Alright I don't know much bout automatic transmissions, nor the last time the fluid was changed. Can't do it at my house and shops want like 80 bucks, is it worth it?

I checked the fluid its in between Full and low, but it seems watery, if I recall atf is more like oil. It just dripped off the stick, it also had almost no coloring at all (red/pink)

I notice the tranny shifts odd sometimes, some days it's really strong and will cherp the tires, other days its weaker, it also depends on warm/cold

It's never the same though, sometimes cold is better then hot thus I think the fluid has lived its life, the manual says change twice a year, I think mine was changed about 2-3 years ago...

Just wanna know if 100 bucks is worth it to waste on a automatic , i dont have the money for the fluid change so i;d have to barrow it,

 

If you get a place that specializes in transmissions,and will do a FLUSH on the Trans,that would be OK.I'm not really versed in automatics either,but I would see if the Car has a Filter in the transmission.
Depending on IF you want to Tackle that or get some shop to do it,it could be Cheap.Or 80 bucks?,Good Price for a Flush and fill,and filter change.

 

I did it before with my dad

Gotta drain it, drop pan, inspect the electronics in there, look for any metal shavings.

I can't get under the car, hardly with jacks. It's against the home owners rules here to do any automotive work for some reason, they wouldnt even let me take off my wheels (was gonna paint them)

yeah I don't think theres a filter in the fc's automatic, I asked for the $ they gave me some for a new exhaust today thats all I can have for awhile , hopefully my tranny dont go out

 

There is. For the S5, it if mazda part number BV01-19-815. Typically, these are a metal mesh screen, meant to prevent metal shavings from going through the pump, and can thus be cleaned instead of replaced simply by spraying them out with a can of brake cleaner. If yours does have a cloth strainer, replace it with the metal one.

The number one cause of automatic transmission failures is caused by bad fluid. Based on how you describe yours, I would change it. Dropping the and cleaning the mesh filter followed by having the system flushed by a professional shop (they pump the old fluid out and new fluid in at the same flow rate). Usually when you just drop the pan to change the fluid, you only wind up changing half of the fluid since a good amount of volume remains in the torque convertor... (can't recall if the TC's on these cars are equipped with a drain plug).