2021 CX-9 Carbon edition grille

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Cx-9
Does anyone know if the 2021 CX-9 grille is interchangeable with the 2018 CX-9.

It does look like they changed the body style, but I don't know. Looking to maybe change the grille on my 2018 Signature for the 2021 Carbon edition grille.

Was going to have it wrapped in Black vinyl but might spend the cash to get a Carbon Edition grille instead.
 
Here's a parts listing for the grille on the 2018 CX-9 Signature.

At first glance, the grille for the Carbon edition and Signature trim appear to be the same as the grilles for the other trim levels. In fact, the entire front bumper appears to be the same as the 2016 model aside from the highlighted portions below.

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Ordering the Carbon edition grille would be ideal because you'd get the new grille design and the trim (11) would already be black, but I'm not sure if you'd be able to attach the existing Signature illumination parts (26, mounting bracket and 24, light bar) to the black trim. I'm actually not even sure if those parts mount to the trim at all. This means that you'd either lose the Signature lighting option, or you'd need to DIY a solution to make it work with the Carbon grille (if the lighting needs to be mounted to the black grille).

The good news is that since the Carbon grille assembly doesn't come with Signature lighting, it should cost less (probably around $320 to $350 USD, according to the 2018 parts listing).
 
Looks like the trim (#11) is still chrome on the carbon edition grille.

Oops, you're right. On the 2021 Carbon Edition's feature page, they list "Front Grill with Black Gloss Finish", so I assumed it was the same as the CX-5 Carbon Edition which does have the black trim instead of the chrome trim. On the CX-9, the "black gloss finish" refers to the grille inserts around the Mazda emblem.

sigcx9.JPG

carboncx9.JPG


Nice catch, Hyperlite.
 
Only caught it because I got excited thinking I could buy the gloss black trim instead of trying to wrap mine. Not that lucky. Will be one the hardest spots to wrap I think.
 
Probably all of it. Initially thought I would leave the horizontal bars in the grille chrome, but I’m liking how the rest has turned out, so might just do everything.
 
Do you guys know the parts number for the Carbon Edition grille slats? Also looking to replace my 2019 variant.
 
The lower trims on the Cx-9 had black grills. You may be able to just remove the chrome inserts.

example:
1603722021800.png
 
I’m considering a CX-9 but only if I could do some appearance mods like this at a reasonable price.

Bases on the convo above, am I right that you just have to purchase the gloss black slats? Does anyone know if they’re easy to swap, or do you have to take the whole darn grille off?
 
I don’t think there are gloss black inserts. I think the black grille is the same grill without the added chrome insert, but i have not removed my chrome insert to confirm.
 
I don’t think there are gloss black inserts. I think the black grille is the same grill without the added chrome insert, but i have not removed my chrome insert to confirm.

I don’t think that’s the case. Close-ups show that the slats on the Carbon are glossy and stylized. If you took the chrome slats off a non-Carbon trim, I doubt the black plastic underneath looks that nice. Underneath is probably just a unfinished black plastic with holes for clips.

See closeup at 2:47...

 
I was at one of my local dealers yesterday. Unfortunately I could not find a 2021 Carbon/Kuro edition on the lot (sorry @jimhumr).

I did, however, find a base model CX-9 that I could compare with my 2018 Signature. On the "old" grille, the base models have matte black slats. The grilles on higher trims have silver slats.

I was able to find an eBay listing that shows the back of a 2019 grille with the silver slats, and it looks like they slide into slots in the base grille. It seems that all CX-9s with this particular grille come with the same base unit, then depending on trim, the matte black or silver slats are clipped in.

backofgrille.JPG


I assume it's the same for the 2021s with the new grille. The silver and gloss black parts are garnishes that slot into a (possibly new?) base unit.
 
I don’t think that’s the case. Close-ups show that the slats on the Carbon are glossy and stylized. If you took the chrome slats off a non-Carbon trim, I doubt the black plastic underneath looks that nice. Underneath is probably just a unfinished black plastic with holes for clips.

See closeup at 2:47...


I see. I didn’t think the carbon edition had black slats. You have proven me wrong. This would mean a total of 4 different grill slats.

Plastic black on lower trims (Bare grill)
Chrome on GT
Gloss black on carbon edition
New chrome style on signature
 
So in theory then one could order the grill slats from a carbon edition and slap then on a signature?

Are the slats the same size?
 
In theory, it could be possible. They are the same size physically, but now I am less sure that the carbon edition slats are covers that can be purchased and added.

The reason I am saying that is that I tried finding the GT chrome slats parts number and I couldn't. So there may be a possibility that they may not be removable (I would love to be proven wrong here), and maybe the carbon edition slat may be the same and not removable. We will have to wait for the parts numbers for the 2021 to become available to know for sure.

You would also have to figure out what to do with the signature grille illumination as sm1ke mentioned.
 
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