Mazda CX-9 Transmission Problems

plano_cx9

i have a 1 year old 2013 cx9. The brake feels funny for last couple of days. I press the break lightly and is does not stop like it usually does but moves forward and little and slows down. I have to really hold the brake down if want to stop immediately. Maybe I pressed on of the button and accidently turn on the antilock break but cant tell. There are no lights but a little nervous about the sensitivity of the break. Anyone else have that problem???

kjw9

I have a 2010 CX-9 AWD with 74k miles and noticed the burning oil, sulfur type smell after driving and coming to a stop (but only when the heat was on). The dealership confirmed the transfer case fluid had turned to sludge and the unit needed to be replaced. I called the Mazda customer experience center, the dealership followed up, and Mazda is covering the parts under warranty, I'm paying the labor, with no hassle even though I have done all the routine maintenance myself. I'd say that is better than most would do in the same situation beyond the warranty period, definitely worth the 5 minute call to Mazda.

cncmachine

I have an 07 Mzada cx-9 and have had the same prblem as Bruce (canam1212). Its the transmission. Parts $2k, labor $1k, dealer paid.

buckeyefan_1

Our 2011 CX 9 with 41k miles just had the transfer case replaced under warranty. Mazda is extending the warranty on the transfer cases for 7 years and 90,000 miles. The tech told me they overheat and the synthetic oil breaks down, causing failure. He said a lot of in town driving typically causes this. They've already had 15-20 CX 9's in for replacement, and the dealership is brand new. The transfer case is not the transmission, but the part that allows the vehicle to shift from 2WD to AWD. It's constantly under wear and tear. Just make sure on AWD vehicles the transfer case is checked out before replacing the transmission. Mazda paid the dealer $890 to do the work. The retail cost, I was told, would have been over $1200.

atom88

We bought a 2013 Mazda, CX-9, around July 2014. It's now Jan. 2015 and the vehicle has about 29,000 miles on it. Bad transfer case, will be replaced under warranty.

We noticed a burning smell but didn't know what it was. Last week the drive train had some major issues, sounded like loud grinding gears sound going 1-2 mph in 1st gear. All gears seemed to have a problem. I drove it right away to the dealer, luckily it made it there. Just having the tech. drive it from the parking space to the garage, he heard the terrible sound. So far they have confirmed that the transfer case has gone bad and needs to be replaced. They say it will be under warranty.

Many forums say that the burning smell is caused by leaking transfer case fluid, that leaks on the exhaust and causes the smell. Possibly due to overheating of fluid that turns to sludge (for some reason?)

He said some of the vehicles they've seen that have come in with this issue have damaged transmission "splines" that mean the transmission would need to be replaced also.

Got a free loaner vehicle while I'm waiting.

If you google this you will find aerticles on edmunds.com forum and reddit.com forums mentioning this an an issue dating back several years.

You wouldn't expect a vehicle that is 14 months old with < 29k miles to have a transfer case / transmission problem!

This doesn't inspire much confidence in the Mazda brand.

Mr_Shiftright

@ atom88 -- try not to post in too many duplicate topics with this problem, or you'll lose track of people answering you--pick the most active one and stick with that, okay?

onztop

neverbuymazda said:

I have 2008 Mazda CX 9 has 88,000 miles, well maintain and always up to date with maintainance service. It jerk going up hill especially at cold weather. I brought it to Mazda dealer, I was told it needs a new transmission. Do we have any body outhere who has the same issues as my well - maintained car? Mad - it cost me 6,000 to replace torgue and transmission

onztop

I have a 2003 Mazda that just had the transmission overhauled and it growls when I push hard to pass another vehicle or when I am pulling out from a traffic light or any hard start. It is cheaper to have the transmission Over hauled by a good transmission company than to buy a new one. Mine purchased on 4/3/15 cost $2100 and it performs great. I live in S.E. Florida

mavs8

We bought a 2008 mazda cx9 awd gt brand new.  Now ut has 104000 miles and now dealership tells me we need a 3rd transmission.  At 53000 transmission was replaced under warranty....and given only additional 12000 mile warranty on this rebuilt transmission...waited 1 month since it was backordered...that's the first hint.   Ever since it was replaced it never felt right.  Went back numerous times and dealership said all was well.  Went back at 90k still complaining but no help from dealership.  Now at 104k and out of warranty, they say oh yeah your car feels weird you need a new transmission for 5100 dollars. No codes came up by the way but torque converter was mentioned. We can knock $500 off for you.  Gee thanks.  How can I need a 3rd tranny on this well maintained car?  Do the math every 35000 miles or so this car needs a new tranny.   Mazda care 800 number could give a [non-permissible content removed] and did nothing.  Why  cant all of us file a lawsuit if these are continual known issues?  I am told since you are out of power train warranty I don't have a leg to stand on.  This is so wrong.  What can we do?

jxs1

I have a 2010 Mazda CX-9 AWD with 37000 mi. When the car had less than 20000mi two years ago, I was told it had dirty transmission fluid. I took it to another shop for second opinion and was told the fluid was normal for the mileage of the car, so I didn't do anything.

Early this year, the car stalled once in the parking garage at work. I took it to the dealership as a precaution. They didn't find anything wrong other than dirty transmission fluid and changed/flushed it. For the last 3 days, I noticed faint buzzing sound when gear shifts. I can only hear it in quiet streets at work when I first drove it out of the garage in the afternoon. After driving less than half a mile, I can no longer hear it.

I bought the car new 4.5 years ago, so I hope anything major will still be covered under powertrain warranty. However, when I brought it in last time, I was charged a "diagnosis fee" for a total of almost $500 to just change the fluid. I was able to negotiate a discount after going back and forth with the sales person over the phone for over an hour, but still paid close to $400. Apparently, he had to "talk to the parts department" several times, reminding me car salesman talking to their managers... I'm not sure I want to go through that again. Should I take it to (another) dealership or a transmission shop (the AAMCO commercial comes into mind)?

Thank you for your help!
Jeff

vick3663

I just bought a 2015 CX9 in April of this year and my car just went into the dealership service for the 2nd time.  I had missin fuses for the headlights and now have a transfer case issue. Full replacement. Very frustrating for a car that is 3 weeks old. Not very happy. Heard noises while turning steering wheel and the steering wheel actually locked up on me while I was reversing. 

halflife2

plano_cx9 said:

i have a 1 year old 2013 cx9. The brake feels funny for last couple of days. I press the break lightly and is does not stop like it usually does but moves forward and little and slows down. I have to really hold the brake down if want to stop immediately. Maybe I pressed on of the button and accidently turn on the antilock break but cant tell. There are no lights but a little nervous about the sensitivity of the break. Anyone else have that problem???

Your brake booster is bad. Have it replaced for free by mazda under your vehicles warranty extension. I'm a 26 yr mazda master tech so bring it to the dealer. It's free at no charge. I've done two in the last three weeks .

halflife2

vick3663 said:

I just bought a 2015 CX9 in April of this year and my car just went into the dealership service for the 2nd time.  I had missin fuses for the headlights and now have a transfer case issue. Full replacement. Very frustrating for a car that is 3 weeks old. Not very happy. Heard noises while turning steering wheel and the steering wheel actually locked up on me while I was reversing. 

Sounds very rare that a new 2015 cx9 would need a transfer case so soon. The missing fuses we caused by an improper pre delivery inspection performed by your dealers technician.

halflife2

jxs1 said:

I have a 2010 Mazda CX-9 AWD with 37000 mi. When the car had less than 20000mi two years ago, I was told it had dirty transmission fluid. I took it to another shop for second opinion and was told the fluid was normal for the mileage of the car, so I didn't do anything.

Early this year, the car stalled once in the parking garage at work. I took it to the dealership as a precaution. They didn't find anything wrong other than dirty transmission fluid and changed/flushed it. For the last 3 days, I noticed faint buzzing sound when gear shifts. I can only hear it in quiet streets at work when I first drove it out of the garage in the afternoon. After driving less than half a mile, I can no longer hear it.

I bought the car new 4.5 years ago, so I hope anything major will still be covered under powertrain warranty. However, when I brought it in last time, I was charged a "diagnosis fee" for a total of almost $500 to just change the fluid. I was able to negotiate a discount after going back and forth with the sales person over the phone for over an hour, but still paid close to $400. Apparently, he had to "talk to the parts department" several times, reminding me car salesman talking to their managers... I'm not sure I want to go through that again. Should I take it to (another) dealership or a transmission shop (the AAMCO commercial comes into mind)?

Thank you for your help!
Jeff

Jeff. At 37k there is no way your fluid needs servicing. Most dealers just dump the drain plug and add 4 qts of jws3309 fluid at about 12dollars a quart. Make sure that the fluid level on the trans dipstick is between the two cut marks when the engine is eared up. The dipstick has a rubber black handle on it and it is to the left of the battery and down a little. Sounds like your being scammed. I'm a mazda master tech 26yrs and stories like this piss me of. Some techs just care about making money rather than doing the right thing. Hope this helps Jeff. James

seeyacxnine

We have a 2010 cx 9 . Bought this one after totaling a 2009. We really liked this car and felt safe in it but at 27,000 miles it caught fire. Yep! The transfer case leaked oil causing fire. We had flames shooting out the back end and motorists flagging us down. LUCKILY, our child wasn't in the car.Prior
To fire ,We took it in twice complaining of a smell and popping noises. They said it was the brakes and fixed something. Actually, they couldn't fix brakes and had to get help from another Mazda tech. And give us a loaner for a week.
5 weeks ago we took car in because we began hearing a loud whining after hitting 40mph. After 2 weeks they called and said bad transfer case and a wheel bearing. Another week later and they call and say my husband needs to come in . NOT GOOD! They found shavings from transmission and it needs to be replaced. We have 110,000 miles on it and it will be out pocket. Probably close to 6 or 7,000.
Mazda corporate said too bad. They said no warranty , can't help you. Even though the transfer case failed twice and never once did a warning light come on. Not even during the fire shooting out of backend!They said since we already had a part replaced under warranty , we can't be part of a recall! We now will have to trade it and loose a lot of money.
Mazda should be ashamed that they haven't recalled these vehicles.

twins2love

I have a 2008 CX9 with 126k miles on it. It recently started to shake between 20 and 45 mph. The shaking feels as if I'm running over grooves in the road and rattles the whole car. I had my tires checked (they were fine), had a recall check (unrelated) at the dealer and had them check my car over ($150). They could not duplicate on a test drive so I had to drive it for them. After waiting a bit, I was told that I needed a new transmission ($7,000). They couldn't tell me exactly why, except for what they wrote on my paperwork which said TCC issue. I asked if they hooked it up to anything to get any indication as to what was going on with the transmission, and all they told me was that it was internal and I would need to replace the whole thing. A refurbished transmission would be $4-5,000 and the rest would be labor.

I left and went to AAMCO on a recommendation for a 2nd opinion. I brought the dealer paperwork and luckily they knew what TCC meant and were able to feel the car shaking after test driving it. They recommended an additive called Shutter (sp?) Stop which is added to clean transmission fluid. It works 50% of the time and can stop the shaking. I had my transmission fluid drained/refilled in July and went back to have them redo it since I was having issues. Then had the Shutter Stop put in and it worked for a week, but then the shaking came back, although not as severe.

At this point I'm not sure what to do...do I have my transmission replaced or keep driving and hope that the shaking is only temporary? I really love my car, but I can't afford a $2-3,000 repair for a transmission if this isn't the true issue going on.

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

ianlongcx9

I have a CX9 from 2011, with under 90,000 km on the clock and just town driving.
Recently we noticed the car would shudder as we drove between 50-70 km/h. We took it to the dealer who did a diagnostic at a cost of $150 but found nothing. We took it back at the next service and told them the shudder was still there. Probably the spark plugs. Got those changed and they recommended to clean the jets at another $200 (so all in $800 service). The car still shuddered like we were going across slight bumps in the road, which stopped when we took the foot off the accelerator.
Took it back to the garage, and drove with them in the car. Then they experienced it and said it could be the torque. Now they did some tests and say it's a mechanical problem and went to Mazda in Melbourne to see if they would cover it under warranty. Mazda have come back and say no that it is no longer covered. As the warranty expired two years ago. This was when they told me that the transfer case and transmission would need to be changed at a cost of $16,000 AUD!!
We nearly died. We don't have that kind of money and can't believe that this isn't a pre-existing problem that would have been a fault from day 1 when it was in warranty.
Reading the posts above I can see that this appears to be quite common. How can they be so callous when they know they have a design fault?
I have contacted Mazda Melbourbe and complained and my complaint has been issued to a case officer - but no date would be given when they would get back to me. They refused to commit.
The Mazda garage supports our claim and says that as far as they are concerned that the Mazda Melbourne should replace it as it is an internal problem and clearly a fault in the original car - but not sure whether the case officer will see it that way.
What can I do. We are not flush with cash and so taking them to court seems too expensive.
Does anyone have any ideas what we can do ?
Help - desperate
Ian

oztracker

SHUDDERING!!!! CHECK OUT ( LUBEGARD DR. TRANNY SHUDDER FIXX) 2OZ TUBE SOLD AT REPCO AUS $ 36.00 FIXED MY CX 9 2007 WITH 190000KLMS ON CLOCK. HAD THE AUTO TRANSMISSION GUY CHANGE THE OIL AND ADD THE FIXX, PROBLEM SOLVED, PHEW, WAS TOLD COULD BE UP FOR NEW GEARBOX AND TORQUE CONVERTER, GOOD LUCK, I LIVE IN CAIRNS

mtg_in_co

My wife's 2012 Mazda CX9 AWD just had the same issue, got it towed to a Ford dealer (closest thing to a Mazda dealer where it broke down), confirmed the PTU (aka transfer case) is dead.

Buckeye fan, who did you call to get the extended warranty coverage from Mazda?  Ours is less than 7 years old, and has less than 90k miles.

mtg_in_co

Update: I talked to Mazda this morning, and they could not have been more helpful.  Our 2012 CX9 is covered under their extended warranty.  Again, they were incredibly helpful and bent over backwards to get us sorted.

Thank you Mazda!

Mr_Shiftright

I think Mazda extended the warranty on the transfer case to 7 years/70K miles.

mtg_in_co

They extended the warranty on the PTU to 7 years/90k miles on "select vehicles".  Ours was on the list.  If this happens to you, call Mazda USA customer service, they were very helpful for us.

Mr_Shiftright

Good to know, thanks.

mtg_in_co

Update: Mazda USA towed us and our CX9 arpund 300 miles to a dealership near our house, they took care of the bill, then the dealership ended up replacing the PTU and whole transmission, no questions asked, all covered under the extended warranty.

That could not have gone any smoother, and we were very grateful that Mazda treated us so well.

My advice if you have any issues is to call Mazda USA customer service.  They were incredibly helpful.