2012 Mazda Cx-9 problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Service Brakes (131) · Air Bags (19) · Engine (12)
🧭 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
170 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 2018-10-12 · campaign 18V717000 · 155,436 vehicles ⚠ DO NOT DRIVE
Defect: Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2014-2015 Mazda CX-9 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 covered in "Zone A," Mazda is recalling certain 2011-2013 Mazda6, 2011-2012 CX-7, and 2011-2015 CX-9 sold, or ever registered in the s
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began November 9, 2018. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500, Option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 1317F.
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.
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 (291)
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 291 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2025-06-09 · Vehicle Speed Control“while drive i feel like there is sticking something below the car when i am accelerating. and the acceleration became hard. also i heard a weird noise at that time. then a saw a leakage below my car.…”
2025-02-04 · Air Bags“my driver and passenger side curtain airbags randomly deployed without a collision. thankfully i was at a stop sign when this happened. if it happened while i was driving, i’m sure i would have wrecked and could possibly be dead. it was loud! i thought i’d been shot or that i’d driven over a bomb. we did take the car to someone that’s certified in …”
2024-09-16 · Steering“ball joints replaced due to tear in both rubber covers and driver side ball joint very loose. was previously repaired in july 2015 under recall number: 15v451000. …”
2023-09-29 · Service Brakes“i was driving normally when i started sowing down and noticed the brakes were harder to push. i finally stopped just before almost rear-ending a vehicle in front of me. it turns out the brake booster, a known problem that was not communicated to me a few years ago, failed and makes braking the vehicle harder, increases distance, and makes the veh…”
2023-07-24 · Power Train“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…”
2023-07-13 · Suspension · 11,000 mi · 💥 crash“the contact owns a 2012 mazda cx9. the contact stated that the vehicle had previously been involved in a crash due to a fractured passenger's side lower control arm. the dealer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the vehicle had been repaired under nhtsa campaign number: 15v451000 (suspension). the dealer referred the contact to the ma…”
2023-02-28 · Seat Belts · 175,000 mi“the contact owns a 2012 mazda cx-9. the contact stated that on several occasions while driving at various speeds, the front passenger’s side seat belt was tightening intermittently causing discomfort for the front seat passenger. there was no warning light illuminated. the vehicle had not yet been taken to an independent mechanic or a local dealer …”
2023-02-20 · Service Brakes“on august 14, 2020, the brake booster along with the master cylinder failed, resulting in very dangerous and frightening driving conditions, and the parts were replaced with mazda original parts. this was an ongoing issue with the mazda cx-9’s. i reported it to the nhtsa, complaint number 11480067. on january 4, 2023, the brake master cylinder an…”
2022-10-28 · Steering“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 pr…”
2022-08-18 · Service Brakes“the brakes suddenly became very difficult to press as if i did not have power brakes. no warning lights came on and it became very difficult to stop the car. then if i had to break suddenly and hard it would stall. i brought it to the repair shop and the brake booster was defective. the brake booster along with the master cylinder had to be rep…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.