Mazda CX-9 Problems

sbahr

I purchased the Mazda CX-9 in May 2007. Since purchasing the vehicle I have had to take the car into the dealership 8 times. It all stated with carpet/foam square missing from driver side. The carpet was ripped and a square piece of foam was missing. Thankfully, it was replaced. Although, the first time it was installed wrong. I had to take it back a few weeks later when the carpet started creeping out the sides. In addition, I have had the front door checkers recalled, my right passenger door lock was intermittent, check fuel light has come on, a tire rim was dis-colored and thankfully replaced. Currently, the car is at the dealership because a rock hit my AC condenser and my AC is no longer working. It's not a manufacturer problem, but could this be a design flaw? I do not recall a rock hitting my car to cause such damage. The dollar amount is approx $1100 to fix. At this point, I am frustrated that my "new" car has had so many issues. I love the car - it looks sharp, its has a lot of cool bells and whistles, and it drives like a dream. My kids love it, too. I would like to know if there are other frustrated CX-9 drivers out there? Any opinions? Should I upgrade to the 2008? Wait for 2009?

ceric

I have '08 GT AWD.
I think you should give it a chance. The AC was just bad luck. Recalls and poor workmanship can be explained by being the 1st year models. For that matter, my Prius had two recalls during its 1st year, and Prius is one of the most reliable on market today (check consumerReport).
Anyway, good luck with your '07.

erik_h

Many of the cross overs have the issue with the AC. There are quite a few Lexus and Toyota owners which had a rock take out their AC. I think they are more prone to it due to the higher ground clearance and lack of skid plates. Its bad luck more than design, kind of like a rock taking out your headlight.

99zoomr

This is good to know. My Miata's AC was also exposed to potential rock damage so I installed an aftermarket grill. It's basically just some wire mesh. I may see about doing something like this on my CX-9...

stinkfoot99

Purchased my car in July 2007.
Dec 2007 a grinding noise started under the hood.
Dealer replaced front end differential - no change.
Dealer said "had to blow out carbons from the engine" BS - no change.
February 2008 replaced entire engine - 2 weeks later same noise reoccured.

Any help?

c_rex

Could it be the transmission?

k1200

I purchased my CX 9 new last year... 2007
All seemed ok but now .....
When I turn it off, the interior fan comes on full blast and runs for up to 5 minutes... the dealer gave me a L O N G song and dance about how this is supposed to happen to equal the air temp... I told him to then please explain why is it when the engine is off and I turn on the parking lights the fan comes on, or when I push the key remote and the alarm chips 2 x as it supposed to do .... and the fan comes on 2 x also
also....

Why does the car creak like a old dump truck.... it sounds like a 40 ton truck with rusty leaf springs... to give you a better idea... those old yellow school buses at low speed on a bumpy road... everybody knows that sound...
C'mon Mazda fix the issues
At this rate I will NEVER by another one of these cars or recommend them !

maltb

"...when I push the key remote and the alarm chips 2 x as it supposed to do..."

Interesting feature. Is this the horn or the chirp of an aftermarket alarm? Based on the fan coming on, it sounds like some wires are crossed. If the dealer put in an aftermarket alarm system, they should be stepping up to fix it.

k1200

It was installed after mkt by dlr, but this issue did not arise until fairly recently. I spoke with the dlr today and they said there is a "campaign" regarding this and they will correct it . I have an appt in a week, The svc mgr. said this is a known issue.I will keep you posted

mrahman1

i have CX-9 2008. at the very first day i had an issue, the car pulls left in highway.
i find the ibformation about TSB in this forum and inform dealer, after that they able to fix it. the frustrating thing is they don't even know that there is a TSB about this and trying to explain customer somethign else. thanks edmunds forum.

now i have new issue, i have 20000km on it and rear two tires loose all treads (external side loose more than internal side and rear left tire loose more than rear right tire).

i go to dealer and they say tire wire is not under warrenty. but it is something wrong in the car that causing this issue on rear tires. but they trying to say it because of driving... or something else. they will give some discount on tire. they suggest me to buy two Pirelli (i think they get commission).

do you have any idea what causing this issue and how to fix it, because changing tire is not the solution, need to fix the issue. and how to deal with dealer.

i see lots of people write lots of good thing about this suv. i agree the handling, transmission and acceleration works good for me till now, but if you any other good suv you will find that these are common, not very special. i don't think it is a very reliable car, atleast lots of maintenance. if you compare it some other good suv like MDX, it is 8000 to 10000 doller cheaper, but the quality and reliability is much more less than MDX.

i won't never buy it again.

jchappel

Sorry to hear you are having problems. What brand of tire is on your vehicle? If their is a problem with the vehilce, it's a warranty item, and if that problem caused a premeture tire failure, I would demand a prorated discount on the new ones, not just a discount. If they fail to act, see if they have a Mazda representative you can talk to.
As for the cause, do you have AWD?
Another option for you would be to go to a specialty tire store (one that stocks your brand) and ask them why you are having the problems, and see what they tell you. If those results vary from your dealer's, take the report to them. If they fail to act I would be calling Mazda.

mrahman1

thanks for the information.

my one is AWD. i went to another Mazda dealer, they say it is because of alignment. they say after the fix (for pulling left) i got a new alignment but my dealer didn't rotate the tire. so rear tires remain in the same position (angular or something) as before and that causes the damage, i don't know what is true or false.

i need to know the real reason to fix it. and the dealers are just trying to avoid any issue. do you think wheel balancing can be a cause?

jchappel

Do you have cupping in the tread? That could indicate a balance problem. I would agree with the diagnosis that they gave you on the alignment. Now, what are they going to do about your tires since it was a vehicle problem that led to the tire failure? I know I'd be hitting them up for 2 new tires.

nxs138

I made a similar issue in my Audi, i.e. it pulled to one side. The dealer "fixed" the issue with an alignment that wasn't really an alignment--they basically overcompensated with one tire, if I recall, to make the car go straight. So that tire got used up much faster than the others. As it happens, the fix was to go to another dealer who had to do something with subframe alignment, but I don't know too many details. So it's entirely possible that your first dealer didn't follow the TSB procedures properly...

For my Audi, which is AWD, I do have to rotate tires every 5000 miles, else I do see premature wear. Have you ever rotated your tires? Our CX-9 is too new to have a rotation yet, so I can't comment on tire wear quite yet

mrahman1

thanks all of you for all the information.

but i needed to buy two tires $210, they put two new tires infornt and two tires from front to back.

i don't know how long these two last, i remain scared... when i will see the next tire wire or another new problem... i don't want to waste more money on it... whats the point having a new car

if i sell it how much i will loose?

k1200

Started my CX9, put it in drive and now I hear click,click.click as I accelerate. As I drive it sounds like circuit breakers tripping same in reverse too. My neighbor is a mechanic and just listened to it and said "transmission" So back to the shop with it. And FYI this time I will take my digital camera and take pics of my vehicle before I leave it. The last time I wound up with a dent and a scratch that looks as if someone walked between my car and another with a tool belt on and scratched it .
I will never by one of these again, I will go back to BMW for a X6
I am really sick of this CX9 and all the B.S. that is associated with it.

maltb

Let me know in which tire they find the rock.

stinkfoot99

I know this may sound really dumb but have your mazda dealer check the front windsheild cowl.
Mine was making a horrible noise as well and it took them a new engine to figure it out.
good luck!

k1200

sure would have been nice if it were a rock...but it was not.
after having my vehicle all day , they called me and said "we cant find anything" as I suspected, so I went back over to them and started it up put it in drive , moved forward and there it was "click,click,click"..... he said to me oh I heard that but that was more like (clunk, clunk ,clunk) Hmmmmm thats when I had an epiphany, they are not from this planet... So getting back to it, they took off one of the front wheels and entire housing for the brakes was literally being held together by one small screw. and that was what the noise was as it bounced around making contact with the rotor
I was told never to say what next...
Fix it trade it

mazyota

We have a 2008 cx9 and twice now (my wife has told me) all the windows, including the sunroof, have openned up on their own. Tonight she thought I was playong a joke. No joke here. Is this a common problem?

ceric

It seems to me some wirings in your CX9 have crossed. Did you have some accessories installed? Check the installation wiring. I have personally seen a Volve did something like that with my own eyes.

k1200

I have not installed any other items to my vehicle, on occasion my drivers side window will open about 2 inches, when I hit the button to close it , it will close then immediately open all the way.... several times.... i sometimes have to pull over push the button and just about when i think its at the top i have to turn the vehicle off to stop it right there. When I restart it stays put and then I can use it as normal.
And I mentioned somewhere in this forum that my drivers seat will inch up in small increments. And I would not have thought it was true until I left my video camera running inside the vehicle just to see what was going on.

k1200

have that keyfob checked out, you know if you press and hold the unlock button for more than 3 seconds it will open the windows and sunroof also.... it could be sticking, hopefully thats all it is

maltb

I wouldn't trust any aftermarket (and some factory) alarm systems. As vehicles get more and more complex, the electronics become more sensitive. You must be taking your car back to the same dealer that installed the system because any other dealer wouldn't touch it until the system was gone.

mazyota

I tried holding down the button, however nothing happened. Called our dealership, they said they will fix problem. However, they will need to keep the car beyond a day. Bummer, but that's the way it goes, I guess.

ceric

k1200,
You know that some of the so called "factory accessories" were actually installed at the port by workers who might not have been properly trained. Maybe one of the installation went bad and messed up the electric system of the CX9. Do you have accessories that relates to electric system like auto-dimming mirror, Sirrus Radio, Remote Start, etc?

If I were you, I would list all issues, and have them debug them all and have a loaner while they are doing that. If they cannot fix them all after three trips, you can cite Lemon Law on it and demand a new CX9 (or money back).

Good Luck.

k1200

I know what you mean , but I did not have anything like that installed, its just the basic touring package. So let me update you on what happened today.... went to pick up the vehicle... had the wife in tow as my witness , paid for everything, started it up pulled off and at 30 mph a very bad vibrating started as if the bearings were removed or as if the wheels lugs were not tight, when I made the u turn there was that clicking noise again. I drove it right back into their shop and demanded that they fix it or be prepared to replace it... this is B.S. and I know I dont have to put up with it. I said to the guy " c'mon you are a mechanic, fix it, if you cant just say you dont know how"
I told the mgr. that once this car or (if) this car is up and running I will get rid of it.
Oh I cant wait until they send me that "how did we do survey" I see some unemployed mechanics in the near future

k1200

So here it is once again... the mysterious electrical issues. Vehicle runs fine, park it turn it off and the interior fan comes on full blast usually runs for about 2 minutes then shuts off(not normal) Two days ago it did not shut off and it ran until the battery flat lined on me. The dealer told me he had never heard of this when it happened the last 2 times "they could not replicate the issue" since it can happen intermittently. But this time I drove it straight to them and literally pulled the gut outside and told him "go ahead turn it off" Which he did followed by "oh my, I have seen this before" Now keep in mind he just said he never heard of such an issue and even went on to say I know what part you need and this and that .bla bla bla..
My wife stood there with me and stared at him in disbelief and out of the blue just said to the guy "you're a dick". And what a coincidence I just got one of those JD Powell surveys about the car and the dealership. I will not hold back on what im going to say.. But I will say this.... I will never buy another Mazda ever, I will be looking at BMW, Infinity, Lexus. Not because I want an expensive car (i dont) but when I owned my BMW they fixed it right the first time , and always treated you like a human.

stinkfoot99

I have had the same thing happen to me.
It is hard to know when it will happen but it does.
I have not take it in yet but I will at the next check up date.
Keep me posted
Thanks

aviboy97

I'm sorry to hear you have been having this issue. You should try servicing your car with another dealer. Remember, the way a dealer does business is not always a reflection on the auto manufacturer.

Since you brought up being treated like a human being, your wife in no way treated the service guy like a human being. I hope they refuse to service you from now on.

k1200

Of course I know that the service is not a reflection of manufacturer, and I do have another dealer that I use now.
But as far as how the "guy was treated" give me a break, you needed to see the line of people and listen to the B.S. song and dance he gave to each customer. If you cannot handle the work load then they should get more staff, if they cannot fix an issue then BE HONEST and state it. Most people respect a person that will give them straight talk. Theres nothing like leaving your car with your trusted dealer on Friday , call the back on the following Thursday and you get "you know I been meaning to call you".Believe me the service guy got off lightly. Going by your resentful, over protective feelings ... are you a service rep. ?

aviboy97

Going by your resentful, over protective feelings ... are you a service rep. ?

No, I'm not. I'm a human being. You are the resentful one by looking forward to rip them apart on a JD Powers survey. You said so yourself. That is text book definition of resentment.

No matter how incompetent I may find someone in any customer service industry, I would never say that. I would pursue other avenues to channel my dissatisfaction, and look for a resolution. I would never insult someone because then I would lose all credibility, and why would anyone want to help me after that? Insults never help the situation.

k1200

Ok, let me apologize first.... I will admit I probably got a bit heated, you would have to have been there to feel what all of us felt. Basically I was looking for anyone that had a similar incident since this had been ongoing. I absolutely was not trying to be nasty to you and I know I dont have to apologize, but I feel I owed it to you. This vehicle has spent more time in the shop than in my driveway. So I did find another dealer who is doing the right thing, and the survey has not been filled out, So I guess this is one of those time where another voice (aviboy97) has actually made a difference and gave me reason to pause and rethink.
Kudos to ya aviboy97

aviboy97

There is no need for you to apologize. Part of being human is letting our emotions get the best of us. Believe me, I've been in your shoes before. I know how you feel

I will say, I hope you let that dealer know why they lost your business. I have a funny feeling you are not the only one dissatisfied with their service. :sick:

k1200

wow... talk about a weird morning.... so let me give you an update.
Im at the store , my phone rings, its the original dealers the service rep. in a voice that was almost a whisper he asked "where is the vehicle and was I driving it" I told him was out and about. He said "park it,dont drive it" I had to ask why and his reply was there is a real danger of an electrical fire or system failure and that Mazda is working on a solution and he again restated his request not to drive the vehicle. I did let him know that its going in to another dealership this evening for repair.
If you are interested I will keep you updated if the repair does the trick.

aviboy97

That's news to me. I'll ask my service department about it. I'll see if I can help you.

k1200

Ok,
thanks.... when they do fix it I will send you the info as to what they say. He just said a couple of quick things "module replacement and couple of other things" When I get the info I will give it to you, this way (if) you see the symptoms you can nip it in the bud.

ceric

If indeed something was wrong from factory and would cause a fire, you will see a official recall very soon.

k1200

So I went in with the vehicle and they actually took it in right away they said they knew what the issue was. After about 2hrs it was ready, I was told it was a relay and they showed me the old one that literally turned to ash, saying that the problem is it burns out but does not short out which is where the fire issue could arise.

part # G110-67-730

guess i was fortunate not to have had a fire, but it seems to be fine now.

ceric

If this is a common issue for all CX9s, I bet that Mazda should be very busy making a recall right now. The last thing you want (as Mazda) is to have "CX9 caught on fire" in the news. If we don't see such recall soon, maybe someone messed up your CX9 during previous fixes.
I am betting on the latter.

k1200

Hmmmm , that could be a possibility, I hope there is not anything else looming over the horizon . Will keep you posted .

not_2_shabby

I am trying to get clarification on this annoying problem/feature. When I turn off the car, the interior lights do not turn on. The advanced key is in my pocket, so there is no key to remove from the ignition. Every car I have owned in the last decade turns on the interior lights when you pull the key out of the ignition, but with the advanced key there isn't a key to pull out of the ignition. Since mazda was too cheap to backlight the lock/unlock switch, or any other light switch in the car, I am finding myself in a dark car fumbling for the door lock button. The manual suggest on page 6-121 that the lights should turn on when the ignition is turned to the lock position, but this is not the case, at least not for my car. Anybody else find this irritating, or is there something wrong with my car? Ironically if I use the metal key, then the lights turn on when I pull the key out of the ignition, but kind of defeats the purpose of the advanced key.... Of course a call to mazda yielded, uhhh we aren't really trained, but I think the lights should turn on. Talk to your dealer. I ask my sales guy to check and see how an other CX-9 on the lot works, and he of course doesn't call me back....

howardru

I keep my lights on Automatic all the time, use the advanced key. Are your lights on manual?

When I pull in my garage at night (and even day) the lights go on, which inturn turns on the lighted panel instruments, which includes the door locks (which are not locked) and the blue backlighting in the door panel stays on for a few minutes after I leave the car. The headlights remain on also, illuminating my garage so I can see

I guess I have never noticed since I pull into my garage and immediately open the door which turns on the overhead lights. Or my garage door opener light is on, so I don't have any problems seeing the handles.

Tell me exactly what your settings are on your car and I'll try it. What is your light setting? What is your overhead inside lighting set for? Door? Are your headlights on, when you shut off the car?

I'm guessing you have a wire crossed somewhere.

aviboy97

Check to see what your dome light setting is. You may have it turned off.

not_2_shabby

Thank you for replying! My dome light is set to door and my headlights are set to auto. My interior lights do come on if I unlock the door or open the door but not when I turn off the ignition. My headlights do stay on for a 15-20 seconds after I exit the car and lock the doors. What other settings are there to adjust? So can somebody please confirm next time you drive your car with the advanced key(no physical key in the ignition), if the interior lights come on when you turn off the vehicle, but before you unlock or open the door?

howardru

Without sounding sarcastic....So where are you that it's so pitch black, that you cannot see anything inside your car when you shut-off your engine?

Are you in a remote parking lot w/o overhead, reflective or ambient lighting?

Do you have a deep garage w/o reflective lighting bouncing back off the opposite wall from the headlights when you pull in?

According to the manual. "When the headlight switch is in the AUTO position and the ignition switch is turned to the ACC or LOCK position, the headlights, other exterior lights and dashboard illumination will turn off."

Nothing about the dome lights indicated.

It sounds like the system is doing what it is supposed to do. Perhaps the metal key option follows a bit different logic in programming.

I'll see what mine does when I get home tonight.

not_2_shabby

The gym parking lot actually at 5am....It's fairly dark plus my interior is black. .Read page 6-121 of the manual. It talks about the interior illumination. It says the interior lights will turn ON when the ignition is in the lock position, and then in parenthesis, it says with the key removed from the ignition. So does that mean you have to use the metal key to get the interior lights on? Clearly the intended function is for the inside lights to turn on when you arrive at your destination.

howardru

Hmmm....not sure I would want my interior light to come on (regardless of day or night) when I pull the key out of the ignition and stop all activity in the car. At that point, I would consider the car completely turned-off. I would think that I mistakingly pressed some dome light button and need to find the switch before I exit. I can't recall my last Ford or Toyota having the interior light come on by removing the key AND not opening a door.

According to the manual on the page you indicate....
When the illuminated entry system operates, the overhead light (switch is in the DOOR position) and the courtesy lights turn on for:

(About 30 seconds after the driver's door is unlocked and the ignition switch is in the LOCK position (with the ignition key removed).

(About 15 seconds after all doors are closed (If your vehicle is equipped with the advanced key, the overhead light turns on for about 5 seconds when the advanced key is outside of the vehicle).

( About 15 seconds after the ignition switch is in the LOCK position (with the ignition key removed) with all doors closed.

These are all "OR" situations, which in your case is the last situation, when the ignition key is removed from the steering column. So, it sounds like the CX-9 is doing what it's programmed to do.

The doors don't auto-lock (which took me time to get used to) but that makes it all the more easier for me to put my hand against the side door panel and pull the handle without having to look (aka no light required).

I'll check mine out in a few hours when I get home.

chikoo

>and why would anyone want to help me after that? Insults never help the situation.

Wish GWBush understood that before he started calling everybody out as the Axis of Evil.........

Anyways, it seems this dealer is very incompetent. happens. Find a dealer which is not. There are many.

not_2_shabby

I have owned 2 saabs, a vw and a mercedes before this car, and they all turn the interior lights on when you remove the key from the ignition, and turn the lights off after about 30 seconds or when you step out and lock the doors. The Mazda behaves the same way if you use the metal key. That is the what I find odd, it behaves differently if you use the metal key verses the advanced key.

Autolock is a feature I miss as well. Standard on most vehicles I have driven lately, including rental cars.

howardru

Confirmed what you state.

- Light goes on when you pull out the key.

- Light does not go one when you shutoff car with advanced key system.

This is exactly what the manual says the car is programmed to do.

The only thing I can think of is that when you are using the metallic key, you'll need to have a moment to put it away in a pocket or purse before exiting the car.
The light would be helpful. (I guess you would need it to lock the door also from the outside once you exit the car)

With the advanced remote key system, I suspect most people have it in their pocket, jacket or purse already and don't need to fumble around to put it away.

All in all, if this is your only complaint with the car, drive it a little while longer and you'll find other things that bug you also.

Cheers