- :
- Canada
Thanks @dougal, will do. So far I have no reason to doubt that Mazda will come through, but I'll keep my fingers crossed anyway.
Mike's 2018 CX-9 Signature
- Thread starter sm1ke
- Start date
Thanks @dougal, will do. So far I have no reason to doubt that Mazda will come through, but I'll keep my fingers crossed anyway.
- :
- Canada
I had a scheduled dealer visit to troubleshoot an intermittent issue. While the car was in their care, I asked them to look into the potential coolant leak issue as well. I had my UoAs printed out just in case they were able to look into it for me. They got the car on the lift and looked for any signs of an external leak, again they couldn't find anything. I requested that they refer to the printed UoAs, and they said that they have photocopied the reports, opened a ticket with Mazda, and sent the reports to them for review.
I suspect that I'll be asked to provide maintenance records at some point.
I suspect that I'll be asked to provide maintenance records at some point.
- :
- Canada
My CX-9, a 2018 with 65k kms, needs a new battery, I think. If the car has been sitting for a long time (more than a day), when I start the car, I notice that the instrument cluster lighting will flash on/off as the engine cranks, and the engine will take an extra couple of cranking cycles before it starts up. I have a dashcam, and if I leave it plugged in and running while I'm in the office, it will do the same thing when I start the car at the end of the day.
I'm not surprised that it needs to be replaced already, considering what I've put it through. I've run the battery down at least twice, recharging it with a trickle charger both times. I've also boosted both of my parent's cars using this battery. The car has also seen extremely cold temps (-50c), but it still manages to start up as long as I keep the block heater plugged in at the office, or park it in the garage at home.
Before buying a replacement battery at Costco, I figured I should try checking the battery cells. Admittedly, I've never checked the battery cells or refilled the water in the battery of any of my previous cars, and the CX-9 was no different. Last night, I topped up each of the six cells with distilled water. They all needed at least 50ml, which seemed like a lot to me.. I probably should have done this much, much sooner. After refilling the cells, I put a trickle charger on the battery and let it charge overnight. Hopefully this will give me at least one more year's use out of the battery.
I'm not surprised that it needs to be replaced already, considering what I've put it through. I've run the battery down at least twice, recharging it with a trickle charger both times. I've also boosted both of my parent's cars using this battery. The car has also seen extremely cold temps (-50c), but it still manages to start up as long as I keep the block heater plugged in at the office, or park it in the garage at home.
Before buying a replacement battery at Costco, I figured I should try checking the battery cells. Admittedly, I've never checked the battery cells or refilled the water in the battery of any of my previous cars, and the CX-9 was no different. Last night, I topped up each of the six cells with distilled water. They all needed at least 50ml, which seemed like a lot to me.. I probably should have done this much, much sooner. After refilling the cells, I put a trickle charger on the battery and let it charge overnight. Hopefully this will give me at least one more year's use out of the battery.
- :
- Canada
Well, so much for squeezing another year out of the OEM battery. It just doesn't have enough juice to start the car in -25c temps if its been sitting for more than 4 hours. I guess topping up the battery was too little, and too late.
I swapped in a new Group 35 battery from Costco last week and all is well.
I swapped in a new Group 35 battery from Costco last week and all is well.
- :
- Canada
Yeah I have an engine block heater, but I'm not sure that it's Mazda OEM. It wasn't noted as a dealer add-on when we bought the car, but the install looks OEM. You probably wouldn't need it in B.C., but here in MB they are almost a requirement, lol. It gets as cold as -50c around here, and we usually get cold spells of -35c to -40c for weeks at a time. Currently there is an Extreme Cold Warning in effect due to temps of -40c with the wind chill. In Ontario, I think I would get one installed, just in case.
I use mine quite often. Usually once it hits -20c or colder, I plug it in, but with this new battery I'm confident that I could wait until -35c before I'd need to worry about the engine not starting. When it's cold enough, I always try to plug it in, just to ease the start-up wear and tear a bit.
Here's a pic of the block heater that came with the car. It's a capped socket that is installed on the lower front bumper on the driver's side. The cord is easily removed and stored, which is nice in the summer. I'm not a fan of the plug just hanging out of the grille or hood, because when it moves around, it can scratch and damage the surrounding area. The brand of the block heater installed on my car is Temro.
- :
- Winnipeg Canada
- :
- 2017 CX-9 GT
Any word from the dealer on the coolant issue?
- :
- Canada
I had to call to follow up last week, and spoke with the service manager. He seemed to want to help, and mentioned that Mazda Canada thinks the coolant loss is external. He recommended bringing the car in to take a closer look, and suggested that they would be taking stuff apart to get a better look at the engine. I assume that previously, they had just put the car on a lift and taken the plastic bits off of the bottom to get a look.
The problem is that they don't have any loaners, and apparently there aren't even any rentals available (they only had 3 new cars to sell on their lot). I plan to be going out of town next month, so I'm going to see if I can drop it off before the trip and pick it up when I get back.
- :
- 2016 CX-9 GT
That’s crazy. Hope there aren’t any issues with your vehicle! Sounds like you’d be out of a vehicle for a long time
- :
- Canada
I might be crazy, but I'm actually hoping they find the cause just so I can get it fixed and get back to driving it without worrying about it. But yeah, if they do need to do some work and keep the vehicle in the shop for a while, I don't know how Mazda would accommodate that given the current lack of supply.
- :
- Canada
Ok, so a bit of an update. The car is scheduled to go to the dealership on Feb 3rd, with pickup scheduled for Feb 8th. The service manager I'm dealing with now appears to be pretty forthcoming with what's happening. He says that Mazda Canada suspects an external leak is the cause of the gradual coolant loss, and provided him with documentation regarding what to look for. He says that the areas that need to be inspected require a more involved disassembly, which is why he wants me to leave the car with them for a few days. Mazda didn't mention anything about a possible internal leak or the UoAs I provided, but I'm guessing that they want to rule out the more commonly described external leak detailed in the recent TSB before considering other potential causes.
I also asked the service manager to look into a different issue, detailed in this thread. In cold temps, I get a clunking noise from the engine bay when I turn off the car. While they have the car, they'll be looking into that issue as well.
I also asked the service manager to look into a different issue, detailed in this thread. In cold temps, I get a clunking noise from the engine bay when I turn off the car. While they have the car, they'll be looking into that issue as well.
- :
- Canada
Unrelated to the CX-9.. we also have a 2006 Civic DX with 200k kms. We keep it at my inlaw's house so they have a vehicle to use. The original battery kicked the bucket in 2012, so I replaced that one with a Costco battery. That battery finally died a couple of days ago, so I replaced it with another Costco battery. While replacing the battery, I noticed that the engine bay was wet around the serpentine belt area. Turns out the power steering pressure hose was leaking - it would mist into the engine bay with the steering wheel at full-lock. Going to pick up a new power steering pressure hose and serpentine belt today, and my uncle (who used to be a mechanic) will be replacing both parts.
- :
- Canada
Update on the dealership visit. They said that the clunking was due to a frozen engine mount, but they didn't have the mount on hand and had to order it. Should be here tomorrow or early next week, at which point I'll bring the car back to have them replace the mount. We'll see if that solves the clunk. I did note that turning the HVAC off completely before engine shutdown did result in a slightly less pronounced clunking, but it was still there. If it's still there after the engine mount replacement, I'll ask them to check the HVAC systems.
Regarding the coolant slow leak, they took a closer look at the engine with Mazda Canada's guidance, and couldn't find any signs of a leak anywhere on the engine. They also pressure tested the coolant system for 30 mins and no leaks were reported there either. No engine or cylinder head replacement was offered as a result, but I will continue to monitor and test the oil, and I'll follow up with Mazda Canada directly if necessary. At this point, I think there is either an internal coolant leak, or the lab I'm using is somehow misreporting the numbers. I'll try a different lab for my next UoA to rule that out. I just checked the engine oil on the dipstick as well, no visible signs of coolant mixing with the oil after about 2000km.
GTEyes
2022 CX5 Signature - Machine Grey
- :
- NS, Canada
Hopefully the new mount gets you squared away!
- :
- 2016 CX-9 GT
You may have already answered this and I didn’t catch it, but have you needed to top up coolant at all? Any fruity smell from the exhaust? That was the first sign of an internal leak on my previous vehicle. Next came slight coolant loss
- :
- Canada
I have topped up the coolant a couple of times since I first noticed the coolant loss. Not enough to go through a whole jug though. No smells from the exhaust either (at least as far as I can tell). I'll try to pay closer attention to those things though.
- :
- Canada
Car went back in for the frozen motor mount replacement yesterday. I left my dashcam running when I dropped it off at noon. Picked it up about 3.5 hours later, after I got the call that it was ready to go. I just went through the dashcam footage and saw that the car was actually in the shop for about 30 mins, 20 mins of which it was up on the lift. A master tech did the work.
When I got home, the clunk was still there. Will drive it for a couple of days to make sure it's consistent, and I'll also try turning HVAC off a few minutes before turning the car off to see if the noise is related to the HVAC system, then follow up with them.
Going to also monitor coolant levels, and if I notice it has dropped again, I'll use a different lab for the next UoA. At that point I'll go straight to Mazda Canada.
When I got home, the clunk was still there. Will drive it for a couple of days to make sure it's consistent, and I'll also try turning HVAC off a few minutes before turning the car off to see if the noise is related to the HVAC system, then follow up with them.
Going to also monitor coolant levels, and if I notice it has dropped again, I'll use a different lab for the next UoA. At that point I'll go straight to Mazda Canada.
- :
- Winnipeg Canada
- :
- 2017 CX-9 GT
Any updates on this?
