cruising and higher mpg goals.

They aren't targeting enthusiastic drivers any longer.
CK

I remember hearing that. Combined with the torsion beam at rear, it seems like Mazda should decide between comfort and sporting character.

 

[BenDoyle]

Go to the dealer and tell them you are having a "delayed engagement". This is usually indicative of a pressure issue or a combination of solenoids not allowing the Low/Reverse Brake and the one way clutch to actually operate like it is supposed to. It could also be causing the slip felt on take off.

Good thinking. Thank you @sinistriel. From your comment I'm inclined to believe that they're hearing about this issue a lot?

 

[BenDoyle]

@sinistriel , I was waiting for you to chime-in again; you seem to have good ideas re A/T's. One of the prbs the OP faces (I believe) is the apparent intermittency of this behaviour. Will it misbehave on command?

Quite right, the issues are intermittent. Knowing my luck, I could go to the dealer 5 times before the problem reappeared. Either that, or I would have to send the tech on a VERY LONG test drive!

 

[BenDoyle]

Did you end up doing the software reset? They reloaded (or re-learned as they call it) the data for me and it had absolutely no effect!

Not yet since I've been doing a lot of highway driving and I think that would skew the 'learning process'. I have no qualms with the highway performance, it's really under 40mph that the car struggles

 

[BenDoyle]

I mentioned in another thread about similar issues I am having with my Mazda 3 in Australia (link below). When the car was with the dealer they gave me a CX-5 to drive for the day. Driving the CX-5 I did not experience any of the shuddering or Jerkiness I feel in the Mazda 3. Additionally I mentioned a squelch that I can hear in the shift from 3rd to 4th gear (it seems as though after the squelch the shuddering/jerkiness starts). I have a recording of the squelch, but can't upload it to the forum. And as usual the squelch is intermittent which is why whenever I take it to the dealer they always say "unable to replicate fault". It is becoming very frustrating! The vehicle was perfectly fine in the first 2-2.5 years. It's only been in the last year that all this has occurred!

Mazda 3 2022 Shudder / Jerkiness

I have a Mazda 3 2020 G25 GT with an automatic transmission purchased in November 2019 in Australia. Since about June 2022 I have been experiencing issues where the vehicle will shudder on transmission changes. In some instances it will be a large shudder however in the majority of cases it just...

www.mazda3revolution.com

Your thread looks familiar. It's nice to hear that I'm not the only one. I get that 'squelch' on the 1-2 shift.