Very disappointed with Mazda CPO warranty

This got me thinking, I just got a 2017 CX-9 GT which I love and my first Mazda, I was washing the car and I noticed the nose doesnt seems to be supported very well. Matter of fact just pressing down on it or dropping the hood I could see how it would cause cracks.

I feel like I could literally hit the thing and it fall off easily.

I will keep an eye on it, I live in MISS and the roads here SUCK, but also the car came from NY so maybe if it was going to crack it would have already.
 
I'm wondering if it can be cracked due to minor contact with the front end. Going over bumps seems like an odd cause.
 
Instead of the email you should send them a registered letter asking for a fix under warranty. Also you can try emailing their CEO and checking with the NCDS if you can use their service. Last, the NHTSA could consider this a safety issue and ask for a recall.
 
I'm wondering if it can be cracked due to minor contact with the front end. Going over bumps seems like an odd cause.

There has been no impact. This is why I was puzzled about why and how it happened. Well, until I found the TSB. It is well documented in there, but basically - there is a structural design defect in the bumper of the 2016-1018 models. It's has some weight going in the wrong place and the cracks form at the weakest spot. I got another small crack on the other (driver) side (same spot), just in the last 2 weeks. No impacts anywhere. Not even a carwash. The car has been mostly sitting with a few short drives around town.
 
Quick update and some GOOD NEWS!

A week or so ago - Mazda Corporate pretty much told me again, in an email, that this is NOT going to be covered by the CPO warranty, without any explanation why. It was a pretty firm "no". :( :devilish:

I decided to listen to some of you here who suggested that I should try the dealer(s) again and i went to the same dealer I went to the first time, just to tell them that Mazda USA sent me to them to deal with this. I had printouts of the CPO contract with what is exluded highlighted, the TSB, and some additional details.
At the dealer, I got to talk to one of the managers there. He came, saw the car, saw the old crack, and then the brand new crack I have now on the driver side. His initial response was "these cracks, even on a new(er) car, may not be covered since they may be a result of an impact".... however since there is a TSB - he was willing to investigate further. I told him about the CPO warranty, I presented the list of "not covered items" and showed him that the bumper was not listed as excluded anywhere. He said that normally CPO warranties do NOT cover any body parts, period. However, even though this is the official answer, he can try to make a case to Mazda USA and get this approved somehow. He asked for 3 days to work on this.

Well.... I got a call on Monday from the dealer, it was approved, but I had to pay a small portion of it - $150. The rest - all parts, labor, paint, all per the TSB will be covered under the CPO. I took the offer.

Still not sure why I am paying $150 for this, but it's not a huge amount, given that my bumper will have to be replaced sooner or later (it's gradually failing due to these cracks) and anywhere else, I will have to pay a lot more for a new one.

I dropped off the car today. They will work on it for 3-4 days (including the paint job). I got a new CX-5 for a loaner, so things are looking much better!!!


Thank you all for the suggestions and guidance during this painful process.
 
Last edited:
Quick update and some GOOD NEWS!

A week or so ago - Mazda Corporate pretty much told me again, in an email, that this is NOT going to be covered by the CPO warranty, without any explanation why. It was a pretty firm "no". :( :devilish:

I decided to listen to some of you here who suggested that I should try the dealer(s) again and i went to the same dealer I went to the first time, just to tell them that Mazda USA sent me to them to deal with this. I had printouts of the CPO contract with what is exluded highlighted, the TSB, and some additional details.
At the dealer, I got to talk to one of the managers there. He came, saw the car, saw the old crack, and then the brand new crack I have now on the driver side. His initial response was "these cracks, even on a new(er) car, may not be covered since they may be a result of an impact".... however since there is a TSB - he was willing to investigate further. I told him about the CPO warranty, I presented the list of "not covered items" and showed him that the bumper was not listed as excluded anywhere. He said that normally CPO warranties do NOT cover any body parts, period. However, even though this is the official answer, he can try to make a case to Mazda USA and get this approved somehow. He asked for 3 days to work on this.

Well.... I got a call on Monday from the dealer, it was approved, but I had to pay a small portion of it - $150. The rest - all parts, labor, paint, all per the TSB will be covered under the CPO. I took the offer.

Still not sure why I am paying $150 for this, but it's not a huge amount, given that my bumper will have to be replaced sooner or later (it's gradually failing due to these cracks) and anywhere else, I will have to pay a lot more for a new one.

I dropped off the car today. They will work on it for 3-4 days (including the paint job). I got a new CX-5 for a loaner, so things are looking much better!!!


Thank you all for the suggestions and guidance during this painful process.

Happy to hear you got a resolution!
 
Bumper replaced! The car spent 6 days at the dealer, first attempt to pick it up was not successful since they forgot to replace (or broke) a mounting bracket under the right side headlight. The bumper was sticking out.
I had to return the car to them. 2 days later it was 100% ready.
The paint color match looks good and the bumper is clearly brand new - no cracks, no sagging.

Overall, this ordeal was worth it. It cost me $150 out of pocket, but I got a brand new bumper. I give most of the credit to my local dealer (Capitol Mazda San Jose) for dealing with Mazda corporate and getting this approved.
 
Good to know Capitol Mazda was willing to go to bat for you!

Maybe someone can chime in but I think it would be beneficial to clear bra your bumper. It is my personal bias that aftermarket paint would chip a lot easier than factory. And factory paint is weak as is.
 
I am freaking out right now. I have a new-to-me CPO 2018 CX-9. I brought it home 4 days ago and noticed the exact crack from the TSB today. I know it is new because I read this post since its inception. So when I went shopping, I examined those areas carefully.

I'm not optimistic about my chances with it getting covered or even getting a $150 fee. Ugh...so disappointed because I love the CX-9. Such a great car.

Your story is giving me a little hope but we'll see. :(
 
I am freaking out right now. I have a new-to-me CPO 2018 CX-9. I brought it home 4 days ago and noticed the exact crack from the TSB today. I know it is new because I read this post since its inception. So when I went shopping, I examined those areas carefully.

I'm not optimistic about my chances with it getting covered or even getting a $150 fee. Ugh...so disappointed because I love the CX-9. Such a great car.

Your story is giving me a little hope but we'll see. :(

IF your 2018 CX-9 is still under the original 3yr/36k miles warranty - they will have to fix it, per the TSB, with no questions asked. No worries there.

If you are over the 36k miles, then you should do what I did. Print the CPO paperwork (it's in this discussion), print the TSB, and go to the selling dealer and show them your bumper. Ask for their help. It really plays in your favor that you just bought the car from them too. It's been only 4-5 days. Go back to them ASAP and show them the defect and the TSB explaining that it is a KNOWN issue. They should just cover the repair under warranty.

If they refuse, try another dealer, call Mazda USA, talk to the dealership management, make noise, etc.
Best of luck!!! Keep us updated.
 
Dan, you left out the old tried & true technique of making a big yellow lemon sign for the car and parking on the street in front of the dealership.
 
IF your 2018 CX-9 is still under the original 3yr/36k miles warranty - they will have to fix it, per the TSB, with no questions asked. No worries there.

If you are over the 36k miles, then you should do what I did. Print the CPO paperwork (it's in this discussion), print the TSB, and go to the selling dealer and show them your bumper. Ask for their help. It really plays in your favor that you just bought the car from them too. It's been only 4-5 days. Go back to them ASAP and show them the defect and the TSB explaining that it is a KNOWN issue. They should just cover the repair under warranty.

If they refuse, try another dealer, call Mazda USA, talk to the dealership management, make noise, etc.
Best of luck!!! Keep us updated.

So I didn't realize until yesterday that the car was still under its original limited new car warranty, but just barely! So dropped it off showing the TSB and little to no fuss from service. They just have to verify that it wasn't involved in a collision. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Either way, thanks to you danmm7 for even talking about this in the first place. Glad I ran into this post during my car research. Wouldn't have even known there was a TSB!
 
Glad to see this is resolved. But I Just wanted to add that usually all car makers will have a regional manager. It would have been good to contact that person to initiate a discussion.

Usually, I think, the best way to do this is through your dealer. Politely asking the issue to be escalated to the regional manager can make this happen. But, when your dealer is an *** and won't do it for you, then you'll have to go to another dealer OR some how find out his contact info.

It's likely the second dealer did this for you to get this fix approved. Again, glad it was resolved.


[edit] I see I necro'ed. Oh well, hopefully this helps someone in the future.
 
Glad to see this is resolved. But I Just wanted to add that usually all car makers will have a regional manager. It would have been good to contact that person to initiate a discussion.

Usually, I think, the best way to do this is through your dealer. Politely asking the issue to be escalated to the regional manager can make this happen. But, when your dealer is an *** and won't do it for you, then you'll have to go to another dealer OR some how find out his contact info.

It's likely the second dealer did this for you to get this fix approved. Again, glad it was resolved.


[edit] I see I necro'ed. Oh well, hopefully this helps someone in the future.

Only a mild necro, and as long as the post is helpful in some way, there's nothing to worry about :)
 
I have a 2017 Mazda CX-9 Signature. Currently, the car has about 45k miles. I bought the car as Mazda Certified pre-owned and the CPO comes with extended powertrain warranty until 100k miles or 2024, plus I also got my "bumper-to-bumper" original warranty extended for another 12mo/12k miles after the original 3/36k warranty expires.
Currently, I am well within that extra "bumper-to-bumper warranty"....given my mileage and age of car.

For over a year, i have been noticing a crack in the bumper, right under the side of my headlight. I never knew how this crack happened since the car has never been in any accidents, etc. The crack is slowly growing. It's over 8" long now.
2 weeks ago, on a Mazda facebook group, i saw a discussion about the same type of crack and it turns our this is a common issue with CX-9s. There is a well documented TSB as well. TSB 09-022/20

Apparently, Mazda had a "design flaw" in the bumper for the 2016-2018 models and due to a weak point in the bumper structure, these cracks can appear on both sides. The fix is - new bumper with much stronger design.

I went to my local dealer (Capitol Mazda in San Jose, CA) , where i bought the car from and their first reaction was "we've never seen this issue before, we can't find such TSB". :rolleyes: Lucky for me, I was able to find the TSB on my phone while i was there and i actually showed it to them.
Their immediate reaction was, in a very dismissive way, ..."well, fine, but it doesn't matter, you're out of warranty, we can't help you". I asked them why I am out of warranty when I am covered under the CPO "bumper-to-bumper" warranty they sold me when I got the car from them. They told me that "it's not really bumper-to-bumper and that there are many things excluded and that it's a "hit or miss"" ? Really??? They said that the bumper and body parts are excluded from the CPO coverage.
Nothing they can do for me.

I called Mazda corporate and the polite person on the phone pretty much told me the same thing. He could not give me anything in writting that explains what is covered and what is not by the "bumper-to-bumper" warranty but said that body/bumper is not covered. The fact that their bumper is poorly designed and has a major flaw was ignored and he said that if it becomes a recall one day, they may be able to pay me back for my expenses.

Needless to say, I am beyond disappointed. :( I also realize that not all TSBs are covered by an extended warranty. However, I also know that my friend's Honda Accord had multiple TSBs addressed by his extended warranty. The same happened with my Acura RL in the past. The Acura care extended warranty covered ANY and all TSBs I wanted to be addressed, even cosmetic stuff, like bumpy leather on the armrest @ 77k miles (replaced for free). My dad's 2011 Hyundai Sonata had a couple of TSBs addressed outside of his 60k bumper-to-bumper warranty, for free. What gves, Mazda?

Mazda clearly wants to take the cheap/difficult route with their CPO cars. This is not a good way to build the image they are trying to build. Not only they have a very embarrassing design flow in their front bumpers (weak bumper that cracks on its own, in a $45k car!! ) .... but they simply refuse to address it, even if you're under their own extended warranty.
They sure have a long way to go before they reach a "premium brand" status (forget Luxury) with this approach. It's not just about selling shiny and good looking cars, you should also properly support them after the sale, for years to come.
First call Mazda corporate...for some reason dealerships will try to dump you on any repair. Mention to Mazda how many vehicles you have purchased from them in the past. Argue your point about actual defect, but dont be a jerk. I have had several repairs completed this way to the point i didnt even go to the dealer first anymore...went straight to Mazda. It would piss the dealership off, but they would fix it. Worth a shot.
 
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