2019 Mazda CX-9 Reliability Report

Most of these reports describe the same cylinder head coolant leak covered under the engine heading. Coolant leaks from the rear of the engine or into the combustion chamber, which causes overheating, smoke from the tailpipe, and a car that loses power and slows down by itself. Dealer pressure and compression tests confirmed the leak in some cases. One failure came at only 30,000 miles, just past the warranty period. A single separate report describes the vehicle jumping and sometimes stalling while driving.

Creaking and knocking from the front suspension, especially on the driver's side, is the main complaint. Owners trace the noise to the lower control arm bushings and ball joints and say the steering feels looser. They cite a Mazda bulletin on front suspension noise, though the dealer found no problem in one case. Front struts reportedly wore out at about 40,000 miles. One report involves the collapse of an aftermarket lower control arm, not a factory part, and another actually describes engine overheating.

Backup camera problems here come from two sources. In one crash report, the camera image froze on the screen while it still looked live, and the driver backed into a parked car. Shifting to park and back into reverse fixed the image. The other reports tie a distorted or hard-to-see camera view to spider cracks in the center display, at around 28,000 to 40,000 miles. One owner says Mazda refused to help because the car had not been serviced at a Mazda dealer.

Soul Red Metallic paint chips heavily under normal driving, with one owner noting damage before 30,000 miles. A separate report describes the passenger-side rear wheel well trim molding coming off at interstate speed at about 21,820 miles. The dealer agreed to replace the trim, but the parts were not available, so the car went unrepaired. No crash or injury reports appear in this category.

A clicking noise when turning the wheel comes from a loose bolt in the steering column. Owners cite a Mazda service bulletin and say the fix is covered under warranty, but cars past warranty are charged for a complete steering column. In a separate report, a tie rod failed while the car was reversing to parallel park at about 10,600 miles, bending the front driver's side wheel inward. That car had to be towed.

Sudden hard braking with no obstacle ahead is the most serious report here. It happened at 35 mph with the driver's foot on the gas. Afterward the screen showed smart brake, front camera and brake override malfunction warnings, and the check engine, traction control and parking brake lights came on. The second complaint is a general list of problems, including rusted brake discs and the engine shutting off twice while driving.