1. Verify that the joint shaft is not twisted or cracked.
2. Turn the joint shaft by hand and verify that the bearing rotates smoothly and freely.
Mazda 6 Service Manual: Manually Shifting Down
You can shift gears down by operating the selector lever or the steering shift
switches (some models).
M6 → M5 → M4 → M3 → M2→ M1
Using selector lever
To shift down to a lower gear, tap the selector lever forward (-) once.
Using steering shift switch (Some model ...
Mazda 6 Service Manual: Recommendations for Shifting
Upshifting
For normal acceleration and cruising, Mazda recommends these shift points:
*1 Always observe local speed limit regulations.
Downshifting
When you must slow down in heavy traffic or on a steep upgrade, downshift before
the engine starts to overwork. This gives better acceleration w ...