Any damage is much more likely to have occurred when you operated it with no fluid. The wrong fluid is much better than no fluid.
The PDF does say (emphasis is mine): Using the wrong ATF may cause shift quality complaints or may even damage the transmission.
Take Pep Boys to small claims court for what ? Just tell them they sold the wrong fluid and ask for a refund. You really want to lose time from work over this.
It is up to the fluid supplier which fluids are compatible with each transmission. I don’t know if you can sue a Pep Boys clerk for this. Valvoline offers 9 different automatic transmission fluids and this chart lists both MaxLife ATF and Mercon V for the Mazda 3. Check the product you bought for proper application, if you want Mazda M-V you’ll have to buy it from a Mazda dealer.
" I don’t know if you can sue a Pep Boys clerk for this"
+1
…and proving that you were given bad advice by a Pep Boys employee who may not even be identifiable could be problematic, as winning a legal case is all about proof of your allegations.
As was stated previously, any damage was more likely to have taken place as a result of running the transmission w/o fluid, rather than using the wrong fluid for a very short period of time.
I agree with @“VOLVO V70”
Nobody except the Mazda dealer . . . and PERHAPS independent shops specializing only in Mazda . . . are going to carry M-V
Believe me, I already checked myself, before I worked on my brother’s car. After a few trips and phone calls, I just gave up and headed to the local Mazda dealer. I hate going there, because of the horrendous traffic, but that’s besides the point
Probably . . . but no guarantees . . . the transmission will be fine with that jack of all trades fluid that Pep Boys used
If you want to sleep well at night . . . replace it with genuine M-V from the local Mazda dealersynthetic fluids
I buy trans fluid at the dealer. I’ve got four quarts in the garage waiting for me to change the Acura. I don’t remember the cost but somewhere around $10 a quart. Cheap insurance.
What I like about the Acura is that next to the plug for the engine oil is stamped “engine oil” and is a regular hex bolt. The trans plug is an internal square drive to fit a 3/8" ratchet. Kinda hard to mix the two up without trying.
The problem with running low on fluid is that the clutches can slip. Slipping can kill them in a hurry which then requires an overhaul. I don’t know how you can check for clutch wear without taking the trans apart. Hopefully you just drove around the block and didn’t rev it up much when it started slipping.
“What I like about the Acura is that next to the plug for the engine oil is stamped “engine oil” and is a regular hex bolt. The trans plug is an internal square drive to fit a 3/8” ratchet. Kinda hard to mix the two up without trying."
The Honda Civics in our fleet are the same. I assume most/all Hondas and Acuras are like that . . . ?
I tend to agree with BillRussell that any damage is likely due to low fluid rather than the type.
Automatics can be damaged in minutes or even seconds all depending upon the fluid situation.
Sometimes the damage may not show up immediately. It may be thousands of miles later. Knock on wood things will turn out ok here.
I too hope it works out OK. But what’s concerning is what @im1dermike’s wrote in his Feb 20th post, (before he realized he was draining trans fluid):
Thanks for all the responses. I’m quite certain it was the oil that I drained.
Transmission fluid is red. What I drained was stereotypical dirty black oil.
It’s since been determined that the “dirty black oil” he drained was indeed transmission fluid. It could be “dirty black” because of excessive clutch slippage from such a low fluid level.
This happened to car coworker of mine a while back. He had a stick shift tercel. He told me his car was getting hard to shift, and he said he had to have the trans rebuild the year before. He told me he had changed the oil himself and I heard the car whining, so I pulled out his dipstick and I saw it was overfilled then I asked him to show me what bolt he removed when doing the oil change and I said that’s the transmission. We drained the excess oil ang refilled the transmission and the car went on for many more miles.
I once did a fluid change, pan drop, and filter change on a 2004? Toyota Corolla automatic. The old fluid indeed was black. However, the specified fluid (I believe it was T-IV) was also black. Anyway the transmission worked and continues to work okey with the fluid used although the torque converter fluid was not drained.
I am wondering if your transmission uses a similar fluid. When you get the car back from the fluid exchange, check to see the fluid color. Put a drop or two on a plastic business card and see. Let us know if the M-V fluid is also blackish. I am thinking that the transmission manufacturers are specifying graphite in the fluid to assist in shift feel.
So let us know. TNX
researcher, fresh Toyota T-IV is red, not black. I’ve done several ATF changes on an 03 Corolla, the first time, the ATf had turned black.
OP, the wrong ATF wont do a lot of damage if used at lower speed and for short distances. Most of the issues occur with shifting while cold and foaming when run at high speeds for some distances, long enough to get hotter than normal. That is when damage to the transmission is likely to occur.
Whoever names the fluids seems like they went out of their way to create confusion by naming one M-V and another Mercon-V. Seems a lack of common sense.
Thanks to the knowledgeable posters here, @db4690 etc … the OP has probably caught this in time. No harm, no foul I guess.
Still, I think OP has a valid argument that the vendor should either refund the price of the Mercon V purchase, or at least offer a store credit of that amount toward future purposes. And it is a good educational opportunity for the manager to instruct the staff there to understand similar names doesn’t mean the same fluid.
I’ve also experienced numerous problems using big box auto parts stores at times. That’s why I rarely do business with them; instead I use a locally owned auto parts store who seems to have a very car-knowledgeable staff. The most recent time I tried to purchase something at a big box auto parts store I wanted some 1/8 inch diameter fuel line, and the staff person went behind the counter and shouted to me “ok, did you say 36 inches of 1/8 inch ID fuel line”? ‘Yes’, I say. She comes out and plops an 8 inch length of 1/2 inch fuel line. I say 'no, I wanted 36 inches of 1/8 inch line", she says “that’s what it says on the label below the reel” … sigh …
If the application guide shows Mercon V for this vehicle how would this be an “educational opportunity” for the manager?
An opportunity for the parts store manager to educate the staff on the difference between Mercon V and M-V.
If the fluid used meets both specifications like Valvoline Mercon V what is the point of the lecture?
If Mercon V and M-V meet the same specs, then there is no point of the lecture. But from what I gleen from the the posts above, it appears they don’t meet the same spec. Didn’t @db4690 say M-V is not the same as Mercon-V? Or am I misunderstanding the above posts? Are you saying Nevada_545 that Mercon V and M-V are identical fluids, spec-wise?
The OEM supply of Mercon V and M-V are different but it may be possible for a supplier to make a transmission fluid that meets the specifications of both fluids. Without knowing the brand of fluid the OP purchased it is not known if the fluid does not meet M-V specs.
Ok, I see what you mean. If the OP in fact purchased the correct brand of Mercon V, then they wouldn’t have to drain it all out and start again.
@GeorgeSanJose
M-V is not the same as Mercon-V
But many, many, many, many guys think M-V means Mercon-V
Not so
Mercon-V does not meet M-V specs
But there appear to be some aftermarket multi-application fluids that claim to meet both M-V and Mercon V specs
But if you buy genuine Motorcraft Mercon-V in the red quart plastic bottle, for example, it does NOT meet M-V specs