2008 Mazda Cx-9 problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Suspension (42) · Air Bags (21) · Service Brakes (20)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Mazda Cx-9 model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
126 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (4)
Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module 2019-10-31 · campaign 19V782000 · 69,879 vehicles ⚠ DO NOT DRIVE
Defect: Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2007-2012 CX-7, CX-9, and 2009-2012 Maza6 vehicles. These vehicles had their passenger frontal air bag inflators previously replaced under a prior recall using inflators of the same design. The inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. The recall began December 3, 2019. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500, option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 1317F. Note: This recall supersedes recalls 16V356 and 17V012.
Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module 2017-07-18 · campaign 17V457000 · 79,402 vehicles ⚠ DO NOT DRIVE
Defect: Mazda North America Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2012 CX-7, CX-9 and Mazda6 vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" above, Mazda is recalling certain 2009 CX-7, CX-9 and Mazda6 vehicles sold, or ever registered in the stat
Risk: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the remedy is performed. Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger side air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began October 4, 2017. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500. Mazda's number for this recall is 1317F. Note: This recall supersedes recall 17V-012.
Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module 2017-06-29 · campaign 17V429000 · 205,377 vehicles ⚠ DO NOT DRIVE
Defect: Mazda North America Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2009-2011 Mazda6, and 2007-2011 CX-7 and CX-9 vehicles. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, and used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front air bags, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycl
Risk: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the remedy is performed. Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began on August 30, 2017. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500. Mazda's number for this recall is 1317F. Note: This recall supersedes recall 16V356 and all vehicles that were not remedied under that campaign are now covered by this one.
Suspension:front:control Arm:lower Ball Joint 2015-07-20 · campaign 15V451000 · 193,484 vehicles
Defect: Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain model year 2007-2014 CX-9 vehicles manufactured October 24, 2006, to December 28, 2013. The affected vehicles have front suspension ball joints that may corrode from water leaking into the fitting.
Risk: Over time, the ball joint corrosion may result in the front lower control arm separating from the ball joint, causing a loss of steering control and increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace both the left and right lower control arms, free of charge. The recall began on September 14, 2015. The recall will begin with model year 2007-2009 vehicles registered in Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington D.C., West Virginia, and Wisconsin. The second phase
Service bulletins (263)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Electrical System 2026-09-11 · SA-041-26a · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
description if you encounter any type of electrical concern (e.g, dead battery, engine no start, dtc(s) stored...), interview the customer before proceeding with normal mgss diagnosis by asking if any aftermarket devices have been installed. aftermarket devices may be the cause of the electrical con
Unknown Or Other 2026-08-20 · SA-055-26 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
product quality information (pqi) description service information mt-041/12 is no longer valid. it has been unpublished and superseded by the field quality information report (fqir) reporting system.
Engine 2026-06-19 · SA-041-26 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this sa supersedes the previously issued sa(s) listed below. the changes are noted in red. sa-061/25 12/17/25 description if you encounter any type of electrical concern (e.g, dead battery, engine no start, dtc(s) stored...), interview the customer before proceeding with normal mgss diagnosis by ask
Unknown Or Other 2026-04-21 · SA-029-26 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this service alert supersedes the previously issued sa listed below: the changes are noted in red. sa-011/24 02/12/24, 06/06/24, 07/29/24 description mazda has developed factory recommended scheduled maintenance services that support all major vehicle systems. mazda recommends dealers follow the sch
Electrical System 2025-12-17 · SA-061-25 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
if you encounter any type of electrical concern (e.g, dead battery, engine no start, dtc(s) stored...), interview the customer before proceeding with normal mgss diagnosis by asking if any aftermarket devices have been installed. aftermarket devices may be the cause of the electrical concern. below
Unknown Or Other 2025-12-10 · 07-004-25a · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
a musty/mildew type odor may come from the vents when the air conditioning (a/c) system is operating. it is most noticeable when the a/c is first turned on. this odor is the result of mold growth in the a/c evaporator/cooling unit which is caused by condensation, dust, and pollen within the cooling
Showing the 6 most recent of 263 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2024-06-12 · Service Brakes“while driving the vehicle the brakes became hard to depress and a hissing came from my steering column, the car would not stop or respond to stop. i had to downshift to neutral to get the speed slow enough to stop - and had passed through an intersection while in failure. i had also had symptoms i did not know at the time may be related which wa…”
2023-10-11 · Suspension“once you get to 70mph it starts shaking like if a the wheels will fall off.…”
2023-10-11 · Wheels“it acting like it doesn’t want to hold air. i have to air up my wheels every morning. it’s only the back wheels.…”
2022-10-10 · Suspension“in 2017 had my front control arms replaced after the driver side cv arm came off of the axle due to a recall. 5 years later (about 30k miles) the same exact situation happened now with the passenger side making a left turn. thankfully both times i didn’t cause an accident but came close due to the wheel coming off of the axle. brought to dealers…”
2022-08-02 · Service Brakes, Hydraulic · 115,000 mi“the contact owns a 2008 mazda cx-9. the contact stated while driving approximately 30 mph, he noticed that the brakes felt loose and the braking distance had become extended while attempting to stop the vehicle. the contact stated that he heard a hissing sound while depressing the brake pedal. the contact stated no warning light was illuminated. th…”
2022-01-26 · Unknown Or Other“to whom it concern. leaking water in my passenger seat, at the beginning we though that was the blower motor, we change it, but then got wet again and it went bad again, but i found out that was a malfunction factory the problem with the air conditioning compressor. i took my car to 3 different shops, where the first two, drained my a/c i give up …”
2021-04-04 · Service Brakes · 225 mi“sometimes the blind signal works sometimes it doesn't sometimes it blinks on the screen and when switching lanes, brakes keeps going out ball joint keeps popping hard shift or knock in reverse and when placed in park had repair done several times. dvd wires keeps going out/shortage m. sometimes seat belt blinker work and sometimes it doesn't…”
2021-04-04 · Suspension · 235 mi“knock or hard shift in park as well as in reverse keeps burning oil had everything flushed replaced all fluids valve cover gaskets spark plugs etc…”
2021-03-12 · Air Bags · 93,000 mi · 💥 crash“tl* the contact owned a 2008 mazda cx-9. the contact stated while driving at 45 mph, the contact saw a raccoon and veered off the road causing the contact to hit a tree. the air bags deployed with extreme force causing the contact to have a migraine. a police report was filed. the contact sustained a chest contusion and received medical attention. …”
2021-03-11 · Wheels · 💥 crash“lost control brakes failing and steering and wheel lc about to fall off dealerships saying recall was completed but it's definitely not…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.