FW6A-EL Transmission Service Kit with Filter and 6L ATF

This is a complete drain-and-fill service pack for the Mazda FW6A-EL (SkyActiv-Drive) six-speed automatic. You get the internal transmission filter, a new transmission pan gasket, and six 1-liter bottles of Top Tec ATF 1800 built to the OE specification Mazda calls out for this unit. That is enough fluid to do a proper pan drop plus a refill, or two staged drain-and-fills if you would rather exchange the fluid gradually on a high-mileage car.

Fitment covers Mazda 3 2.0L 2012-2018, Mazda 3 2.5L 2014-2019, Mazda 6 2.5L 2014-2018, CX-3 2.0L 2016-2020, CX-5 2.0L 2013-2016, CX-5 2.5L 2014-2019, and CX-9 2.5L 2016-2020. Check the pan and filter against the photos before you start, because Mazda ran more than one filter shape across this span and the wrong one will not seal to the pump pickup.

On the bench or on a lift the job runs like this: drain through the pan plug, drop the pan, pull the old filter straight down off the pickup, clean the magnets and the pan rail, set the new filter and gasket, torque the pan bolts evenly in a spiral pattern, then refill through the fill plug on the case. The FW6A-EL has no dipstick. Final level is set at the overflow plug with the fluid at the temperature window Mazda specifies, engine idling, after cycling the selector through every range. Set it cold or hot outside that window and you will end up over- or underfilled.

The reason people buy this kit is that Mazda treats the FW6A-EL fluid as fill-for-life. It is not. Burnt or shear-thinned fluid in these units shows up first as a lockup-clutch shudder at light throttle around 40-50 mph, then as flare or a delayed engagement when the valve body bores and the solenoid screens start loading up with clutch material. Fresh OE-spec fluid and a clean filter is the cheapest thing you can do about it before the unit needs to come out.