Need Help - CX-9 Transfer Case failure - Out of Country - No warranty?

[Kurtw11]

Hello forum,

I have a 2012 CX-9 GT AWD. I bought it new in the US, but shipped it with me on a temporary work assignment to Switzerland. I'm here for another year, and in the last month my awesome AWD transfer case has started spilling the dark fluid that is covered by the new SSP92 issued by Mazda.

Since there aren't many CX-9's over here (but there are some!) i called Mazda asking about coverage because I know the dealer will tell me tomorrow that I need a new transfer case. They told me that since I took the car out of the country, my warranty AND any subsequent SSP programs are void for my car.

They said I can submit a claim, but they said they are under no legal obligation to support it even though it is understood their ford sourced transfer case is a piece of junk. Unfortunately, they didn't sell the AWD CX-9 here until THIS YEAR.

Has anyone ever dealt with this situation and won an appeal with Mazda? I don't think I can wait a full year when I come back to the US to replace the transfer case.

Help!

 

[avidien]

sorry to hear about your dilemma, what is going on ? all of a sudden all these transfer case issues

this is just a suggestion to get you out of the bind and save some money/headache.

I believe your transfer case is still good, you caught it just in time,
if you keep waiting, you're start to hear gears grinding.

it's the oil that has broken down and turned into sludge and no longer doing it's job to keep the gears lubricated and cool.

Take it to a mechanic and have them suck out as much of the old fluid as they can,

or if you're handy you can do it yourself, you need to get under the car and look for the fill plug (red arrow)

and remove it



buy a suction gun :

https://www.amazon.com (commissions earned)

and suck out as much of the dark fluid as you can

fill in with fresh 75W140 gear oil

https://www.amazon.com (commissions earned)

using a pump, pump into the same hole

https://www.amazon.com (commissions earned)

fill up until you can feel the fluid right below the fill hole. reinstall plug

 

[voldsom]

sorry to hear about your dlliemna, what is going on ? all of a sudden all these transfer case issues

I was questioning the same thing... I wonder if this forum has the most active and recent threads on the issue, so everyone is coming here to ask the questions(?). I would love some transparency from Mazda to actually get a percentage of failures they seem claimed, but that will never happen. If a typical owner never has a problem, then they would never know to search for it or ask for assistance, ya know?

 

[avidien]

yeah, it's so weird Voldsom, another transfer case failure, that's like 4 days straight of transfer case failure posts

I just found a thread from atom88 ,

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/show...Case-4WD-Issues/page4&highlight=transfer+case

his is a new 2013 with transfer case failure at 29K (first 2013 failure I've seen on this forum) very disheartening

I really think it's not a mechanical issue , rather the 75W140 oil capacity is not enough and must be
swapped every 20K

otherwise the oil breaks down and the gear overheats from the friction. Also it's a good idea to change both transmission fluid and rear differential fluid every 30k.

How in the world can this be LIFETIME OIL at 35,000 miles only ??

 

[Kurtw11]

UPDATE: First off, thank you avidien!

So, i walked in with SSP92 in english and translated to French. I also walked in with avidien's post translated to French with the PTU picture.

They quickly diagnosed that it was the PTU. They then called Mazda USA to see if they could get coverage. The car sat there all day Wed waiting for a call back. As it sat there on Thursday I went back and told them if Mazda doesn't call, just replace the oil and let me take the car home as we all wait. The guy at the front desk told me - through a translator - that my PTU would 'explode' on the road, and it has to be replaced. I shook my head and said 'no', then we all went to the mechanic and got under the car. Right when the mechanic heard the translation that i'm taking the car back to the US in 12-18 mos, he then said 'maybe, no problem'. Then he told me they found another US idiot (like me) that brought a CX-9 AWD to the German side of Switzerland. His end bill was $18,000, and the dealer eventually got 'something' from Mazda USA. But it was very ugly. They will only replace mine if i pay and I fight Mazda USA.

So, they changed the oil and I picked up the car. I asked him what my bill would be if Mazda says 'NO' and i have a failure. He showed me the quote quickly and it was $24,000. I have no idea how they figured that out, but the car is barely worth that much now. This is insane.

Hopefully it doesn't fail before i get the car back. Boy, Mazda USA stinks. We are still waiting for their call....

 

[avidien]

you're very welcome Kurtw11, I'm glad I was able to help you out. is that $24,000 US dollars ? that's nuts

the fresh oil you have in there now will definitely help, did they show you the old oil,
does it look similar to the video above ?

I went to my local dealer Wantagh Mazda, good guys, unfortunately they don't offer the transfer case service, so I guess I'll do it myself. They did look up my VIN and the transfer case has been extended to 7 years/90,000 miles.

They have seen a couple of failed transfer cases (PTO). They did mention that it's also important to rotate your tires, if there's uneven wear on the front and rear, it stresses the PTO. I take that with a grain of salt, I'm more inclined to think PTO are failing because the lubricating fluid capacity is too little for this size transfer case and is breaking down prematurely.

 

[xxxmonoxidechil]

=avidien;6367289
his is a new 2013 with transfer case failure at 29K (first 2013 failure I've seen on this forum) very disheartening

Ive mentioned my 2013 transfer case being replaced in quite a few threads. But my CX9 was also built in the last month of them using the old style Transfer cases. Which was probably his issue also as alot of 2013's were built before the swap to the new transfer case.

 

[avidien]

Ive mentioned my 2013 transfer case being replaced in quite a few threads. But my CX9 was also built in the last month of them using the old style Transfer cases. Which was probably his issue also as alot of 2013's were built before the swap to the new transfer case.

Hi xxxmonoxidechil,

thanks for info, so you should have the "latest" transfer case after your original was replaced.

Any difference ? do you see a drain plug ?

 

[xxxmonoxidechil]

I wasnt really that familiar with the original one to know the difference. I know the new transfer case's come from an entirely new source and not even the same company. So there probably is quite a few things different.