The color of your Mazda’s transmission fluid can indicate how healthy it is. Transmission fluid changes color as it ages. Checking your transmission fluid yourself may be difficult because oftentimes the dipstick is located underneath your Mazda. This is where the transmission is located, as well. A general rule of thumb is to have your Mazda’s transmission fluid changed every 30,000 miles. This ensures you always have clean and fresh transmission fluid in the transmission doing its job. Mazcare explains more below.
Red
Bright red transmission fluid is doing its job perfectly. This translucent fluid is protecting the transmission’s moving parts, lubricating the gears, removing dirt and drawing heat away from the parts, and helping the transmission shift gears. All transmission fluid is red, including transmission fluid in Mazdas. At this point, you don’t need to have your transmission fluid changed. It is more than capable of doing its job.
Light Brown
As a transmission fluid starts to get old, it will turn light brown. The transmission fluid remains translucent and is still doing its job the way it needs to. In some cases, the fluid will look more orange than light brown, but this is okay, too. You needn’t worry about changing your Mazda’s transmission fluid just yet. This doesn’t mean that you aren’t on the road to a transmission fluid changes soon, however. You are.
Dark Brown
Brown, dark brown, or black transmission fluid must be changed right away. This fluid has oxidized, which means it has filled with air bubbles. The fluid is also opaque, which means you can’t see through it anymore. This fluid is not capable of helping the transmission change gears, much less protecting the transmission parts and mechanisms. It’s never a good idea to let your transmission fluid get to these colors. Rather, have the transmission fluid changed once it starts to turn brown.
Pink
As an aside, pink transmission fluid is an indication that there is a serious problem between your cooling system and the transmission. Transmission fluid turns pink when it is filled with engine coolant. In many cases, this combination looks like a strawberry milkshake. Obviously, there is a breach somewhere between the two systems that is causing the fluids to mix. Not only does this breach need to be repaired, but the more you drive your Mazda the more the diluted transmission fluid will damage the transmission.
Call Mazcare in Marietta, GA, to schedule an appointment for a transmission inspection if you haven’t had one in 30,000 miles. We’ll check your transmission fluid to make sure that it is okay. If it isn’t, we will change it.