CX-9 Front End Creak

[Z31]

This is really great information. Thank you for posting it. I have been trying to figure this out for quite some time. I don't know how clear my audio file was but did the sound in my upload sound like your sound?

Potential Corksport product? Seems like a chronic shortcoming in the design.

I'm all in on Mazda though, I find myself liking the car more and more in spite of it's flaws (and there are a few minor irks piling up) which I think says a lot.

I have had that exact creak every so often. I'll try to keep note of the weather. We have a street with large speed bumps every few hundred feet, so i'm hitting them daily.

I usually have a single popping sound when turning left or right from a stop (if you took your audio file and just clipped the initial pop without the creak).

 

[ctbale]

Potential Corksport product? Seems like a chronic shortcoming in the design.

I'm all in on Mazda though, I find myself liking the car more and more in spite of it's flaws (and there are a few minor irks piling up) which I think says a lot.

I have had that exact creak every so often. I'll try to keep note of the weather. We have a street with large speed bumps every few hundred feet, so i'm hitting them daily.

I usually have a single popping sound when turning left or right from a stop (if you took your audio file and just clipped the initial pop without the creak).

Yea, mine will do the single creak or pop when beginning a right or left turn from a stop. But once it creaks/pops to the right it wont do the right creak/pop again until it does a left creak/pop. That why the cowl plate made sense and a bushing rotating in its bore on the LCA made sense also. Would be nice to get a definitive diagnosis on this. Thanks for your input.

 

[Ryan in Melb]

Interesting thread. I will have to investigate some more.
I have a 2017 CX9 Azami in Australia and also have a number of creaks in the front end.

Mazda in South Melbourne told me last time i was there, that one of the issues is with the front brake calipers. Apparently, there is or was an updated caliper design that holds the pad differently.