What have you done to your CX-9 today?

hw4ng3r said:
I'm due for a replacement too. Mazda OEM in Canada looks to be like you said, ~$40 CAD. I see Amazon has a 3-pack (not OEM) for $28, but Amazon is so hit and miss.

The K&N runs $45 USD, but since it's washable, could save a few bucks in the long run. I'll have to try to do more digging.
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Yeah, that's exactly why I went with the Amazon ones. Mazda OEM is $40, but it's just one filter. The Amazon option I mentioned is a 3-pack, normally selling for $40, but it's on sale right now. Much cheaper at about $9 per filter, and they work great!

I looked at the K&N washable cabin filter, and it's a no-go for me. I like that it's washable, but the filter cleaner and refresher adds to the initial cost, and you're supposed to wait for the filter to dry before applying the refresher and reinstalling it. Swapping in a new cabin filter is a lot faster and much easier.
 
sm1ke said:
Yeah, that's exactly why I went with the Amazon ones. Mazda OEM is $40, but it's just one filter. The Amazon option I mentioned is a 3-pack, normally selling for $40, but it's on sale right now. Much cheaper at about $9 per filter, and they work great!

I looked at the K&N washable cabin filter, and it's a no-go for me. I like that it's washable, but the filter cleaner and refresher adds to the initial cost, and you're supposed to wait for the filter to dry before applying the refresher and reinstalling it. Swapping in a new cabin filter is a lot faster and much easier.
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Yea I saw that. I hate creating waste if I can avoid it, but it's still too much of a hassle for most people.
 
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Nothing like a little winter prep haha, how do you all protect the boot?
 
Battery time. The old one is almost 5 years old with just shy of 42,000km on it; it was dropping to 1.7-1.9v overnight.
 

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Dropped it off at the dealer this morning for an "inspection". They're basically confirming that the rear diff failed, and checking to see the extent of the damage for a more accurate cost to repair.

Crossing my fingers that Mazda Canada helps me out.
 
sm1ke said:
Dropped it off at the dealer this morning for an "inspection". They're basically confirming that the rear diff failed, and checking to see the extent of the damage for a more accurate cost to repair.

Crossing my fingers that Mazda Canada helps me out.
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Did anything cause you to believe you rear diff was failing, or did they point it out to you?
 
jakeuten said:
Did anything cause you to believe you rear diff was failing, or did they point it out to you?
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I started hearing some intermittent clunking in the rear. After a while I realized the clunking would only happen when the AWD system tried to engage. I called two Mazda dealers, spoke with a Honda dealer (they had my car for a collision repair), and my independent mechanic, and they all told me that if there was an AWD problem or an issue with the diff, I'd have some sort of warning showing. There was none. Eventually the clunking stopped, and even when I tried to force the AWD to engage, the front wheels would just spin and traction control would engage for a lot longer than it should have.

A couple of months later, I finally got around to doing my a drain and fill of the rear diff fluid. Here's how it went. That's when I contacted my dealer (who I expected to deny coverage as the car is out of warranty, no shade to the dealer for that), then opened a case with Mazda Canada.

Throughout all of this, I still don't have any warnings or codes stored on the car.
 
I got my car back yesterday. Today, I need to drop off the original oil that was drained during the first drain and fill, as well as the metal chunks that I picked out of the drain hole. I also need to submit a few more receipts for the oil purchased for my engine oil changes.

I found out yesterday that Costco can reprint any receipts that include a specific item number over the last 15 years! Super helpful as I kept forgetting to make copies of the receipts after those grocery runs.

Anyway, they also washed the car for me because I forgot to ask them not to. Oh well, the car was filthy. They did leave some very minor swirl marks but that's ok, I planned to polish the car in the spring. They also cleaned the interior floor mats as well. Here's a pic for your troubles lol
 

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N7turbo said:
I keep one of these in the car just in case.

www.detailedimage.com

DI Accessories "Do Not Wash or Detail" Hang Tag - Double Sided

Protect your car from dealer induced swirls! Made of sturdy .035" white polyethylene.
www.detailedimage.com www.detailedimage.com
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I made my own, and also laminated them for durability. I actually posted them here.. I think the PDFs may be in the Resources section if I remember correctly? Just in case someone wants to save themselves $3 per tag.

I didn't mind them washing the car though. There is some micromarring but it's very minor. It'll come out in the spring polish no problem.
 
Rear differential assembly was replaced with a brand new unit by the dealer yesterday, they got it done in about 6 or 7 hours. I was able to get a portion of the part costs goodwilled by Mazda Canada, so I'm thankful for that. In the end I paid about as much as it would have cost to have a reputable independent shop install a used rear diff.

I have a sneaking suspicion that my rear diff failed because of a really bad pothole that caused damage to my front wheel bearings and bent 2 rims, not because I didn't change the fluid early enough. Maybe the car was jarred so hard that it knocked the rear diff around enough to cause it to seize up. Either way, change your rear diff oil people! Who knows, maybe if I had changed the oil earlier I might have been able to drain out enough of the chunks to keep the real diff from doing more damage to itself.

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I started hearing two different knocking sounds after a bad pothole the other day. One was a sharp knocking sound that only happens occasionally, and the other is more muted and harder to hear, but easier to feel while sitting in the cabin.

After jacking the car up a bit, I confirmed that the front right strut is leaking and the bushings on the front right LCA are shot. So those are up next on the to-do list, but they can wait for warmer weather.

This is shaping up to be an expensive year for the car, lol. First the rear diff, and now this. Ah well.. I knew I'd have to pay the piper sooner or later, lowering my car on springs without at least getting shocks/struts to match. I forgot that I also need to replace the summer tires this year too lol. o_O

Here's a pic as she sits. 7 years and almost 130k kms in.

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Looks like my local Mazda Dealership (Toronto, Canada) that I frequent has started "recommending" an AWD service (rear differential and power transfer unit fluids drain and fill) at 48,000 km.

FYI on what this dealership service dept is charging in CAD:

Rear Diff & Transfer Case Drain and Fill:
$239.95 (service) + $63.96 (gear oil) + $16.08 (washers) + $2.00 (oil fluid fee) = $321.99 CAD

Auto Transmission Fluid Drain and Fill:
$159.95 (service) + $71.96 (FZ oil) + $2.50 (gasket) + $2.00 (oil fluid fee) = $236.41 CAD
 
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