In one of Scotty's video about the Mazda 3, he said that some of the redesigned generation from 2008-13 had a 6 speed automatic transmission from Aisin. With that particular transmission, are those particular Mazda 3s a good reliable car?
The Aisin tranny is definitely better than the Ford 5-speeds they used in the older generation Mazdas. Mine unfortunately has the junky Ford 5-speed, but surprisingly it's lasting almost 200k miles lol.
Mazda weak point was automatic transmission and with the Aisin transmission, they can be decent cars but still not as reliable as Toyota or Honda.
Realise that the rest of the vehicle is still a Mazda. And an old one, now. So it all depends on it’s present mechanical condition.
I would still pass on it now. You might get a good transmission, but as @InThrustWeTrust said, the rest of the car is still an old Mazda.
Yes
I have also heard that all Skyactiv Mazdas have Aisin transmissions.
@billybob
Skyactiv Mazdas have Mazda made Skyactiv-drive automatic (usually 6 speed automatic) transmissions.
I would consider that generation with the Aisin transmission an OK car and less of an OK car at this age, but the next 2014-2017 model years are reliable good cars, with Mazda made transmissions which haven't had any issues so far. You would be better off with a 2010-2013 Toyota Corolla or 2009-2011 Honda Civic at that age.
