Is the CX-90 Really that Bad? Owner Feedback?

[2005mazda]

This applies to the CX-90 in general, however for acceleration, I’m mainly concerned about the Inline 6 versions, as that’s what I’m probably more prone to purchasing rather than the PHEV, however, the other criteria should still apply to the CX-90 in general.

After watching a combination of savagegeese’s review as well as stuff that I’ve read from Reddit/other forums there seems to be somewhat of a consensus of the CX-90’s annoyances/frustrations.


Some issues that I’ve seen pop up consistently while lurking forums:

-Mazda i-active sense features frequently malfunctioning: is it really that annoying/frustrating(constant false positives, over-reactive, radar cruise control too sensitive, etc.)?

-Acceleration(for the I-6): is it as laggy, jerky, hesitant as they say? From a stop? Also laggy/jerky while trying to overpass on the highway? How bad is the alleged acceleration lag? Is the drive train(lots of users seem to hate the transmission's tuning) that bad?

-Body build: I hear a lot of complaints about the door shut feel, that it feels cheap/shudders a lot. Does this seem to affect NVH(Noise, Vibration, Harshness) while driving? Is it relatively comfortable inside the cabin for you and your family?


Is this really the case? Can you relate in your experience of ownership with the CX-90? Do you have buyer's remorse/regret with the CX-90?

As of today, have some of these issues been resolved(I heard there were software updates since the debut of the CX-90)? Would you recommend the CX-90 after some time of ownership?

TIA.

 

[RedBaron]

Though neither of us were owners, did you see the following:

Longer (3-day) test drive of a CX-90, with comparison to...

www.cx50forums.com

CX-9 Owner Drives New CX-90 For A Week - My Review

I had the opportunity to rent a CX-90 Turbo Premium for 1 week and drove it over 400 miles in all sorts of different conditions, roads, weather and speeds. Here’s my review of the vehicle coming from a current 2019 CX-9 Grand Touring owner (had it since new and mostly love it despite a few...

mazdas247.com

 

[2005mazda]

Being an active member on this forum, I did see the second link you posted, from here.

I was just trying to get more owners to chime in from here...

I also just read the first link you posted, interesting... seems like the CX90 may be a bit hard to live with. I also read through reddit posts, mixed bag over there, some people like it, but they seem less picky, some don't seem to bring up the issues that I brought up here... sound like people giving vague initial impressions("looks great inside and out!" type of thing) rather than a detailed observation.

 

[Antoine]

Seems to me the comments from actual owners that are positive are the most telling...You've got to be pretty darn happy with your CX-90 if you're going to post about how great it is and we're seeing that here from members such as @heywardjr

Also I think there is a bit of a negative bias still here against Mazda as this is new for them and their image...Perhaps that negative bias is a bit much and inaccurate.

I have faith that Mazda will continue to resolve and refine these new models and I encourage satisfied owners to post their positive impressions even when it "seems" like there aren't many...

 

[dougal]

Seems to me the comments from actual owners that are positive are the most telling...You've got to be pretty darn happy with your CX-90 if you're going to post about how great it is and we're seeing that here from members such as @heywardjr

Also I think there is a bit of a negative bias still here against Mazda as this is new for them and their image...Perhaps that negative bias is a bit much and inaccurate.

I have faith that Mazda will continue to resolve and refine these new models and I encourage satisfied owners to post their positive impressions even when it "seems" like there aren't many...

On fb and CX90 forums, the negative posts have taken a sharp decline. The early models had issues and I think the PHEV has more issues than the inline 6 but overall, I think they have improved things. The CX-70 looks to have addressed lots of the bugs. Me, I would still wait till the 2025 model year of the CX90 - not sure what that will be called or what "new" features it will have- as it has to be linked to the CX70.

 

[sm1ke]

Some issues that I’ve seen pop up consistently while lurking forums:

-Mazda i-active sense features frequently malfunctioning: is it really that annoying/frustrating(constant false positives, over-reactive, radar cruise control too sensitive, etc.)?

-Acceleration(for the I-6): is it as laggy, jerky, hesitant as they say? From a stop? Also laggy/jerky while trying to overpass on the highway? How bad is the alleged acceleration lag? Is the drive train(lots of users seem to hate the transmission's tuning) that bad?

-Body build: I hear a lot of complaints about the door shut feel, that it feels cheap/shudders a lot. Does this seem to affect NVH(Noise, Vibration, Harshness) while driving? Is it relatively comfortable inside the cabin for you and your family?

I can't really speak to anything other than body build, and my experience was quite limited as I only poked around the car at the dealership for 20 mins and never test drove it. But the doors seemed fine. I don't remember if it was any better or worse than my CX-9's doors.

Have you taken one for a test drive yet? Seems like a lot of these concerns could be validated with a test drive, to give yourself a point of reference from your own perspective.

 

[ceric]

-Body build: I hear a lot of complaints about the door shut feel, that it feels cheap/shudders a lot. Does this seem to affect NVH(Noise, Vibration, Harshness) while driving? Is it relatively comfortable inside the cabin for you and your family?

I recall that when Acura RL first came out, Acura spent paragraphs on how they engineered the doors to make it sound like German when you shut it. The tricks? Position the gravity center of the door to be in line with the hinge and latch. Using thicker skin panel, stronger frames to mitigate vibration...

The sound of door closing of a CX5 ('17 and '22) is good enough.
(I used to own a '98 BMW 540iA. I know how the German door closing sounds.)
Not so much from my Mazda6 ('16) or Mazda3 ('14).

Worst one I ever owned was from a '01 Honda Odyssey.
Felt like a tin can.

 

[rainfactor]

Own a CX90 Signature (3.3 TURBO S PREMIUM PLUS in the U.S)
Bit of a context, I ve had only germans up to this car. the VW, Audi variety and few BMWs.

Pros:
Drives really nice.I'd dare to say smooth.Very likely after Mazda tweaked the transmission and ll the rest they needed to tweak(mine has had all the recalls done). I never had any hesitation when punching it however I had a bit of a jerkiness (not very often and you need to be a "driver" to tell).It has a very healthy torque at low rpms and she can go when you floor it
Planted in the corners and barely any body roll which is amazing for such a huge car.
Gas mileage is good.I often get 30-31 mpg (mind you driving normally and not pushing it around).
The fit and finish is more than decent however do not expect Lexus like quality but is pretty good.
My car being the highest trim is pretty loaded with anything you want.

Cons:
The wireless charger is crap and it never worked.It only heats up my phones to the point where they shut down.
Non full touch entertainment screen however it doesn't bother me as much as I hate to leave smudges all over.It is...alright
The AC seems somehow underpowered compared to any of the cars that I owned.

and...

The biggest is the dreaded "Engine Malfunction" error message that would pop up out of nowhere.
Did it to me twice in 2 weeks.
Mind you there are people who have had this car for some time and never had it. Nobody knows what causes it and I am guessing Mazda is still compiling the cases and a definitive fix for it.
Mine as we speak is at the dealer for this matter.
I do not know the extent of this issue or the percentage of the owners who have had it but based on my absolutely unscientific research, it seems to be happening on both PHEV and MHEV but more on the PHEV.

So to conclude It is a very nice car, good power, smooth drive however if you decide to pull the plug be aware that there may be some issues. Most of which that will be addressed under the warranty but if you expect a flawless car this may not be for you

 

[Euroken]

First real post here.

Just picked up my 2024 CX-90 Preferred (Base engine level) here in Washington state over the weekend. I was at a dealership that had both Hyundai and Mazda and let them bicker over who wanted my business...at the end, I was between the new Santa Fe and CX-90.

A quick story on how I got here today...My family is a Mazda fan...we've only owned Mazdas and the CX-90 is my 5th one. My wife drives the 2021 CX-5 GT. My last Mazda was the 2015 CX-9 Touring (not the last gen but the one right before with 3.7L V6. I LOVED that car...until it gave up in the middle of the highway with the 'water-pump' failure...some of you may already know what this means...it was a Catastrophic engine failure...at 99k miles under 10 years...nope, couldn't just go fix the water-pump. The car was running fantastically, no issues, no noise, nothing...just...tick tick...and then...nothing...in matter of 2 min...The whole reason why I joined this forum, looking for a recourse...

So, we HAD to go shop for a new car. Since shopping for a new car 'was' NOT planned I was really hesitant to go with a Mazda again after that...tried to look for a new/cheap car that was easy on the wallet.

In the end, went with the CX-90 Preferred as I didn't want to be annoyed with premium gas thing...

WHEW! That was longer than I wanted....back on track with my quick review...

In two days, a direct comparison with 2015 CX-9:

Positives:
1) Deep growl...absolutely love the sound of the engine. Reminds of me of an older Infinity FX35
2) A lot of torque starting off the line. Mind you, I'm comparing it to the older CX-9
3) 2nd row Captain's seat
4) Speed....This thing gets up and go in comparison to my older CX-9...passing AND off the line...Even without the Sport mode.
5) Agility....No joke...in my opinion, it drives like my wife's CX-5 but with less engine noise in the cabin (CX-5 GT non-turbo in comparison)
6) Comes with a roof rail and just need the cross bars. My CX-9 needed a new rail AND cross bars. I THINK the roof rail is now standard...
7) For a base level vehicle, healthily equipped. All standard safety features that my wife's CX-5 GT has. My kids love that they have USB chargers in the 2nd AND 3rd row
8) Cabin noise...this car is super quiet...again in comparison to my CX-9. My wife's CX-5 is pretty quiet in terms of road noise but with that car you can hear the engine noise pretty loudly. Not with the CX-90.

Negatives:
1) That not-so-smooth shifting at the start or low speeds is there...doesn't happen all the time but occasionally. I will say it isn't THAT annoying...I feel like it occurs more often when you try to gun it
2) Not enough storage space
a. The side door pockets are now lined with cup holders in the back and the center console is about half the depth of my old CX-9...Annoying...
b. The glove compartment is designed in a way that if you are up going up hill and open the compartment, everything falls out...Totally don't understand this...
c. There use to be a bit deeper storage space where the spare tire tools were, where I had blankets, gloves, tarp, chains, etc for emergencies...that was back when the spare tire was under the chassy that you had to 'lower' on to the ground. Now that spare tire is IN and above the chassy so bye bye storage.
3) Don't have wireless carplay/android so you have to plug your phone in...that is all fine and all BUT! No place to put the damn phone. You can put the phone in front of the shifter but it's not really a pocket but a 'cubby' hole that is at the same height as the center console so the phone doesn't always stay put. Didn't notice this when test driving because I didn't connect my phone...this drives me nuts! Lol

I just listed my take in two days lol. Hope to post more. Can't tell you the gas mileage. Haven't even thought of that yet...and still on the first tank of gas.

Again, please keep in mind that I'm comparing it to a ten year old vehicle that broke down, so I might come across as biased towards the CX-90. From my perspective, the small issues that some may experience with the newer vehicles was NOT an issue with the cars ten or more years a go when they looked at Mazda as cars not in the luxury market. Meaning, if you compare the new Mazda with Audi, BMW, Mercedes...I think the perspective would be very different.

Thank you for letting me post!

 

[RedBaron]

3) Don't have wireless carplay/android

Really? Are you sure? I thought all CX-90's have wireless Carplay/AA - in fact all current Mazdas.

 

[dougal]

Really? Are you sure? I thought all CX-90's have wireless Carplay/AA - in fact all current Mazdas.

No, only certain trims.

 

[Trip CX90]

I have a PHEV but can still talk about the interior and overall handling. I’ve posted more in-depth feedback in other threads, but to summarize… I would give the car a C+ overall.

Compared to mainstream SUVs, it’s not a particularly good value, and it’s down on features, interior space, and storage flexibility. It’s been a bit frustrating to live with. Coming from Mazda’s own CX9, the interior quality of materials and ergonomics are not as good. Comparing it to the luxury players like a BMW X5, it’s down on features. While not as expensive, I would not consider it an alternative to the luxury competitors yet.

The handling is very good. No doubt about that. But the firm ride around town and on the back roads which makes for the awesome handling, gets obnoxious on long distance highway trips.

The CX9 was a better all around, balanced car. It did everything well, and there was never anything to gripe about with it. It handled well, it rode nicely on the highway, there was plenty of storage, no issues with interior quality, all the buttons and controls were placed perfectly, lots of nice little features like a large glove box, deep armrest, and rubber liners in all of the door pockets…. I was hoping Mazda would have taken all of the attributes and overall personality of the CX9 and put it on steroids with the larger engine and RWD platform. For being such a large car, the interior accommodations are a little disappointing, which makes it a little frustrating to live with on a daily basis, which is why I would only give it a C+.

 

[sm1ke]

I have a PHEV but can still talk about the interior and overall handling. I’ve posted more in-depth feedback in other threads, but to summarize… I would give the car a C+ overall.

Power is generally one thing that CX-9 owners and shoppers might find to be a pain point. Did the CX-90 impress in that aspect at least? And was the change from an FF-based platform to an FR-based platform noticeable enough to influence your opinion?

 

[Euroken]

Power is generally one thing that CX-9 owners and shoppers might find to be a pain point. Did the CX-90 impress in that aspect at least? And was the change from an FF-based platform to an FR-based platform noticeable enough to influence your opinion?

Comparing to 2015 CX-9, , the new CX-90 (base non-phev engine) is head and shoulders above in regards to power...and I found my previous CX-9 to be 'plenty' powerful all around, lol.

Perhaps not the same for those who own 2016-2022 CX-9, but I don't have a comparison.

 

[2005mazda]

Comparing to 2015 CX-9, , the new CX-90 (base non-phev engine) is head and shoulders above in regards to power...and I found my previous CX-9 to be 'plenty' powerful all around, lol.

Perhaps not the same for those who own 2016-2022 CX-9, but I don't have a comparison.

Seems to check out:

Mazda CX-9 0-60 Times and 1/4 Mile Times

View verified Mazda CX-9 0-60 times, 1/4 mile times, and other performance specs based on 24 tests from popular car magazine sources.

www.0-60specs.com

Mazda CX-90 0-60 Times and 1/4 Mile Times

View verified Mazda CX-90 0-60 times, 1/4 mile times, and other performance specs based on 6 tests from popular car magazine sources.

www.0-60specs.com

Also the NA V6 probably didn't have nearly as much low end torque as the turbo charged i4 or i6, so it probably "felt" slower too off the line, compared to the newer motors.

I also wanted to thank everyone for chiming in, apologies for not giving long winded responses like I wanted to, life happens, .

 

[Trip CX90]

Power is generally one thing that CX-9 owners and shoppers might find to be a pain point. Did the CX-90 impress in that aspect at least? And was the change from an FF-based platform to an FR-based platform noticeable enough to influence your opinion?

Seat of the pants impression, the CX90 feels a little faster that the CX9 did off the line. I’m sure extra gears in the 8 speed and the boost from the electric motors help. RWD helps too. Under full throttle the CX9 could chirp the tires. The CX90 just squats back and grabs the asphalt.

On the go, in sport mode, the CX90 will hustle. Passing in sport is effortless. Otherwise acceleration in normal mode on the road is so-so. Electric only mode is lethargic. Above 50mph CX9 would surge on full pedal and keep charging past 90mph. The CX90 feels like it lags a bit under full throttle on the highway in normal mode. I think Mazda could do a better job of calibrating normal mode with the transmission and how the battery and engine work together.
I’ve been a little disappointed that I haven't really noticed much of a difference going from FWD to RWD. The CX90’s steering feels good, is weighted nicely and has OK on center feel. In video reviews Mazda engineers talked about how they wanted the steering to purposely be slower but more linear to keep the car’s handling predictable. The result is that I remember the CX9 feeling more snappy in turns with quicker steering.

The Falkens are already showing signs of wear and are skittish in the rain. I’ll have some Pirellis on soon. Hopefully that will help perk up the steering feel and sharpen the handling a bit. The CX9 responded really well to the Pirellis. It was quick, tossable, improved stopping…. The Scorpion AS+3 isn’t available for the CX90 so I’ll try the Scorpion WeatherActive which are rated just as highly.

 

[marconis4]

We just started a lease of a Preferred on Friday, traded in the 2017 CX-5 Sport. We love Mazda. I've had two Jeeps, a Tacoma, the CX-5, and now this and honestly it's hard to think of getting any other brand for our family SUV. I hadn't even heard of the CX-90 until we started looking for a third row vehicle (we have 3 kids and the CX-5 was brutal with car seats and boosters). Admittedly, I haven't really driven it much at all yet, but so far everything feels great. Not really here to post a review other than state that we did a ton of research prior to getting the 90, especially because we were trading in our CX-5 which we owned (swore we'd never lease again, but here we are!). Seems this vehicle got high marks compared to its competition, and honestly because of our positive experience with Mazda, it seemed like a no brainer. Beautiful car. I'll notice quirks with it once I drive it more, but so far we're thrilled.

Also, one bit of info. First generation vehicles are always going to take a bit to work out kinks, in my experience. I had a first production third gen Tacoma and it was a nightmare. Not saying that will happen here but I think it’s fairly common for there to be some issues out of the gate.

 

[Euroken]

In my preferred, just got back from a 275 mile trip, made it in 4 hours and 20 minutes, about.

Did the mpg calc the old style way (fill, track miles, and fill) and got 27.8 mph. There was about 30 minutes of traffic along the way so I say the car performs as indicated. Heck a lot more mph than my 2015 CX-9...a little over 3/16th of additional gas left and almost 60~70 miles more range (all roughly speaking) if I had kept going. If I believe what the CX-90 dashboard says, I would have made almost 460 miles range while the old CX-9 would have made almost 400 miles.

No emergency situations or maneuvers required this time...knock on wood...

FYI, this is on regular unleaded...

All in all, very impressed with CX-90 squeezing out more oomph and better gas mileage than the 2015 CX-9.

 

[marconis4]

In my preferred, just got back from a 275 mile trip, made it in 4 hours and 20 minutes, about.

Did the mpg calc the old style way (fill, track miles, and fill) and got 27.8 mph. There was about 30 minutes of traffic along the way so I say the car performs as indicated. Heck a lot more mph than my 2015 CX-9...a little over 3/16th of additional gas left and almost 60~70 miles more range (all roughly speaking) if I had kept going. If I believe what the CX-90 dashboard says, I would have made almost 460 miles range while the old CX-9 would have made almost 400 miles.

No emergency situations or maneuvers required this time...knock on wood...

FYI, this is on regular unleaded...

All in all, very impressed with CX-90 squeezing out more oomph and better gas mileage than the 2015 CX-9.

Am I blind or did they get rid of the average MPG indicator on the dash? I tried cycling the settings and it only seems like there is the live data and gas mileage remaining til empty.

 

[Euroken]

There is a AVG MPG indicator in the middle of my speedometer...you can cycle through using INFO button on your wheel...