2007~2015 Is it worth buying a 1st gen CX-9?

[Cferr1992]

The 2013-2015 CX-9 falls into my budget but I'm so worried about the catastrophic engine failure from the water pump failing. How prevalent is this issue exactly? Is it worth trying or should I go with something else? If so, is there something else anyone would recommend in that price range?

 

[cz5gt]

It happens quite often as far as I know. Unless somebody had already changed it before the engine failure on a potential cx9 you may be looking at.
What is the price range and how big of a car you need?

 

[Cferr1992]

It happens quite often as far as I know. Unless somebody had already changed it before the engine failure on a potential cx9 you may be looking at.
What is the price range and how big of a car you need?

I'm looking between $10,000 to $15,000 third row suvs, but trying to keep it under $13,000 if possible. I like fun to drive vehicles. I was originally going to get the new generation cx9 but decided against spending that much at this time.

 

[cz5gt]

may be look at Toyota Highlander from those years although its not really fun to drive but probably good investment.

 

[jal142]

The 2013-2015 CX-9 falls into my budget but I'm so worried about the catastrophic engine failure from the water pump failing. How prevalent is this issue exactly? Is it worth trying or should I go with something else? If so, is there something else anyone would recommend in that price range?

The rate at which those pumps fail is not known to anyone on this forum. I'm sure some people inside Ford and Mazda know but they aren't talking. What we do know is that there are about 3 or 4 dozen threads on this forum talking about it, so it does happen enough that it's a real concern. However, there were about 225,000 first generation CX-9's sold in North America. So, while there are multiple cases of failure, there are also a lot of these on the road.

The Ford Flex, Edge, Explorer, Taurus, and several Lincoln models also use derivatives of this engine, and you can find plenty of examples of pump failures on those forums, too. Once again, though, Ford sold literally millions of these engines.

Would I buy one? Maybe, provided that:
1. I got a screaming deal so I could set aside cash to replace the pump at 100-120k miles to be on the safe side. If you DIY, you can save a ton of money here.
2. It was FWD. The AWD system is not reliable on the first generation and is best avoided. The transfer case design is fatally flawed and prone to failure, and can damage the transmission splines.


The CUV/SUV market is insane right now. At your price point, you are probably looking at 2013-2016 RAV4, CR-V, etc. sized vehicles.

 

[Cferr1992]

The rate at which those pumps fail is not known to anyone on this forum. I'm sure some people inside Ford and Mazda know but they aren't talking. What we do know is that there are about 3 or 4 dozen threads on this forum talking about it, so it does happen enough that it's a real concern. However, there were about 225,000 first generation CX-9's sold in North America. So, while there are multiple cases of failure, there are also a lot of these on the road.

The Ford Flex, Edge, Explorer, Taurus, and several Lincoln models also use derivatives of this engine, and you can find plenty of examples of pump failures on those forums, too. Once again, though, Ford sold literally millions of these engines.

Would I buy one? Maybe, provided that:
1. I got a screaming deal so I could set aside cash to replace the pump at 100-120k miles to be on the safe side. If you DIY, you can save a ton of money here.
2. It was FWD. The AWD system is not reliable on the first generation and is best avoided. The transfer case design is fatally flawed and prone to failure, and can damage the transmission splines.


The CUV/SUV market is insane right now. At your price point, you are probably looking at 2013-2016 RAV4, CR-V, etc. sized vehicles.

Hm. Not looking like it would be a good idea. I would be going with AWD. It snows too much where I live to justify not getting AWD. As far as the RAV4/CR-V argument, I need a third row unfortunately. I've been considering others like Highlander, Pilot, etc but I was hoping for a more fun ride. Thinking maybe the Acura MDX.