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i bought my 1993 mx3 today....im in love. My last car was a crappy tercel..so to go from that - to this is well... a bit of difference to say the least. I love it. I've been looking around, and reading quite a bit about my car, expecaily the automatic transmission-which i have. Im kinda of concerned about it breaking down on me =\ Im at 150K right now.. and i hear that the tranny starts crapping out at around then. Right now all i can tell is that its a little..jumpy.. a little bit.. Is there anything i can do to maybe prolong my tranny breaking down? I read something about transmission coolant?? Or just any tips anyone can offer me specific to our mx3's??

welcome to the site. To keep your trans working better, I would at least have filter changed and fluid replaced, preferrably with synthetic, also trans cooler helps too, it has lines going to your radiator

the transfluid was changed today, i made the dealer do it before i bought my car. Should i change that regularly- like a oil change?

Welcome to the board & congrats on your new ride. fwiw, I change my atx tranny fluid every 12-15 months (10-12K miles) on my '90 MX-6. Have also added an auxilliary trans cooler since a complete atx rebuild 2.5 years ago. Mazda (Ford-built) auto trannies are notorious for their design, providing poor fluid circulation and fluid cooling.

intresting... i think i should do that too. My cars Cold to Hot meter thing (dont know the actual name of it) likes to sit in the middle- a lot closer to the hot side, fulltime- like thats its job. lol. Does anyone elses car do that? Or should i be worried about that....

Congrats on getting a MX-3 and welcome to the family here. My advice to you is to at least once a month, check the level and color of you tranny fluid. That is a must. If the color is bright ruby red. then it's in good condition......... any other color besides that, then change fluid and filter ASAP.......do not wait! If you want to be ultra anal about keeping your tranny in mint condition... changing the fluid and filter evey 3 or 4 months is not out of line.......... vs how much it could cost to buy a good used or even a new one.

Also, read up on this tranny forum here.......... there's tons of good advice ripe for the picking......... and yes, get a tranny cooler....... plate and fin type......... not the tube.

the cold to hot meter is your water temp gauge, it should be in the middle, perhaps you need a radiator flush too? not sure about changing your tranny fluid so often..., 12-15 mths would be fine, but whatever you do....., DO NOT OVERFILL!!!!!!!
get the tranny cooler and good luck..., you'll need it

jaxsmax6 wrote:intresting... My cars Cold to Hot meter thing (dont know the actual name of it) likes to sit in the middle- a lot closer to the hot side, fulltime- like thats its job. lol. Does anyone elses car do that?

mine sits just below the middle ( which I am sure is normal )

if ur tranny fluid is black DO NOT CHANGE IT!! i know what jrors said but if it red change it when its supposed to be changed. the reason y i said dont change if black is because ur tranny if fried or burnt out and if u change the fluid it will hurt it and ur tranny wont work no more! when i got my car 8 months ago the fluid was black i changed it and my tranny didnt work no more (2200 bucks to rebuild it). my uncle had this happen too it was black and changed it then his didnt work no more. u may feel like it HAS to be changed but dont take it from me and my uncle.

Ok, if the transmission works in your new mx-3, then congrats!...you now have the oppertunity to take preventative measures to keep it going strong without breaking down. First of all, the reason most Auto transmissions die is because they are not race designed transmissions to be beat on. BUT, the nature of this zippy little sports car tends to make people drive the piss out of them, then the transmission dies on them. Also the ford built transmission is more prone to failure under these circumstances.


So if your not looking to push your car hard and race people then DONT WORRY!! Change the fluid/filter, Use a good quality transmission fluid...synthetic is best. If you are like me, and just put the car in gear and get to where you want to go, without flooring it and passing people at 6500 rpms then dont expect much transmission trouble as long as you keep clean transmission fluid in there. Done deal. Easy enough? It was for me.....220,000 km on original automatic and still goes strong.