Mazda ND Transmission Fluid Recommends

[pgw73]

Asking for a dear friend (seriously). He has a 2016 ND with a V1 6spd transmission. He’s looking for the right fluid. He drained the tranny oil and stated it was dirty and seemed thin. He now has Amsoil in it and states it’s terrible when cold and even when warmed up, 2nd and 3rd gear feel notchy. He said “toothy” but I don’t know what that means. What do you all recommend for him to get good smooth shifting quality back. He previously used and liked Motocraft XT-M5-QS in his former NC. Yes, he's a very fussy!

Paul (Non-Mazda Owner)

[962porsche]

the ND like other Miata's suffer from the same transmission shifting problem.
the best fluid to use it the Mazda's long life trans fluid. people bitch about the cost but it's the proper fluid to use . the ford fluid is a good fluid synthetic fluid I use it in our MX5's.
he wants a GL-4 fluid if you try and use a GL-5 like many do it will make shifting when cold pretty bad.
the question is there a reason why the car owner things the proper Mazda fluid is not good? or is it that he is to thrifty to spend a few more dollars and just use the fluid that is designed for the car?
if I remember right when I did my customers ND the car takes about 2.5 QT's and for the 3 QT's I need to buy from Mazda it was 70 dollars.

[pgw73]

Thanks for the response. He is not cheap and willing to pay for whatever it takes. I know he gave me a long explanation about the Mazda fluid, but I'll be damned if I remember.....maybe because he couldn't determine what it really was? Maybe? He is super-critical and for not being a trained engineer, he thinks like one. He has actually called people all over the country trying to get to the heart of this issue....understanding why one fluid works and others don't. I'll get back here with the reason why he didn't follow with the Mazda fluids.

[pgw73]

This is what my friend said about dealing with Mazda directly: "I called Mazda US in Irvine And asked if the part number for the Miata ND1 6 speed manual transmission oil had been changed. I was told there where two numbers listed, 0000-77-5W90-QT 75W90 and 0000-77-5W80-QT. I asked if there was any mention to number 0000-77-114-QT and I was told no. I was not told if that was a number or a spec change, only that those were the numbers listed. The 0000-77-114-QT is the Mazda original long life IS oil recommended in the manual. The reason I called them was I got about the same story from a dealer who said he did not have it, did not know if he could get in, and the new number in his computer was 0000-77-5W90 QT 75W90. The original IS oil can still be had after-market but if Mazda no longer lists it, it makes me think I should go with what Mazda recommended in the manual. If I could not get the IS, use a standard 75W90." Can you follow this? Make sense?

[TroyV]

I have a very un-scientific method for this. Pull the plug. If what comes out is reddish, I go with Redline D4 ATF. If what comes out is amber brown, I go with the Ford stuff.

[962porsche]

if you can't get the fluid from Mazda for the trans and I don't know why as I just did again a few weeks ago to do a fluid change on an other ND I would not just go with a regular 75w 90 .
this last customer does 3 track days a season and the rest of the time he will drive his car pretty much year round as long as there is no snow on the roads. because of this I went with the 5w 90 Mazda fluid. they had to order it because it wasn't in stock but they had it to me two days later.

I tend to just always use the ford fluid for one big reason and that's because the ford dealer is right down the street and they keep it in stock so they can drop it off to me in about a hour after I call them.
the only reason I didn't use it with the ND is because they are new cars under a warranty . so to cover my ass and the customers I have the receipts to show I bought the proper fluid the car calls for.