2017 CX-9 suspension click/clunk

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2017 Mazda CX-9
I just registered on this forum to report about what I thought was suspension clicking and clunking on my 2017 CX-9 with ~10k miles. It started happening more and more the last couple thousand miles. Happened everywhere--inclines, driveways, on the highway when hitting bumps OR when coming off bumps (suspension unloaded).

I jacked it up and couldn't find anything that seemed like it would make the noise, but then I happened to notice the upper strut tower bracing/bar that at the base of the cowl/top of firewall had four bolts that were all loose! Tightening those got rid of my noise.

I hope this helps someone out in the future.
 
If the car already has an upper strut tower brace, the replacement of or addition of an aftermarket piece likely won't do anything. As far as I can tell, the CX-9 doesn't have one, so the addition of a brace would change the way it drives a little bit. I'm no suspension guru, but I would assume that this would throw the driving dynamics of the CX-9 out of whack a little bit, so unless you know what to expect with the addition of a brace and how it would affect Mazda's suspension (and GVC for 2018-2019 models), I'd keep it stock.

EDIT: From this picture, it looks like it does have one.

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The AutoEXE one will be redundant, so its pretty much just an engine dress-up part that won't serve any additional function.
 
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It depends on the car and suspension engineering/geometry. I've seen cars on which a strut or shock tower brace had a pronounced effect and others that didn't.

The CX-9's OEM brace is pretty paltry looking--that AutoExe one is much stouter metal, spans further across the bay to reach the actual center of the strut towers, and uses the beefier top strut bolts rather than smaller OEM bar's tower bolts that attach inboard of the struts on metal tabs. My memory's a little fuzzy, but I seem to recall that tower braces typically have a more pronounced effect on cars with struts rather than shocks, possible because the struts act as a sort of upper suspension arm, as opposed to struts whose motion is isolated from the movement of the control arms.
 
I just registered on this forum to report about what I thought was suspension clicking and clunking on my 2017 CX-9 with ~10k miles. It started happening more and more the last couple thousand miles. Happened everywhere--inclines, driveways, on the highway when hitting bumps OR when coming off bumps (suspension unloaded).

I jacked it up and couldn't find anything that seemed like it would make the noise, but then I happened to notice the upper strut tower bracing/bar that at the base of the cowl/top of firewall had four bolts that were all loose! Tightening those got rid of my noise.

I hope this helps someone out in the future.
thanks, I took a photo of this post and had no issue getting the dealership to fix it!
 
All parts of the suspension, even including chassis flex, are part of the engineers' calculations for how the car feels and handles. Years ago I put a strut bar on my 1996 Volvo 850, and the change was noticeable--stiffer over bumps where only one wheel hit, or one wheel hit before the other. My goal was to keep the chassis from getting loose & squeaky after a couple of hundred thousand miles, and it worked in that regard. I don't recall if handling on a smooth road changed much.
 
I have the autoexe front strut bar. so to answer the question about the clunking, no it will not solve your clunking, it might actually make it worst because it changes the dynamics of the chassis flex as the suspension moves. it added a slight creek and clunk to mine that I didn't notice before.

As for driving dynamics, it actually does a noticeable difference around corners. it corners noticeably flatter and you can feel less body roll.

so if you want your car to handle slightly better, then yes go for it. if you want to fix your noises, no it won't help.
 
I have the autoexe front strut bar. so to answer the question about the clunking, no it will not solve your clunking, it might actually make it worst because it changes the dynamics of the chassis flex as the suspension moves. it added a slight creek and clunk to mine that I didn't notice before.

As for driving dynamics, it actually does a noticeable difference around corners. it corners noticeably flatter and you can feel less body roll.

so if you want your car to handle slightly better, then yes go for it. if you want to fix your noises, no it won't help.

Thanks for this feedback @Benhui86. I'm going to link this as a review in our Resources section (y)
 
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