So after replacing the engine, due to the water pump failure....Now the transmission is slipping. The dealer recommends replacing the transmission and the transfer case. Says it's best to replace both, as they both tend to fail at the same time. His quote was around $6500. Took it to a transmission shop. He said these are (once again) Ford parts. They are on Ford, Mazda and Volvo vehicles (nice to have a crappy corporate parent with crappy parts bin). Anyway, he said it's not worth the time to dig into these units, they just drop in rebuilds. His cost, around $5k. He did suggest a drain and flush on the transmission. He looked at the transfer case, said there were metal shavings in there, but not bad considering the mileage. He topped off the fluid. But once again, the Mazda CX-9 is killing off its vital parts at around 100k. I didn't know I was buying a "throw away" car. I wish Mazda would stand behind the crappy parts Ford stuck them with. Their credibility is on the hook.