Photo: Mazda
The MX-5 Miata doesn’t make sense with the six-speed automatic transmission, but as you’d expect, some people fail to understand the purpose of a sports car. Over in Australia, the SkyActiv-Drive is prone to malfunction.
Mazda reports the transmission control module “may incorrectly interpret an electrical signal from the gear selector lever and this has the potential to cause the automatic transmission to downshift unexpectedly.” In this case, changing to a lower gear causes an abrupt reduction of the rear wheels’ speed.
Affecting the stability of the vehicle is nothing to scoff at considering the loss of control could lead to an accident, injuries, and even death. Mazda Australia recommends owners of 2015 to 2019 models to present their sports cars to the nearest dealership to reprogram the TCM.
Recall code R201901 is still “pending” despite the fact nearly 1,900 examples of the breed are affected. More to the point, Mazda Australia is dealing with 1,891 units sold in the Land Down Under from July 20th, 2015 through January 31st, 2019.
As opposed to the U.S., Australia gets the MX-5 with the 1.5-liter engine as standard. The lightest configuration available tips the scale at 1,012 kilograms (2,231 pounds), and Mazda recommends 95-octane gasoline. 91 and 98 RON are also available in this part of the world.
Turning our attention to SkyActiv-Drive, this gearbox “combines all the advantages of conventional automatic transmissions, continuously variable transmissions, and dual clutch transmissions” according to Mazda. Developed for naturally aspirated, turbocharged, and turbo diesel engines with four and six cylinders, the slushbox is available for everything in the lineup from the Mazda2 upwards.
Even the Yaris Sedan comes with SkyActiv-Drive in the United States, but Toyota fails to mention this detail in the configurator for the badge-engineered model. Because it features a lock-up torque converter and planetary gears, calling it SkyActiv-Drive and describing the transmission as some kind of Holy Grail is nothing more than a marketing artifice.
Affecting the stability of the vehicle is nothing to scoff at considering the loss of control could lead to an accident, injuries, and even death. Mazda Australia recommends owners of 2015 to 2019 models to present their sports cars to the nearest dealership to reprogram the TCM.
Recall code R201901 is still “pending” despite the fact nearly 1,900 examples of the breed are affected. More to the point, Mazda Australia is dealing with 1,891 units sold in the Land Down Under from July 20th, 2015 through January 31st, 2019.
As opposed to the U.S., Australia gets the MX-5 with the 1.5-liter engine as standard. The lightest configuration available tips the scale at 1,012 kilograms (2,231 pounds), and Mazda recommends 95-octane gasoline. 91 and 98 RON are also available in this part of the world.
Turning our attention to SkyActiv-Drive, this gearbox “combines all the advantages of conventional automatic transmissions, continuously variable transmissions, and dual clutch transmissions” according to Mazda. Developed for naturally aspirated, turbocharged, and turbo diesel engines with four and six cylinders, the slushbox is available for everything in the lineup from the Mazda2 upwards.
Even the Yaris Sedan comes with SkyActiv-Drive in the United States, but Toyota fails to mention this detail in the configurator for the badge-engineered model. Because it features a lock-up torque converter and planetary gears, calling it SkyActiv-Drive and describing the transmission as some kind of Holy Grail is nothing more than a marketing artifice.
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