Looking at a 2015 Mazda CX-9…Any issues?

[190683]

So, I am looking at a 2015 Mazda cx9. Part of my reason for the old one is hauling family and camping off the beaten path. My wife has already said no to certain suvs and she wants to stay with mazda, even though the 2015 is a ford underneath. I know ford had the water pump issue, but I don’t know if they ever solved it.
so for anyone who owns one, can you give me a heads up about your experience with it? The good and bad? My sister in law and her husband had a 2015 but sold it last year as they needed a truck to tow their 30 ft trailer. They never had any problems with it, and my ice really liked theirs, so I’m just curious and throwing it out there to any of you guys.

thanks

 

[sm1ke]

So, I am looking at a 2015 Mazda cx9. Part of my reason for the old one is hauling family and camping off the beaten path. My wife has already said no to certain suvs and she wants to stay with mazda, even though the 2015 is a ford underneath. I know ford had the water pump issue, but I don’t know if they ever solved it.
so for anyone who owns one, can you give me a heads up about your experience with it? The good and bad? My sister in law and her husband had a 2015 but sold it last year as they needed a truck to tow their 30 ft trailer. They never had any problems with it, and my ice really liked theirs, so I’m just curious and throwing it out there to any of you guys.

thanks

As far as I can tell, the water pump issue is an engine design flaw that can't be "fixed". As I understand it, the water pump location makes it difficult to service. It also means that if the pump fails, it leaks coolant into the oil and can trash the engine if it isn't caught right away. This seems to be the most common problem with this engine, but the problem itself doesn't seem to be that common in the real world. I see plenty of 1st gen CX-9s still on the road. Something to look into further, at least.

The other potential issue is the AWD transfer case failing. But with that, if you lose it, you still have FWD.

 

[190683]

As far as I can tell, the water pump issue is an engine design flaw that can't be "fixed". As I understand it, the water pump location makes it difficult to service. It also means that if the pump fails, it leaks coolant into the oil and can trash the engine if it isn't caught right away. This seems to be the most common problem with this engine, but the problem itself doesn't seem to be that common in the real world. I see plenty of 1st gen CX-9s still on the road. Something to look into further, at least.

The other potential issue is the AWD transfer case failing. But with that, if you lose it, you still have FWD.

That’s what I was afraid of. At least the one I’m looking at only has 65,000 kms and is at a dealership, so i will be able to get a decent warranty on it.

 

[sm1ke]

That’s what I was afraid of. At least the one I’m looking at only has 65,000 kms and is at a dealership, so i will be able to get a decent warranty on it.

Be sure that you read up on the warranty so that you know what you're paying for. Sometimes 3rd party warranties will exclude things that you would think should be included, or they have requirements that you have to meet in order to keep the warranty intact. For example, I've seen some contracts that require the vehicle to only be serviced at a specific dealership, meaning you can't DIY anything or the warranty is voided.

 

[Bronco Boy]

The water pump issue was never fixed. The amount of reported failures is small compared to the amount of 9's on the road. ALL fluids need to be changed at regular intervals, and ignore the "lifetime fluid" claims in the manual.

My 2009 has 283,000km on her and she is going strong. <knock on wood>

 

[190683]

Be sure that you read up on the warranty so that you know what you're paying for. Sometimes 3rd party warranties will exclude things that you would think should be included, or they have requirements that you have to meet in order to keep the warranty intact. For example, I've seen some contracts that require the vehicle to only be serviced at a specific dealership, meaning you can't DIY anything or the warranty is voided.

That was the plan. The only time I ever needed to use the warranty was on my mazda3 for the MAF sensor and the drivers seat cushion.

 

[190683]

The water pump issue was never fixed. The amount of reported failures is small compared to the amount of 9's on the road. ALL fluids need to be changed at regular intervals, and ignore the "lifetime fluid" claims in the manual.

My 2009 has 283,000km on her and she is going strong. <knock on wood>

Have you had any major issues with it?

 

[190683]

The other reason why I’m looking at a 2015 instead of a 2022 is the 17” rims I have on my 2011 Mazda cx7 right now. RTX Mini Baja 17x8.5 35mm offset. Not many suvs have 17” rims anymore and 1) I don’t have the heart to sell them and 2) my wife does not want to deal with Hyundai or Kia, so she wants me to stick to Mazda.

 

[Bronco Boy]

Have you had any major issues with it?

No. I bought it 3 years ago with 239,000 km. Since then I have done the brakes, changed ALL fluids a few times. Other than that just adding my personal touch.

Two things that might be major to some..... the previous owner let a rear control arm bolt get loose and it hogged out the mounting hole; this was easily repaired. And I had the power tailgate stud break off, but again, easily repaired.

I have all service records from when it was new, and nothing major ever went wrong with this thing. Lots of brake pads and rotors though.

 

[sm1ke]

The other reason why I’m looking at a 2015 instead of a 2022 is the 17” rims I have on my 2011 Mazda cx7 right now. RTX Mini Baja 17x8.5 35mm offset. Not many suvs have 17” rims anymore and 1) I don’t have the heart to sell them and 2) my wife does not want to deal with Hyundai or Kia, so she wants me to stick to Mazda.

I'm pretty sure you can run those on a 2nd gen CX-9. 16" would be too small, but 17s should be fine. The standard trim on a 2nd gen CX-9 comes with 18x8.5 +45mm wheels.

 

[190683]

Bronco you really took a chance on that one. Guess it was the service records that did it for you?

According to the Mazda dealership here in Milton Ontario 18” rims are the smallest that can fit on the 2016 and up CX9.
I don’t know the diameter of the rotors and the calliper versus the rotors and callipers on the CX5 turbo but I figure they would be a different size. So I guess that’s why you can fit 17” on a CX5.
It would be good to know for sure.

 

[sm1ke]

Bronco you really took a chance on that one. Guess it was the service records that did it for you?

According to the Mazda dealership here in Milton Ontario 18” rims are the smallest that can fit on the 2016 and up CX9.
I don’t know the diameter of the rotors and the calliper versus the rotors and callipers on the CX5 turbo but I figure they would be a different size. So I guess that’s why you can fit 17” on a CX5.
It would be good to know for sure.

No need for guesswork, others have already done it. The brake rotors and calipers for the CX-5 Turbo and the 2nd gen CX-9 are the same, and the temporary spare tire for the 2nd gen CX-9 is a 17" rim. Your 17" wheels with a much lower offset will ensure that you'll have plenty of room for the calipers.

Most of the time, Mazda dealerships and parts desk clerks will only recommend what they can sell, so if you wanted 17s and they don't have them because the smallest OEM replacement is 18", that's what they'll tell you. We've had a few owners run 17" wheels on their CX-5 turbos without issue.

 

[190683]

Seriously? Not even tire rack recommends 17” for the cx9

 

[190683]

At least they didn’t before. I just checked now and they do. Interesting

 

[sm1ke]

More examples of CX-9 owners running 17" wheels with no issues..

Winter Tires question CX-9

All, For a 2020 CX 9 GT, the wheel size is 255/50/R20. I have a spare set of 225/65/R17 winter tires. Will they fit? Thanks!

mazdas247.com

Winter wheels/tires installed

Just installed these today as we are going to see snow in the mountains over the next few days. Went with a 245/70/17 Yokohoma IceGuard G075. Ordered it from Tirerack.com. As with the several winter wheel/tire sets I have purchased from them, the transaction went perfect. I cannot wait to put...

mazdas247.com

What's your winter rim/tire setup?

Hey guys, just wondering what wheel and tire setup you have for your CX-9. Any recommendations? Feel free to post some pictures if you have any! Also, is anyone using OEM Mazda wheels from other Mazda models like the CX-5 or 6? I know the bolt pattern and center bore are the same, and most of...

mazdas247.com

 

[190683]

Why did I not see these posts? I honestly thought I went through them all.
Thanks sm1ke

 

[Bronco Boy]

Bronco you really took a chance on that one. Guess it was the service records that did it for you?

Na. Higher mileage is not as bad as most think. Low mileage can be even worse. Looking forward to hitting 300,000 next year.

My last car (2002 Pontiac Grand Prix), bought it at 185,000 km, and sold it at 415,000 km. It had the 4T65E transmission that the haters said was done for. Pfff. Installed a shift kit, did regular fluid changes and had no more issues. Guess that's what 30+ years in the automotive industry gets me.

 

[190683]

True. For me as long as there is a service history I would be more inclined to go after it. A couple of years back the Lexus dealership here in Brampton had a 2014? Lexus LS 460 hybrid on their used lot with almost 700,000 kms. One owner, all dealer serviced with records. There was also a 2014 Mercedes Benz cls 55 with 500,000 kms, same thing, one owner all service records.

My CX7 was just that, dealer serviced at three different Mazda dealerships so it made me feel a little better. Of course having the pure base model helps so I don’t have any tech that can go wrong. Only downside is when my wife and I move to Nova Scotia I will need to sell the cx7 before we go and as I mentioned in the original post get a CX9 since her family loves to go camping off the beaten path every month.
Problem is no one is selling a pre 2015 Mazda CX9 down in Nova Scotia, so I might have to buy one here in Ontario and drive it down and register it there.

Maybe I’m over thinking it? I honestly just want to stick with Mazda since I never had a problem with the mazda3 I had or the cx7, and the dealerships I have used always were good to me and my wife.

 

[jal142]

I've owned my 2010 for 13 years now. The only major mechanical issue I've had is a wheel bearing that failed. A number of annoying things have happened (broken window regulators, failed blind spot monitor sensors, crappy brake discs, etc). The body has begun to rust, so if you decide to go with one, look closely at the underbody, the roof, and the inside of the rear hatch. Overall, I'm happy with it, aside from the absurd prices for some of the parts.

Honestly, you might be better off looking at a
Ford Edge if you are convinced the CX-9 is the right car. It's basically the same underneath aside from being a 2 row vs. 3 and there will be many more to choose from as they outsold the CX-9 by about 5 to 1.

However, if you need to go off-road, this isn't really the vehicle I'd pick. It is basically a lifted station wagon and not a truck, and the AWD is fragile.

 

[190683]

I've owned my 2010 for 13 years now. The only major mechanical issue I've had is a wheel bearing that failed. A number of annoying things have happened (broken window regulators, failed blind spot monitor sensors, crappy brake discs, etc). The body has begun to rust, so if you decide to go with one, look closely at the underbody, the roof, and the inside of the rear hatch. Overall, I'm happy with it, aside from the absurd prices for some of the parts.

Honestly, you might be better off looking at a
Ford Edge if you are convinced the CX-9 is the right car. It's basically the same underneath aside from being a 2 row vs. 3 and there will be many more to choose from as they outsold the CX-9 by about 5 to 1.

However, if you need to go off-road, this isn't really the vehicle I'd pick. It is basically a lifted station wagon and not a truck, and the AWD is fragile.

not hardcore off-roading, more gravel and dirt roads to the camp site.
Good on those points. The more I hear positive things about it the more I like it.

these are the wheels I have for my cx7 and will be going on the cx9.
Load rating is 1521 lbs and since I’m still good on the 5822 lbs gross vehicle rating I should be good