Dealer can not figure out problem with 2008 CX-9! Open to any suggestions!

[japike]

Three months ago I purchased a 2008 CX-9 AWD- Grand Touring- Bose RES and Navi for my wife. I bought the car from a very reputable GMC/Buick dealership with 53,000 miles. The sales manager is a personal friend of mine, and I have purchased all of my vehicles from him. About a month after we purchased the car, my wife complained that the transmission felt liked it slipped a little bit. I drove the car and could not get it to duplicate what my wife had complained about. After about two weeks I finally drove the car and got it to make the same noises. I took it to the local mazda dealership. The service manager told me that they felt the vibrations, but could not figure out what the issue was. After keeping my car for a week and having numerous conference calls with Mazda tech support with no solution they told me that Mazda had given them the Ok to replace the transmission. I took the car home and brought it back a week later when the tranny was delivered. Upon removing the tranny they discovered that the transfer case was damaged, so they had one sent from Mazda as well. This took another week for delivery. After getting the car back together, we picked the car up and drove it home. Later that same evening, the car started making the same vibrations that it previously had. We took it back in and they again set out to figure out the problem. The service manager drove it home and told me that a code had finally popped up pointing to the "transmission control module". They replaced the TCM and told me the car was fixed. My wife picked up the car and drove it about 10 miles when she realized the exact same vibrations were still there. The Mazda dealership told me that they would have to call the Mazda tech support in Kansas City and have someone flown in to actually look at my vehicle.
I have realized a few things regarding the vibrations. It usually makes the sounds and vibrations when I accelerate then slightly let off the throttle. When you coast a little bit then reapply the throttle it will vibrate hard...almost like it is trying to find the right gear or even like it is loosing fuel. I figured out this past weekend that if you shift the tranny manually, it will usually not make the vibrations. Also, if the car is in cruise control it will almost never make the vibrations. This has led me to believe that there may be a dead spot in the throttle itself. I am not a mechanic, but I am very frustrated with the inability of the dealership to correct this problem. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, I would love to hear them!

 

[blue_omg]

Hi there, this is crazy...you changed half the powertrain and still have the problem!,
I'm hearing alot of these complains in the forums for the last 4-5 months, I've got it even on mine since a month now but i didnt go to the dealer yet (mine is driven for more than 100K KM),

in 2 cases in the forums they found a shredded spark plug that was misfiring some times and causes this "hesitation" feel, and this didnt generate an error code in the ECM
I'm planning to change them with other filters next week and see if it fixes my problem..

 

[ceric]

Or, the drive shaft...

 

[table5511]

Are you by chance talking about the metal vibrating/buzzing noise around or just under 2,000 rpm while accellerating?

 

[japike]

I will mention these to the dealership on Saturday when I take it back in to have them "Test Drive" it again.

I don't believe this is a metal buzzing noise...it actually feels more like a hesitation or jerking when you accelerate.

Sometimes it will will jerk one time very hard, other times it will jerk 4-5 times in a row very rapidly.

I do appreciate the info, I will mention every option to the dealer since they have no idea what the problem is.

 

[bumparker]

I own a Ford Expedition that exhibited simliar symptoms (common to all Fords). For months I thought it was something related to the transmission. It turned out to be a missfire but never threw a code. One very hot day it got really bad and threw a code and by changing the plugs and the insulators the problem was completely solved. I would get this occasional very hard jerk you described, it felt like the transmission had malfunctioned because for just an instant there was no power. This miss is more pronounced when under load, usually at cruise speeds the miss was not evident.

I'm not sure of the design on the Mazda engine, my guess is they have 6 COPS (coil on plug), and the COP has a long spring that extends to the tip of the sparkplug. The spring is insulated with a plastic/rubber sleeve that keeps the electrical pulse from grounding to the engine block. If the insulator degrades over time (usually a crack), the electrical pulse will find a way to ground to the engine block instead of the spark plug and you'll eperience a missfire.

I have not heard of this being a common problem with Mazdas but your symptoms sound familiar to what I experienced with a different brand.

 

[AnotherCX-9]

Hey Japike, your post sounds similar to my experience. It sounds like this http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/show...smission-oil-leak&highlight=transmission+leak We have been hearing metal buzzing/grinding while accelerating from a stop; however, it rains today and the noise is gone. When my tech tested it, he thinks it's the drive shaft which he mentioned it to me a year ago (see the link I posted). He said we should replace the driveshaft ASAP as there's a bearing which hold the drive shaft together with the transmission. It might cause more harm than good if not replaced sooner. He also said the drive shaft cost about $650 (parts only). Does this sound about right to you guys?

The 9 is at 111,500 miles at the clock.

 

[ceric]

Post #3 ^^^

 

[AnotherCX-9]

Post #3 ^^^

EDIT: I feel so stupid now. I just had a cross bar installed last week and it turns out the noise is from there I took the bars out and the noise are gone. However, the tech did say the driveshaft are a little loose right now. New Drive Shaft on the way...

 

[table5511]

wow... that does NOT sound good. In addition to the woooooooo it sounds like a truck with no exhaust? or is that just a low quality mic on the camera?

 

[AnotherCX-9]

The exhaust is fine and it's stock. I think the mic from the iphone picks up everything. It's not that loud in person. But that wooo wooo noise bothers the crap out of me. The tech wants to see it again on Monday before he makes the final determination. I will keep y'all posted.

 

[table5511]

is this the same kind of whirring noise that you hear in 1st gear, say making a slow u-turn in 1st gear? but yours is in a higher gear, or is it something completely different?

 

[ceric]

Not sure if you are replying to my post but the mechanic is telling me it's the drive shaft. ..

No. Just reconfirming that my guess was the drive shaft also.

 

[AnotherCX-9]

sorry for hi-jacking the thread, japike. I had the whole drive shaft replaced and now the 9 is smooth as butter again. The tech did discover the bearings were loose. With the new drive shaft, the truck is responsive again

 

[japike]

Update!!!

Bumparker... you were real close! I took the car in last Friday and drove it with my dealer's technician and service manager.
The car was making the same vibrations and noises that it had for the last 2 months. The dealer acted like they were shocked and it had never done that when they drove the car.
They took it in immediately and checked the drive shaft. They told me that it was in great shape and had no problems. Then they hooked up the computer. Apparently it showed that there had been 44 different misfires on the engine. They determined that it was the coils that were bad, so they are replacing all 6 of them. This is not a warranteed part under the 60,000 mile powertrain coverage, but they told me because of all the problems and inconvenience that this had caused, they were not going to charge me for this service. I hope this corrects the problem.

It looks like this may be one of those cases where a wrong diagnosis really has cost Mazda a lot of green. I was told they spent close to $ 7,000.00 on new transmission, transfer case and transmission control module. He told me these coils are around $ 150.00 each not counting labor. This is close to another $ 1,000.00.

I will keep you posted and i'm crossing my fingers that this will correct our problem!

 

[StealthWyvern]

Bumparker... you were real close! I took the car in last Friday and drove it with my dealer's technician and service manager.
The car was making the same vibrations and noises that it had for the last 2 months. The dealer acted like they were shocked and it had never done that when they drove the car.
They took it in immediately and checked the drive shaft. They told me that it was in great shape and had no problems. Then they hooked up the computer. Apparently it showed that there had been 44 different misfires on the engine. They determined that it was the coils that were bad, so they are replacing all 6 of them. This is not a warranteed part under the 60,000 mile powertrain coverage, but they told me because of all the problems and inconvenience that this had caused, they were not going to charge me for this service. I hope this corrects the problem.

It looks like this may be one of those cases where a wrong diagnosis really has cost Mazda a lot of green. I was told they spent close to $ 7,000.00 on new transmission, transfer case and transmission control module. He told me these coils are around $ 150.00 each not counting labor. This is close to another $ 1,000.00.

I will keep you posted and i'm crossing my fingers that this will correct our problem!

man that is killer customer service! That would make me want to buy another car from them when it came time within itself.

 

[ceric]

japlike,
It seems like your problem is solved. Great.

My question is that how come the misfires were not found before?
Did your dealer "forgot" to check that?

 

[blue_omg]

Ok, I've got my car back yesterday from the dealer,
I've done what they call "C Service", which is the major service,
changed Engine oil\filter, Transmission oil, Engine air filter, Radiator fluid, and spark plugs with a complete checkup on the car
Result: smooth as butter, no more hesitation feel when cruising and tring to apply the pedal..
I checked the old sparks and found couple with obvious wear, probably they were the problem..

Japike, hope the coils solve ur problem, If it didnt, it's defiantly the spark plugs..

Regards.

 

[japike]

Final UPDATE!!!

Mazda dealer changed one coil, wire and plug on Monday. Service Manager drove my car home Monday night to make sure problem was solved... he said he got about one mile from dealership when he felt the same jerking and hesitations!

Mazda Tech was out sick Tuesday, but came back in Wednesday morning.

He realized the wire was not connected properly so he made an adjustment!

I drove the car Wednesday evening! No jerking or hesitations at all!

I drove the car all weekend, the car appears to be fixed!

This was around a $ 9,000.00 spark plug and coil! All paid for by my Mazda warranty. Car turned over 60,000 mile Sunday!

Just in Time! We'll see how this holds up over time.

I did find out that the new transmission, transfer case and transmission control module will not have any kind of warranty because the original powertrain is now expired. They told me that that is called "stacking" warranties. I purchased an extended warranty when I bought the CX-9 a few months back, so it is not a big deal, just seemed like it should have a 10K or one year warranty on new factory parts!

 

[not_too_shabby]

Yeah, that is odd they won't give you any warranty on the new tranny. If it had gone out after 60K they would usually give you a 1 year 10K warranty on the repair. Hopefully the tech who didn't think to check for misfires knows how to install trannys properly!