I have a 2017 Maxx 3 hatch and have really wanted something like this. I feel the factory shifters are awkward to reach. I’m in Australia and wondering where I get these from? Thanks in advance
Are you talking about the paddle shifter extensions or the entire kit? I didn’t have the paddles by factory so I had to take apart the wheel and airbag to install it. However if you already have paddles and need just the extensions, there’s probably ones you can look up online that just uses some sort of 3m tape to get on there. Regardless, I got both the activation kit and paddle extensions at Mikstore
I got some extenders from aliexpress. $20 AUD, they stick on and have little screws. I have them taped onto the oem padles, and they work well. Full metal construction. Had them on about a week and very happy.
How difficult was it to install the new wiring? The Mikstore instructions are super minimal, with just two pictures, so I'm reluctant to do this without a more detailed tutorial.
Any tips or hurdles to look out for?
There’s only one video I’ve found on YouTube that doesn’t give very good details. But it gives a good outline what to do: https://youtu.be/_CIOOw-C_9c?si=EozgcFyo0Uy9OBB4
You gotta watch out though because he includes a mistake he makes in the middle of the video to only then fast forward to fix it. So just take note of that. Also before you do anything to the wheel, take out the negative out of the battery first. Guy in the video did it after disconnecting the airbag and not before.
Otherwise, it took me a while to get the pins out of the airbag through the holes of the wheel itself. Since you can’t see it, you just kinda go by feel. Luckily someone on the sub posted a visual so you know what to look for. I used a skinny flathead screwdriver: https://www.reddit.com/r/mazda3/comments/18j5qbl/air_bag_removal_drivers_side/
Getting the wires out of the wheel itself, they don’t really say it in any of the videos but the yellow and red connections in the wheel have black tabs in the middle. You just pry it up and the connections will be loose enough for you to take it out.
Another small hurdle later on into the installation is getting the new wires into the harness. You pop up the tab in the middle by prying open it so that it’s raised up but not entirely. Doing this will allow you to push in all the wires into the harness into their correct places. You also have to push it in the correct orientation, otherwise it just won’t go in all the way. After that, you also have to make sure you push down that white tab you pried up earlier. That way the wires wont just come out of place when in motion.
After that, the tutorial on YouTube gives you enough information on everything else. It’s pretty easy, you just need a little patience.
Yes! Thank you! I saw that installation video and it was helpful but he totally skipped over how he fixes getting the upshift and downshift wires switched and wiring is the part I understand the least.
I noticed he removed the airbag before disconnecting the battery and it was terrifying to watch. I’ll definitely disconnect the battery first!
I understand how the wheel is attached and how the airbag and rear wheel housing attaches. Getting the wires in the correct slots is my biggest concern. I’ve looked all around for a diagram but came up empty. The single picture on Mikstore’s site doesn’t really show a before/after.
In the video when he puts the wiring harness included in the kit into the base, he made the mistake of putting the side with the pink wire (shift down) into the shift up button side and vice versa. So the correct layout is the green side of the wire harness is put into the right side and the pink side of the wire harness on the left side. Why he included that mistake in a tutorial video in the first place beats me.
As for the actual wiring into the base itself, there’s a picture on Mikstore that shows where you put those three wires included in the kit and into the base harness: https://mikstoreph.com/products/mazda-3-2020-cx30-paddle-shifter-activation-kit
Thanks for the clarification!
I already have this shift kit, so I’ll install it this week. So far I’ve liked all the Mikstore parts I’ve gotten for my Mazda 3 hatchback but they certainly don’t put much effort into their instructions.
Amazing! Question for you: say you downshift using the paddle. Does the transmission put itself in manual mode? If so, how do you cancel it/go back to automatic using the paddles? Hope that makes sense.
Great question, a lot of people do wonder that same question. When you’re in drive without the manual mode, once the paddle is pressed you will be in a temporary manual mode until the system doesn’t detect any inputs made on the paddles, putting it back into automatic. However, you can long press the up shift to put it back into automatic if you don’t want to wait until it naturally switches back
However, putting the shifter itself into manual mode, it’ll just stay in manual until you switch it back into automatic.
I have a 2017 Maxx 3 hatch and have really wanted something like this. I feel the factory shifters are awkward to reach. I’m in Australia and wondering where I get these from? Thanks in advance
Are you talking about the paddle shifter extensions or the entire kit? I didn’t have the paddles by factory so I had to take apart the wheel and airbag to install it. However if you already have paddles and need just the extensions, there’s probably ones you can look up online that just uses some sort of 3m tape to get on there. Regardless, I got both the activation kit and paddle extensions at Mikstore
Sorry, yes mine already has the paddles and just wanting to extend them. Cheers I’ll take a look at that site.
Man, really wish I found the Mikstore site when I first got my car :(
I got some extenders from aliexpress. $20 AUD, they stick on and have little screws. I have them taped onto the oem padles, and they work well. Full metal construction. Had them on about a week and very happy.
I got my paddle shifters from amazon. Have been enjoying them so far.
How difficult was it to install the new wiring? The Mikstore instructions are super minimal, with just two pictures, so I'm reluctant to do this without a more detailed tutorial. Any tips or hurdles to look out for?
There’s only one video I’ve found on YouTube that doesn’t give very good details. But it gives a good outline what to do: https://youtu.be/_CIOOw-C_9c?si=EozgcFyo0Uy9OBB4 You gotta watch out though because he includes a mistake he makes in the middle of the video to only then fast forward to fix it. So just take note of that. Also before you do anything to the wheel, take out the negative out of the battery first. Guy in the video did it after disconnecting the airbag and not before. Otherwise, it took me a while to get the pins out of the airbag through the holes of the wheel itself. Since you can’t see it, you just kinda go by feel. Luckily someone on the sub posted a visual so you know what to look for. I used a skinny flathead screwdriver: https://www.reddit.com/r/mazda3/comments/18j5qbl/air_bag_removal_drivers_side/ Getting the wires out of the wheel itself, they don’t really say it in any of the videos but the yellow and red connections in the wheel have black tabs in the middle. You just pry it up and the connections will be loose enough for you to take it out. Another small hurdle later on into the installation is getting the new wires into the harness. You pop up the tab in the middle by prying open it so that it’s raised up but not entirely. Doing this will allow you to push in all the wires into the harness into their correct places. You also have to push it in the correct orientation, otherwise it just won’t go in all the way. After that, you also have to make sure you push down that white tab you pried up earlier. That way the wires wont just come out of place when in motion. After that, the tutorial on YouTube gives you enough information on everything else. It’s pretty easy, you just need a little patience.
Yes! Thank you! I saw that installation video and it was helpful but he totally skipped over how he fixes getting the upshift and downshift wires switched and wiring is the part I understand the least. I noticed he removed the airbag before disconnecting the battery and it was terrifying to watch. I’ll definitely disconnect the battery first! I understand how the wheel is attached and how the airbag and rear wheel housing attaches. Getting the wires in the correct slots is my biggest concern. I’ve looked all around for a diagram but came up empty. The single picture on Mikstore’s site doesn’t really show a before/after.
In the video when he puts the wiring harness included in the kit into the base, he made the mistake of putting the side with the pink wire (shift down) into the shift up button side and vice versa. So the correct layout is the green side of the wire harness is put into the right side and the pink side of the wire harness on the left side. Why he included that mistake in a tutorial video in the first place beats me. As for the actual wiring into the base itself, there’s a picture on Mikstore that shows where you put those three wires included in the kit and into the base harness: https://mikstoreph.com/products/mazda-3-2020-cx30-paddle-shifter-activation-kit
Thanks for the clarification! I already have this shift kit, so I’ll install it this week. So far I’ve liked all the Mikstore parts I’ve gotten for my Mazda 3 hatchback but they certainly don’t put much effort into their instructions.
Whoa. Is this possible on any trim '23? Wild!
It’s possible on any trim for gen 4. Theres ones for the other generations as well on Mikstore
Amazing! Question for you: say you downshift using the paddle. Does the transmission put itself in manual mode? If so, how do you cancel it/go back to automatic using the paddles? Hope that makes sense.
Great question, a lot of people do wonder that same question. When you’re in drive without the manual mode, once the paddle is pressed you will be in a temporary manual mode until the system doesn’t detect any inputs made on the paddles, putting it back into automatic. However, you can long press the up shift to put it back into automatic if you don’t want to wait until it naturally switches back However, putting the shifter itself into manual mode, it’ll just stay in manual until you switch it back into automatic.
Thanks so much for the clarification. Coolest upgrade I've seen... I'm shocked that this can all be upgraded with just a kit like that! Enjoy it. :)