The water pump suddenly started leaking and the mechanics I talk to said this is a very common problem with this vehicle and type of engine. Sounds like owners are left to foot the bill for this costly and difficult repair of a defective product. Hopefully more owners come forward and report their experience in this regard

- Lowell, MA, USA

After hearing low rumbling sound and smelling burnt oil, car was taken to dealer for check up. They informed me of known issue, front PTU leaking oil due to design flaw that put the PTU so close to the exhaust. I am seeing that other owners of this model are also reporting fires due this same exact problem, apparently unbeknownst to me Mazda has provided extended warranty up to 90k miles but not actually informed the owners of this as a potential catastrophic problem. my personal review has informed me that fire seem to be most common between 110,000 and 130,000 mile ranges.

- Bloomington , MN, USA

11/1/2016- at 92,205 miles vehicle shuddered when I stepped on accelerator. I was told it was transmission related. On my way to mechanic vehicle completely seized; had to have it towed to transmission shop. Angle gear had to be replaced because transfer case oil burned off because catalytic converter is placed too close and it cooks lubricant. I was told this is a known problem with Mazda CX9's. cost 1,400. Mazda was unwilling to cover repairs at all. 6/22/2020 - 130,000 miles same shuddering happened when stepped on accelerator and same issue. Called Mazda and same response 'not our problem, it's out of warranty'.

- Cumberland, RI, USA

I own a 2012 Mazda CX9, which I purchased new. On Monday morning (November 12, 2018) my (check engine light came on) and so I took it immediately to the dealership for diagnosis. My car was running beautifully, so I just assumed with the weather change, perhaps the gas cap wasn't tightened, and they just needed to clear the codes. It turns out the water pump failed and apparently destroyed the entire engine. Which became apparent as I drove it to the dealership for diagnosis, per their recommendation. My car is well maintained based on the dealer recommendations and is consistently serviced at the Mazda dealership. The car is in fantastic condition with only 90,000. As an owner, I did everything by the book in terms of maintenance for my car. I am letting you know, Mazda has a serious problem and it's a safety issue, as well. If a water pump can just fail without warning and completely shut down an engine, that's not good. I think this is far more dangerous than the air bag recall, which is only a concern if you get in an accident. There is no warning on the water pump failing, as it's self-contained within the power train and the only way to check this part is by removing the entire engine, which leads me to believe this part was not designed to be a wear part. It's an engineering design flaw, that can cause bodily harm if it fails, because it takes out the entire engine and you lose control over the vehicle.

- Muskego, WI, USA

The transmission was shifting hard between 4th and 5th gear. My wife brought the vehicle to the dealership to have the air bag recall done. They then charged us $122 to update the transmission program to correct the factory issue. Now it shifts from 6th to 3rd on the interstate.

- Greenville, OH, USA

At just over 90,000 miles I had transfer case problem that everyone is posting. As described by mechanic it is a manufacturing defect. Transfer case is placed just above catalytic converter (which throws off alot of heat) as a result oil in transfer case cooks over time and gears are destroyed. Mazda did not provide a way to replace and or check this fluid without taking down the entire transmission. Mechanic said I will have this problem again at roughly another 80-100,000 miles. Year and a half later I noticed a very soft brake. I replaced brake pads and drums, and brake fluid. I have a very hard brake which then sporatically goes soft. Again I looked up this issue and found again Mazda is aware of this issue and extented warranty to 90,000 miles. Again I'm just over the warranty allowance and now my brake power booster and possibly master cylinder need to be replaced. Both are known issues by Mazda. Unfortunately I was the lucky one who was the beneficiary of both problems just over the 90,000 mile warranty. I reached out to Mazda to request some assistance with at least the cost of the parts on the brake power booster. I was given a quick no by Mazda. Very frustrating since these are both known problems and they will not at least work with me on the parts cost.

- North Attleboro, MA, USA

AWD transfer case unit failure the transfer case of my 2012 Mazda Cx-9 failed while driving on the highway at crusising speed creating a dangerous situation. The first sign of failure was a heavy burned oil odor. The odor was caused by a lot of oil pouring over the exhaust pipe which also was a danger of fire. After inspection mechanic found that the transfer case had a leak and the coupling splines between the transmission and the power transfer case and the right driveshaft were extremely corroded, this corrosion was nos evident from outside because either the transmission and the transfer case are made of aluminum and the driveshaft is inserted through the power transfer unit into the transmission, but for unknown reasons, the transmission output and transfer case input parts which are made of steel are badly corroded and got severely worn with a lot of rust accumulation in place, which in time will cause a traction lose that would severely compromise driving safety. Mazda issued a bulletin to address the power transfer case unit but is limited to 7 years or 90000 miles which is a low mileage for a problem like this to develop and when the owner tries to take action Mazda will not cover the repairs. I think thi is a manufacturing quality control issue since its completely beyond the actions or failure of the owner to follow a proper maintentance schedule since the owners manual doesnt say anything about it. Https://static.NHTSA.gov/ODI/tsbs/2014/csc-10055535-7382.pdf Mazda does not have a service schedule for this part and is considered to be mantentance free however, if the issued the service bulletin is because they know this part has potential issues. The involved parts should be repaired by Mazda since is a design or manufacture problem. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

- Katy, TX, USA

The transfer case is leaking and going to go completely out on my 2012 Mazda Cx-9, I noticed the same gear shifting problem in my 2004 Mazda 6 wagon. The car feels like driving a stick, it jolts when shifting to drive and while moving it feels like it is shifting early. This is a known problem with Mazda but a recall is yet to surface for this issue.

- Hayward, CA, USA

I just had only 33K miles on my 2012 Mazda Cx-9, the transfer case broken from inside yesterday morning (Friday April 6th 2018) when I commute from home to work. I was driving on a neighborhood road go straight. First the loud noise raise from under hood then the SUV lost power. Luckily I have room to pull over and park it at side of the road. It did put me and public in danger by the faulty transfer case. I have to call a tow truck to get my SUV to auto shop. Serviceman called me this morning and told me that I need to replace the bad transfer case.

- Rockville, MD, USA

If water pump fails the engine will shut down without warning or any type of check engine light or alert. Coolant will flood crankcase immediately and ruin the engine. This occurred while driving creating a serious safety issue potentially causing a collision.

- Cypress, TX, USA

The Mazda CX9 that we purchased has a acceleration problem when we go to stop.. Mazda has never been able to solve the problem completely.. we have had 2 brake boosters replaced under warranty. We feel the car is unsafe to drive and Mazda has not addressed the problem. They tell us nothing is wrong with the car. It know also has transmission problems with squeaking and grinding noises coming from the car. This is a design flaw that has not been addressed.

- Desmoines, WA, USA

Airbag safety recall, transmission switch failure, throttle body failure, brake failure

- Indianapolis, IN, USA

The contact owns a 2012 Mazda Cx-9. while driving 20 mph, there was a loud metal to metal noise coming from the rear of the vehicle. In addition, the gears failed to shift correctly and the oil and engine indicators illuminated. The dealer diagnosed that the brakes needed to be changed. The brakes were replaced, but the failure recurred and worsened. The contact also smelled fuel coming from the vehicle and the vehicle had trouble accelerating. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 33,000.

- Stow, OH, USA

While driving on interstate 90 West in Massachusetts, 5 miles from route 84, our AWD Cx-9 started making a very loud whining noise. Within 10 seconds, the car started bucking, making a grinding noise and the steering became difficult. I was able to maneuver to the left side of the road; I could not make it to the breakdown lane because of the car's condition. Once the car stopped, we smelled burning fluid and some smoke came out of the vents inside the car. The car was unable to drive on its own, the wheels seemed locked and the grinding noise was extremely loud when in drive or neutral. I had to call 911. The mass state highway patrol arrived and had to push us over to the breakdown lane while the car was in neutral. The the mass state police halted all traffic on the highway for this to occur. We sat in the breakdown lane for an hour waiting for a tow truck. This entire situation was very dangerous. I had a toddler in the car with us. The highway was only moving around 35-40 miles an hour and slowing at the time of the incident. The mass state highway patrol and tow truck driver stated that the car may have spun out or flipped if the highway was moving at speed due to such a catastrophic steering failure. The Cx-9 had started making a occasional quiet whining sound in the days prior to the failure, on our drive from Virginia to mass. There was no other warning, no warning lights on the dash at all. The car was towed to the closest Mazda dealership and was diagnosed with an internal failure in the transfer case. The repair was covered under our power train warranty, as the car only had 28,764 miles at the time of the incident and is 3 years old.the Mazda dealer said there have been numerous transfer case failures in AWD Cx-9S. I want to see this part recalled because this failure created a very dangerous situation for my family.

- Springfield, VA, USA

Like one other incident, my complaint involves the transfer case which is specific to the AWD models. I was on a major roadway when I noticed a low, strange noise. About this time I was preparing to enter a turn lane when the car suddenly lurched and made an awful noise that literally sounded like the engine fell out. It then felt like I ran over said engine before the car came to an abrupt stop. Thankfully the light at the intersection had been red and traffic was slowing with me because I shudder at the thought if traffic had been moving at the regular rate of speed. Mazda roadside assistance had it towed to the dealership where the two guys immediately asked if it was an AWD model. They said that without even looking at it, based on what I'd said happened, they'd bet it was the transfer case. Thankfully the tc was still under the power train warranty, but it seems like Mazda is aware of this issue. Would have seriously been nice to be alerted to such a potentially dangerous defect. I would have certainly had mine replaced to avoid being put into the situation I was in.

- Charlotte, NC, USA

I've purchased 2012 Mazda Cx-9 AWD it late November of 2011.recently I've been experiencing multiple unexpected loss of power-assisted brakes failure incident.I was in a minor fender bendeer. Thank god the driver infront was very nice and didnt file any claim against my insurance. When I brought my vehicle into Mazda services department to get it resolve. Instead of taking unexpected loss of power-assisted brakes as an urgent matter. They told me that my car is drivable and it still break. I can drive my Mazda in the meanwhile, until they have an open appointment for my Mazda to be seen. After speaking to multiple personel at the services department. They were able to take my Mazda and fixed the unexpected loss of power-assisted brakes. Now im experiencing speed control and power train. I was at a stop light and my Mazda stalled in the middle of a left turning lane, in addtion to the stall incident, I was also experiencing the traction control light came on and the tire pressure monitor light began to flash. It felt like car had downshifted a couple of gears. I lost forward power in all gears. My sons and I came close to multiple rear-ended incident because of the mechanical issue of our Mazda CX9. Please becareful when deciding to purchased your Mazda vehicle.

- Seattle, WA, USA

As I was driving home, the vehicle began to slow down and soon came to a complete stop, even as I continued to press the accelerator pedal, all as the engine continued to run. At the same time, I noticed a burning oil odor. This sudden deceleration and stop occurred in the middle lane of a major Chicago-area toll road on a cold and rainy Friday evening. A police officer who arrived at the scene was unable to push my car out of danger with his car. Fortunately, the car was towed away to a Mazda dealer before an accident occurred. The dealership technician confirmed the problem and found that the transfer case had overheated, lost all its fluid, and seized. The transfer case was replaced under warranty. The failure of the transfer case and subsequent sudden deceleration put me in grave danger, and such a failure is unforgivable for such a new vehicle. I feel that had the traffic on the evening of the incident not been as heavy, and thus slow as it was, I very well may have been rear-ended by another motorist. I urge the NHTSA to closely track any other incidents concerning seized transfer cases in Mazda Cx-9S--this is potentially a very dangerous defect.

- North Aurora, IL, USA

Incident -1 traveling about 45 mph decelerating to make a right turn, the car stalls out leaving me with no control of steering and little ability to brake. Incident 2- making right turn (decelerating) car stalls out leaving me with no steering and little braking control. Incident 3- pulled up into driveway on slope. Put the car in reverse to back out, car stalled out leaving me with very little ability to brake.

- Andover, NJ, USA