Overview The 2011–2014 Mazda 2 is simple. Almost stubbornly simple. Front-wheel drive. Small 1.5L MZR four-cylinder. A compact transaxle bolted to it. No AWD nonsense. No transfer case hiding under the car. No PTU cooking itself. No dual-clutch drama. No CVT belt slipping into oblivion. Just a basic front differential built into the transmission case…
Overview The first-generation Mazda Millenia (1995–2002) is one of those cars that looks expensive, drives smooth, and hides its weak spots until you’re already writing a check. From a drivetrain standpoint, it’s simple. Front-wheel drive. Transverse layout. One integrated transaxle with a built-in differential and two CV axles. No AWD. No transfer case. No fancy…
Overview The 2004–2011 Mazda RX-8. First generation. Rear-wheel drive. Simple layout on paper. Front-mounted 13B-MSP rotary. Longitudinal tranny. Two-piece driveshaft. Rear differential. No AWD. No transfer case. No PTU hiding under the car waiting to drain your wallet. From a transmission and driveline standpoint, this platform is not fragile. It’s sensitive. There’s a difference. I’ve…
Overview The ND Mazda MX-5 Miata. Simple car. Light. Rear-wheel drive. Two pedals or three. That’s it. I’ve worked on a lot of modern transmissions that are over-engineered nightmares — eight speeds stuffed sideways, dual clutches cooking themselves in traffic, CVTs that feel like rubber bands. This isn’t that. The ND drivetrain is refreshingly mechanical….
Overview The 2006–2015 Mazda MX-5 Miata NC is simple. Rear-wheel drive. Longitudinal engine. Separate differential hanging out back doing its thing. No AWD complexity. No CVT nonsense. No dual-clutch science project waiting to grenade itself at 80,000 miles. From a drivetrain standpoint, this platform is old-school mechanical. And I mean that in a good way….
Overview The 1999–2005 NB Miata is simple. Old-school simple. Longitudinal engine, rear-wheel drive, a manual tranny or a basic hydraulic automatic, driveshaft straight to a rear diff. No AWD tricks. No dual-clutch drama. No CVT nonsense. Just gears, shafts, bearings. I’ve worked on these cars since they were still under factory warranty. Back when people…
Overview The 1990–1997 Mazda MX-5 Miata. NA chassis. Simple car. Rear-wheel drive. Lightweight. No nonsense. From a drivetrain standpoint, this thing is refreshingly old-school. Longitudinal engine. Manual or hydraulic automatic bolted directly behind it. One-piece driveshaft. Rear differential tied together with the Power Plant Frame. No transfer case. No AWD clutches. No electronic trickery hiding…
Overview The first-generation Mazda CX-30 is mechanically simple. That’s good. One transmission. One basic layout. No CVT nonsense. No dual-clutch drama. I’ve had these on lifts since they hit the market in 2020. From a transmission standpoint, this platform is pretty straightforward. Mazda didn’t experiment here. They stuck with a conventional torque-converter automatic and paired…
Overview Let’s get something straight. The 2016–2021 Mazda CX-3 in the U.S. runs one automatic transmission. One. No CVT. No dual-clutch experiment. No surprise mid-cycle swap. Just the FW6A-EL six-speed bolted to the 2.0L SKYACTIV-G. Front-wheel drive standard. AWD optional with a rear coupling and differential setup hanging off the back. On paper, it’s simple….
Overview The second-generation Mazda CX-5 (2017–present, KF platform) runs a simple setup. One automatic transmission. No CVT. No dual-clutch experiment. No weird supplier roulette. I like simple. Simple usually lives longer. In real service bays, this drivetrain has not been a ticking time bomb. It’s not out there lunching gears at 40,000 miles. It’s not…
Overview The 2013–2016 Mazda CX-5 was Mazda’s first real swing at the Skyactiv drivetrain philosophy in the U.S. Simple on paper. Six-speed automatic. Six-speed manual. No CVT nonsense. No dual-clutch science project waiting to grenade itself at 82,000 Miles. I’ve worked on a lot of these. Not a handful. Dozens. The drivetrain isn’t a ticking…
Overview I’ve worked on a lot of three-row crossovers. Some are fragile. Some are overbuilt. The 2016–2023 Mazda CX-9 sits somewhere in the middle. One transmission. One core design. That helps. When a platform sticks with the same drivetrain for years, patterns show up fast in the service bays. You don’t chase ghosts — you…
Overview The 2007–2015 Mazda CX-9. First generation. Big crossover, transverse V6, decent power, and one transmission choice across the board. One. No CVT experiments. No dual-clutch drama. No weird mid-cycle swaps. Just the same Aisin-based six-speed bolted behind the 3.5L in 2007 and the 3.7L from 2008 onward. The real story isn’t the tranny itself….
Overview The first-generation Mazda CX-7 (2007–2012) is one of those crossovers that looks sportier than it behaves long-term. Turbo torque. Compact chassis. Aisin 6-speed automatic bolted to a fairly stressed AWD setup on certain trims. On paper, it’s solid. In the bay? Different story. No manual. No CVT. No dual-clutch experiment. Just one Aisin 6-speed…
Overview The U.S. Mazda 5 came in two waves: 2006–2010, then a gap year, and back again 2012–2015. No AWD. No fancy torque vectoring. Just front-wheel drive, a transverse engine, and a compact transaxle bolted to it. Simple layout. And I like simple layouts. This platform runs an integrated transaxle with the differential built into…