Thinking about buying a CX-9 - Should I not?

[NeonSpecter]

Hi,

TLDR:

Thinking of getting CX9 2020 as it's rebuilt and going for 16K USD (23K CDN) with 48,000 miles (78,000 km). I am totally clue with Rebuilt cars as my family and I already had 5 rebuilt cars and each of agree the best cars we ever hard. So please don't get fixated on that, just know the only reason why I say this is that I heard there is some warranty that would cover this issue that I probably won't get as rebuilt. Is there away when I get it inspected to watch for this issue and if not found prevent this issue? Is the savings on this car worth maybe having to repair this? I heard this can result in a new engine but if caught early maybe not?


I owned multiple Mazda 3 now, and they have been great cars with very few problems. We now need an SUV and the CX9 is very attractive as it does have the 3rd row, though we probably won't use for 80% of the time that 20% time will come very handy when family come to visit.

I am looking at buying a used CX9 2020 with a rebuilt status. I really don't want to focus on the rebuilt status as I am totally fine with that, all my cars I ever owned, and many other family members have owned multiple cars that are rebuilt and never any trouble for instance my dad has a Mazda with like 155,000 miles (250,000 km) and it's been the best car he is ever owned, and it's rebuilt. The fact is most cars get written off very fast for minor damage.

The only reason I bring it up is that I am hearing about extended warranty to CX9s about the cracked head gasket issue, which probably won't extend to this car. Usually I don't care that Rebuild voids warranty as all the cars I buy are out of warranty anyway and if there is a recall, I have been successfully been able to get rebuilt cars fixed for the recall, it did take a week with fighting with the dealership and having Mazda Canada personally phone that dealership to do the fix, but I did get it.

I am going with the assumption that I won't get this extra warranty, how concerned should I be with this problem the car I am looking at has about 48,000 miles (78,000 km) and is going for about 16K USD (23K CDN).

I have taken a look at the car inside, and it looks amazing and well-kept, I do have to go back again to test drive it and then really go and do a thorough check.

I will be getting the car inspected, and I will make a point to the mechanic to check for this problem, but I have not clue if this something that can be spotted or see signs that this is going to happen.

I did check the VIN and the number does fall in the range of possible effected SUV.

Then when I look up Consumer Reports it gives the CX9 a 72/100 reliability rating were is better than the 47/100 for the Acura RDX 2020 I am looking at which is also rebuilt but costs a bit more and seems to have its own host of problems.

Pretty much all the cars I like seem to have problems, only other ones I like are selling for crazy prices, like the RAV 4 are they are selling almost as much as brand new and I don't want to spend so much on a car.

Is the price worth the risk of this Gasket problem that I might have to pay out of pocket? Can I do anything to minimize the risk (other than not buying this car lol).

 

[hw4ng3r]

You mention rebuilt; do you know work was exactly done?

If the cylinder head wasn't rebuilt according to the TSB, some think it's not a question of if, but a question of when it will crack.

 

[sm1ke]

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2023/MC-10232269-0001.pdf

Above is a copy of the TSB for the 2.5T cylinder head crack issue. It shows a few pictures of where the crack may appear, so this should help your mechanic look for this issue.

Generally, if a car has this issue, you will be able to smell the dried coolant from the engine bay. You may notice that the coolant level is low. Finally, when you get under the car and remove the undershield tray to access the engine oil filter and drain plug, dried coolant will be visible on the back of the engine.

As far as whether the engine will have this issue or not, it's hard to say. The TSB mentions the causes of the issue being expansion characteristics of the exhaust manifold during usage, a manufacturing issue with residual stress generated during production, and/or unexpected external forces from the exhaust system when driving over bumps. My 2018 has 128k kms and I've never had this issue (knock on rosewood) despite driving over tons of potholes, hitting some of them hard enough to bend my rims.

Personally I would buy this car again, no problem. I would simply set aside some cash for the repair, just for peace of mind. This little nest egg would cover any potential repairs and maintenance costs.

 

[NeonSpecter]

You mention rebuilt; do you know work was exactly done?

If the cylinder head wasn't rebuilt according to the TSB, some think it's not a question of if, but a question of when it will crack.

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2023/MC-10232269-0001.pdf

Above is a copy of the TSB for the 2.5T cylinder head crack issue. It shows a few pictures of where the crack may appear, so this should help your mechanic look for this issue.

Generally, if a car has this issue, you will be able to smell the dried coolant from the engine bay. You may notice that the coolant level is low. Finally, when you get under the car and remove the undershield tray to access the engine oil filter and drain plug, dried coolant will be visible on the back of the engine.

As far as whether the engine will have this issue or not, it's hard to say. The TSB mentions the causes of the issue being expansion characteristics of the exhaust manifold during usage, a manufacturing issue with residual stress generated during production, and/or unexpected external forces from the exhaust system when driving over bumps. My 2018 has 128k kms and I've never had this issue (knock on rosewood) despite driving over tons of potholes, hitting some of them hard enough to bend my rims.

Personally I would buy this car again, no problem. I would simply set aside some cash for the repair, just for peace of mind. This little nest egg would cover any potential repairs and maintenance costs.

Usually for rebuilt in my area they don't touch the engine and stuff it's more fenders and doors . Person i know for T-boned 2 doors needed to be replaced and that was 17k. It was brand new and luxury car otherwise it would been written off and land up as rebuilt.

This one is i think front left side of passenger.

How's 2021 cx9, couple non rebuilt showed up, they are like 7k more so thinking about them to, hear they don't have this issue as much but got some oil issue?

 

[hw4ng3r]

Usually for rebuilt in my area they don't touch the engine and stuff it's more fenders and doors . Person i know for T-boned 2 doors needed to be replaced and that was 17k. It was brand new and luxury car otherwise it would been written off and land up as rebuilt.

This one is i think front left side of passenger.

How's 2021 cx9, couple non rebuilt showed up, they are like 7k more so thinking about them to, hear they don't have this issue as much but got some oil issue?

I know of one Reddit post of a 2021 CX9 (approximately 35k miles) with this issue. This could be a one off though.

I don't want to scare you into not buying one, I just want you to have all of the facts before you make a decision.

I believe for the money, this is by far the best 3-row out there.

 

[sm1ke]

I know of one Reddit post of a 2021 CX9 (approximately 35k miles) with this issue. This could be a one off though.

I don't want to scare you into not buying one, I just want you to have all of the facts before you make a decision.

I believe for the money, this is by far the best 3-row out there.

Agreed 100%. I just sold an old speaker to a guy, and when he came to pick it up, the first thing he said to me, with a big smile on his face, was "same car!" lol. He had a 2022 in Soul Red Crystal. We talked briefly about the car and I mentioned the same thing - overall, considering all factors like price, looks, reliability, power, handling, utility, etc. the CX-9's package is way up there. For the money, I don't think I'd replace it with anything other than a '23 CX-9.

 

[Z31]

You will want to check to see if rebuilt title would still qualify for Mazda cracked cyl head recall/reimbursement. I did see a post somewhere (maybe Facebook group?) where someone was denied coverage due to rebuilt title.

If it was a late 2021-2023 model, would be more confident I think.

 

[NeonSpecter]

I know of one Reddit post of a 2021 CX9 (approximately 35k miles) with this issue. This could be a one off though.

I don't want to scare you into not buying one, I just want you to have all of the facts before you make a decision.

I believe for the money, this is by far the best 3-row out there.

Agreed 100%. I just sold an old speaker to a guy, and when he came to pick it up, the first thing he said to me, with a big smile on his face, was "same car!" lol. He had a 2022 in Soul Red Crystal. We talked briefly about the car and I mentioned the same thing - overall, considering all factors like price, looks, reliability, power, handling, utility, etc. the CX-9's package is way up there. For the money, I don't think I'd replace it with anything other than a '23 CX-9.

You will want to check to see if rebuilt title would still qualify for Mazda cracked cyl head recall/reimbursement. I did see a post somewhere (maybe Facebook group?) where someone was denied coverage due to rebuilt title.

If it was a late 2021-2023 model, would be more confident I think.

Yeah I mean any car can have problems but need to always determine if it is a one-off or more. I went to the Mazda dealership to talk about it, talked to a salesman and service rep, both said they never saw the problem really.

Both had no clue about any extra extended warranty for Canada for cracked cylindar head and yes pretty sure that warranty would not go to rebuilt as from my experience only Recall will still be allowed, and I needed to get Mazda Canada involved on an old car to force the dealership to actually do the recall fix as they kept saying rebut voids warranty, and I was like this car even if it was not rebuilt is like 8 years out of warranty anyway and recalls is not warranty.

It was not a fun time but eventually got the problem fixed.

I am a bit more hesitant for rebuilt on the CX9 though and don't know if I would really touch a 2020 rebuilt, but at the same time if there is no extended warranty in Canada then I am in the same boat anyway.

Still thinking about what to do, the dealership had a nice 2021 cx9 but when the guy sent me the numbers he did not even knock a dollar off even though he said he would send me the best deal, a few days later he was telling me how he can make me a good deal. I am sure I could have played hardball and gotten something taken off, but it was literally 15K over my budget, so I decided not even to try.

 

[Lukja]

There should be an excel document online that shows which VINs are affected from 2016-2021. We personally got a 2023 because of that issue.

 

[NeonSpecter]

There should be an excel document online that shows which VINs are affected from 2016-2021. We personally got a 2023 because of that issue.

Would be nice, In the end I have gone totally in a different direction and got a CRV 2022 as it would be nice to have 7 seats, but it is not mandatory at this time, if we every need then we can reevaluate.

The cost is like 10K cheaper and half the mileage. I went to the mazda dealership and talked to them for 2020-222 range, and they said they don't think any in Canada had this problem and then I went home and was looking further out of my city and bam see someone selling the CX9, and it's been a while, but I think it said something like just replaced the engine or transmission due to issue happening so you get basically brand new. No clue if it was in warranty or not, or they paid out of pocket.

That turned me off.

 

[theblooms]

Hi,

TLDR:

Thinking of getting CX9 2020 as it's rebuilt

Stopped reading right there. The answer is a resounding