Mazda 6 Gearbox & Transmission Problems

Let’s start with the basics here, Bryan, before lashing out on mechanics. Are the tyre pressures where they should be? A tyre can be pretty under-inflated before that’s actually obvious to the eye, but a tyre with an incorrect pressure can be harder to turn. Next, what about the wheel alignment settings? Has the car bounced off a kerb lately? Has there been any incident that could have wrenched the front end out of alignment? When was the last time the wheel alignment was checked?

For all of that, however, I’m tempted to suspect that there’s something wrong with the valving in the power-steering rack. I’d be having the rack checked for any foreign matter inside that could be blocking the valves or in some other way preventing the rack from guiding the wheels smoothly in both directions. A dodgy steering system is an obvious safety issue, so don’t mess about having it checked.

It all depends on whether you bought the car privately or from a licensed used-car dealer. If it’s the latter, you might have some redress under the mandatory warranty conditions in your State. If you bought the car privately, I’m afraid there’s no comeback at all beyond contacting the seller, explaining the situation and perhaps coming to an arrangement on a refund or part-refund. I wouldn’t be holding my breath, however, and a private seller usually has no obligations whatsoever to make your problem their problem. Did you have the car independently inspected before the purchase? If you did, I’d be taking the matter up with whoever did the inspection, because a faulty transfer case should perhaps have been picked up as part of any pre-purchase test.

If the transfer case is damaged beyond repair, you’ll need a new one. The problem there is that the only Mazda 6 that featured this driveline (with a transfer case) was the MPS model which only sold in small numbers. So you might have trouble finding a second-hand one. Even the main gearbox (a six-speed) was different to the manual gearbox (a five-speed) on the other Mazda 6 models.

No, not in 2004, but a four-wheel drive model, the MPS, was introduced in August 2005.

Sounds like you need to have a transmission specialist take a closer look at it. For starters, the transmission fluid doesn’t simply disappear without reason, there has to be a problem. I would have the auto serviced and the fluid changed.

Mazda's maintenance schedule suggests that the fluid and fluid level be inspected every 20,000 km, so the dealer has done the right thing and checked yours at the appropriate service. He's also done the right thing in warning you that it could need changing at the next service, and given you a possible cost. Some automatic transmission specialists, those of the old school anyway, are adamant that the transmission fluid should be changed every 20,000 km to keep the transmission alive and well. It would seem the dealer has given you good advice on the possibility you might need to change the  fluid, although the cost does seem a little high. Ask the dealer for a breakdown of the costs so you can see what the fluid costs and how much time you're being charged for. That should tell if you are being overcharged.