2017 MAZDA MODEL 6 maintenance

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Maintenance and Care
Owner Maintenance
Battery Maintenance
To get the best service from a battery:
 Keep it securely mounted. Keep the top clean and dry. Keep terminals and connections clean,
tight, and coated with petroleum jelly or
terminal grease.
 Rinse off spilled electrolyte immediately
with a solution of water and baking
soda.
 If the vehicle will not be used for an
extended time, disconnect the battery
cables and charge the battery every six
weeks.
Inspecting Electrolyte Level
A low level of electrolyte fluid will cause
the battery to discharge quickly.
Upper le vel
Lo wer le vel
Inspect the electrolyte level at least once
a week. If it is low, remove the caps and
add enough distilled water to bring the
level between the upper and lower level
(illustration).
Do not overfill.
Examine the specific gravity of the
electrolyte with a hydrometer, especially
during cold weather. If it is low, recharge
the battery.
Battery Recharging
NOTE
 Before performing maintenance or
recharging the battery, turn off all
accessories and stop the engine.
 To disconnect the battery, remove the
negative cable first. Install it last when
connecting the battery.
 Be sure to remove the caps before
recharging the battery.
 If the battery quickly discharges
because, for example, the lights were
left on too long with the engine off,
slow-charge it as required by battery
size and charger capacity.
 If the battery gradually discharges
because of high electric load while the
vehicle is being used, recharge it as
required by battery size and charger
capacity.
Battery Replacement
Contact an Authorized Mazda Dealer for a
battery replacement purchase.
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Maintenance and Care
Owner Maintenance
Key Battery Replacement
If the buttons on the transmitter are
inoperable and the operation indicator
light does not flash, the battery may be
dead.
Replace with a new battery before the
transmitter becomes unusable.
CAUTION
 Make sure the battery is installed
correctly. Battery leakage could occur if it
is not installed correctly.
 When replacing the battery, be careful
not to touch any of the internal circuitry
and electrical terminals, bend the
electrical terminals, or get dirt in the
transmitter as the transmitter could be
damaged.
 There is the danger of explosion if the
battery is not correctly replaced.
 Dispose of used batteries according to
the following instructions.
 Insulate the plus and minus terminals
of the battery using cellophane or
equivalent tape.
 Never disassemble. Never throw the battery into fire or
water.
 Never deform or crush.
 Replace only with the same type battery
(CR2025 or equivalent).
The following conditions indicate that the
battery power is low:
 The KEY indicator light (green) flashes
in the instrument cluster for about 30
seconds after the engine is turned off
(for vehicles with a type A instrument
cluster (page 4-32), messages are
displayed in the instrument cluster).
 The system does not operate and
the operation indicator light on the
transmitter does not flash when the
buttons are pressed.
 The system's operational range is
reduced.
Replacing the battery at an Authorized
Mazda Dealer is recommended to prevent
damage to the key. If replacing the battery
by yourself, follow the instruction.
Replacing the key battery
1. Press the knob and pull out the
auxiliary key.
Knob
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Maintenance and Care
Owner Maintenance
2. Twist a tape-wrapped flathead
screwdriver in the direction of the
arrow and open the cover slightly.
Cove r
3. Insert the tape-wrapped flathead
screwdriver into the gap and slide it in
the direction of the arrow.
Cove r
Gap
4. Twist the flathead screwdriver in the
direction of the arrow and remove the
cover.
Cove r
5. Remove the battery cap, then remove
the battery.
6. Insert a new battery with the positive
pole facing up, and then cover the
battery with the battery cap.
7. Close the cover.
8. Reinsert the auxiliary key.
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Maintenance and Care
Owner Maintenance
CAUTION
 Be careful not to allow the rubber ring
shown in the figure to be scratched or
damaged.
 If the rubber ring detaches, reattach it
before inserting a new battery.
Rubber ring
Tires
For reasons of proper performance, safety,
and better fuel economy, always maintain
recommended tire inflation pressures and
stay within the recommended load limits
and weight distribution.
WARNING
Using Different Tire Types:
Driving your vehicle with different
types of tires is dangerous. It could
cause poor handling and poor braking;
leading to loss of control.
Except for the limited use of the
temporary spare tire, use only the
same type tires (radial, bias-belted,
bias-type) on all four wheels.
Using Wrong-Sized Tires: Using any other tire size than what is
specified for the vehicle (page 9-8)
is dangerous. It could seriously affect
ride, handling, ground clearance,
tire clearance, and speedometer
calibration. This could cause you to
have an accident. Use only tires that
are the correct size specified for the
vehicle.
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Maintenance and Care
Owner Maintenance
Tire Inflation Pressure
WARNING
Always inflate the tires to the correct
pressure:
Overinflation or underinflation of tires
is dangerous. Adverse handling or
unexpected tire failure could result in a
serious accident.
Refer to Tires on page 9-8.
Use only a Mazda-genuine tire valve
cap: Use of a non-genuine part is
dangerous as the correct tire air
pressure cannot be maintained if the
tire valve becomes damaged. If the
vehicle is driven under this condition,
the tire air pressure will decrease which
could result in a serious accident. Do
not use any part for the tire valve cap
that is not a Mazda-genuine part.
Inspect all tire pressures monthly
(including the spare) when the tires are
cold. Maintain recommended pressures for
the best ride, handling, and minimum tire
wear.
Refer to the specification charts (page
9-8).
After adjusting the tire pressure,
initialization of the tire pressure
monitoring system is necessary to make
the system operate normally.
Refer to Tire Pressure Monitoring System
Initialization on page 4-162.
NOTE
 Always check tire pressure when tires
are cold.
 Warm tires normally exceed
recommended pressures. Do not release
air from warm tires to adjust the
pressure.
 Underinflation can cause reduced fuel
economy, uneven and accelerated tire
wear, and poor sealing of the tire bead,
which will deform the wheel and cause
separation of tire from rim.
 Overinflation can produce a harsh ride,
uneven and accelerated tire wear, and a
greater possibility of damage from road
hazards.
Keep your tire pressure at the correct
levels. If one frequently needs inflating,
have it inspected.
Tire Rotation
WARNING
Rotate tires periodically:
Irregular tire wear is dangerous. To
equalize tread wear for maintaining
good performance in handling and
braking, rotate the tires every 12,000
km (7,500 miles). However Mazda
recommends to rotate every 8,000 km
(5,000 miles) to help increase tire life
and distribute wear more evenly.
Refer to Scheduled Maintenance on
page 6-4.
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Maintenance and Care
Owner Maintenance
During rotation, inspect them for correct
balance.
Do not include (TEMPORARY USE ONLY) spare tire in rotation.
Forward
Also, inspect them for uneven wear and
damage. Abnormal wear is usually caused
by one or a combination of the following:
 Incorrect tire pressure Improper wheel alignment Out-of-balance wheel Severe braking
After rotation, inflate all tire pressures to
specification (page 9-8) and inspect the
lug nuts for tightness.
After adjusting the tire pressure,
initialization of the tire pressure
monitoring system is necessary to make
the system operate normally.
Refer to Tire Pressure Monitoring System
Initialization on page 4-162.
CAUTION
Rotate unidirectional tires and radial
tires that have an asymmetrical tread
pattern or studs only from front to rear,
not from side to side. Tire performance
will be reduced if rotated from side to
side.
Replacing a Tire
WARNING
Always use tires that are in good
condition: Driving with worn tires is dangerous.
Reduced braking, steering, and
traction could result in an accident.
Replace all four tires at the same time: Replacing just one tire is dangerous. It
could cause poor handling and poor
braking resulting in loss of vehicle
control. Mazda strongly recommends
that you replace all four tires at the
same time.
If a tire wears evenly, a wear indicator will
appear as a solid band across the tread.
Replace the tire when this happens.
Ne w tread T
read wear indicator
Worn tread
You should replace the tire before the band
crosses the entire tread.
After adjusting the tire pressure,
initialization of the tire pressure
monitoring system is necessary to make
the system operate normally.
Refer to Tire Pressure Monitoring System
Initialization on page 4-162.
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Maintenance and Care
Owner Maintenance
NOTE
Tires degrade over time, even when
they are not being used on the road. It
is recommended that tires generally be
replaced when they are 6 years or older.
Heat caused by hot climates or frequent
high loading conditions can accelerate
the aging process. You should replace the
spare tire when you replace the other road
tires due to the aging of the spare tire. The
period in which the tire was manufactured
(both week and year) is indicated by a
4-digit number.
Refer to Tire Labeling on page 8-25.
Temporary Spare Tire
Inspect the temporary spare tire at least
monthly to make sure it is properly
inflated and stored.
NOTE
The temporary spare tire condition
gradually deteriorates even if it has not
been used.
The temporary spare tire is easier to
handle because of its construction which
is lighter and smaller than a conventional
tire. This tire should be used only for an
emergency and only for a short distance.
Use the temporary spare tire only until the
conventional tire is repaired, which should
be as soon as possible.
Refer to Tires on page 9-8.
CAUTION
 Do not use your temporary spare tire
rim with a snow tire or a conventional
tire. Neither will properly fit and could
damage both tire and rim.
 The temporary spare tire has a tread life
of less than 5,000 km (3,000 miles). The
tread life may be shorter depending on
driving conditions.
 The temporary spare tire is for limited
use, however, if the tread wear solid-
band indicator appears, replace the tire
with the same type of temporary spare
(page 6-42).
NOTE
Tires degrade over time, even when
they are not being used on the road. It
is recommended that tires generally be
replaced when they are 6 years or older.
Heat caused by hot climates or frequent
high loading conditions can accelerate
the aging process. You should replace the
spare tire when you replace the other road
tires due to the aging of the spare tire. The
period in which the tire was manufactured
(both week and year) is indicated by a
4-digit number.
Refer to Tire Labeling on page 8-25.
Replacing a Wheel
WARNING
Always use wheels of the correct size on
your vehicle:
Using a wrong-sized wheel is
dangerous. Braking and handling
could be affected, leading to loss of
control and an accident.
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Maintenance and Care
Owner Maintenance
CAUTION
A wrong-sized wheel may adversely
affect:
 Tire fit Wheel and bearing life Ground clearance Snow-chain clearance Speedometer calibration Headlight aim Bumper height Tire Pressure Monitoring System
NOTE
 When replacing a wheel, make sure
the new one is the same as the original
factory wheel in diameter, rim width,
and offset (inset/outset).
 For details, contact an Authorized
Mazda Dealer.
Proper tire balancing provides the best
riding comfort and helps reduce tread
wear. Out-of-balance tires can cause
vibration and uneven wear, such as
cupping and flat spots.
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