Open safety recalls, the components owners report failing most often, crash-test results and running costs for the 2014 Mazda CX-9 — assembled from NHTSA and EPA records.
Everything on this page applies to the model as a whole. Run its 17-character VIN to decode that exact car — its engine, trim, assembly plant and factory equipment — alongside these records. Free, no account.
Run a VIN →Recalls and complaints are filed against a specific model year, so figures differ from one year to the next even within a single generation. See every Mazda CX-9 year.
No EPA fuel-economy match for this model (naming may differ or it predates EPA records).
NHTSA has issued a "do not drive" warning covering 1 recall on this make, model and year. Repairs are free at any franchised dealer.
Recalls are issued per model. Confirm whether this specific car has already been repaired using its VIN — free, at any franchised dealer or on nhtsa.gov/recalls.
NHTSA lists 3 recalls for this make/model/year. Recalls apply to the model, so some may already be fixed on this specific car — check with a dealer using the VIN.
Issue: Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2014-2015 Mazda CX-9 vehicles sold, or ever registered in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." Additionally, unless covered in "Zone A," Mazda is recalling certain 2011-2013 Mazda6, 2011-2012 CX-7, and 2011-2015 CX-9 sold, or ever registered in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia, or "Zone B." Additionally, unless covered in Zone A or Zone B, Mazda is recalling certain 2010-2013 Mazda6, 2010-2012 CX-7, and 2010-2015 CX-9 vehicles ever registered in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming or "Zone C." These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy: Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began November 9, 2018. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500, Option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 1317F.
Campaign 18V717000
Issue: Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain model year 2007-2014 CX-9 vehicles manufactured October 24, 2006, to December 28, 2013. The affected vehicles have front suspension ball joints that may corrode from water leaking into the fitting.
Risk: Over time, the ball joint corrosion may result in the front lower control arm separating from the ball joint, causing a loss of steering control and increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace both the left and right lower control arms, free of charge. The recall began on September 14, 2015. The recall will begin with model year 2007-2009 vehicles registered in Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington D.C., West Virginia, and Wisconsin. The second phase will be for model year 2010-2014 vehicles in the same states. Finally, all remaining vehicles will be remedied. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500. Mazda's number for this recall is 8515G.
Campaign 15V451000
Issue: Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain model year 2016 CX-3 vehicles manufactured June 1, 2015, to December 2, 2015, 2013-2014 Mazda2 vehicles manufactured July 3, 2013, to August 8, 2014, 2014-2016 CX-5 vehicles manufactured January 19, 2013, to December 2, 2015, and 2013-2015 CX-9 vehicles manufactured December 6, 2012, to July 31, 2015. The lower mounting nuts and bolts that attach the front strut assembly to the steering knuckle may loosen, allowing the steering knuckle to separate.
Risk: If the steering knuckle separates from the strut assembly, it can cause a loss of steering control, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the lower mounting nuts and bolts that secure the front strut assembly to the steering knuckle. If the bolts are loose, they will be replaced and then correctly tightened, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin May 20, 2016. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500. Mazda's number for this recall is 9316D.
Campaign 16V203000

NHTSA frontal crash test
1 open NHTSA investigation into this model. Investigations come before recalls, so these are potential defects not yet covered by one.
Rated configuration: 2014 Mazda CX-9 SUV FWD
The parts named most often across 54 owner complaintsfiled with NHTSA for this make, model and year — the closest free answer to “what is likely to go wrong?”
1 crash
Complaints are self-reported and skew toward problems people find alarming, so treat this as where to look, not a defect rate.
The contact owns a 2014 Mazda CX-9. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was drifting to either side. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact had to forcefully grip the steering wheel to avoid losing control of vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, and it was discovered that there was severe corrosion around the front suspension ball joints. Upon investigation, the contact discovered NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V451000 (Suspension); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was provided an estimate for a diagnostic test. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was provided a case number. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 95,000.
I purchased a 2014 Mazda CX-9 back in May of 2020 w/ roughly 60k on the dash. Literally 7 months later w/ about 72k on the dash, the day after Christmas I was driving to work (I worked in the next state over) on the highway my car just shut down. No warnings, no check engine lights NOTHING! It just completely shut off and would not turn on. Thankfully because of the holiday the highway was pretty empty and I was able to swing my car across the interstate so I wouldn’t get hit by oncoming traffic. After getting out and deciding to check my oil I noticed it looked milky. I had no idea what that meant so I had it towed to a Mazda dealership in the state I live in. It was going to cost me almost $8,000 to put in a new engine because the water pump that was placed inside of the engine failed, which in turn caused my engine to seize. The extended warranty I had on my vehicle was worthless so I ended up paying out of pocket. Thankfully Mazda worked with me and had me prove that I kept up maintenance on the truck so the price was chopped in half. This happened right at the beginning of Covid when the entire world was suffering financially. I still had to make my car payments on top of shelling out 4k on a truck I hadn’t even had for a year. This is a huge issue with a lot of people that own the same vehicle and is extremely dangerous! I could’ve killed someone or worse myself when my vehicle stalled out on the highway.
The water pump failed causing water to mix with the oil and damage the head gasket. Estimates recommend replacing engine. The service engine light came on and we took it to our trusted mechanic right away. Got the estimates from two mechanics for this repair and then towed the car to Mazda dealer who confirmed the problem. We wrote to Mazda's corporate office and was told they would not fix it. My car has 68,000 miles and was regularly serviced. It is currently sitting dead in my garage. We bought this car in 2015 brand new from the Mazda dealer in Monroeville, PA. This is outrageous! I spoke with someone else who also owns a Mazda and the same thing happened to his car. From articles I have read and attached, this problem is occurring in many Mazdas. What needs to be in place for Mazda to take responsibility and fix this problem by recalling the affected vehicles?
Water pump failed and ruined the engine. There was little to no warning.
Brakes stopped working while we were on vacation. Made the drive down fine, but the next day went to drive the car, pressed the brakes and the car did not come to a complete stop. Also made a funny noise when we tried to press on the brakes. My husband practically had to stand up and push all the way down to get car to stop. Luckily we were not in a congested or confined place. Ended up replacing the brake booster. Three weeks later my acceleration stopped working intermittently. I go to press the gas and the car doesn’t go. The dealership is saying it’s the brake signal.
Breaks became very hard to press and I was having trouble stopping the car. I could not drive it to the Mazda dealer who was too far. I took a chance and drove a few miles to local break shop. They replaced the master cylinder and the break booster. Parts and labor were $1083.87
When I press on my brakes, I hear air. I am fortunate that, as of this reporting, I have not had an accident. My brakes do not fully stop my car, so I have to judge when to brake in order to slow down and not hit the car ahead of me. Very scary when your car won't stop! I have read other complaints on the Mazda CX9s built in 2013 having an issue with the brake booster. PLEASE recall these 2014 Mazdas so the appropriate repairs can be made. Working brakes are ESSENTIAL!
I bought a vehicle from Carvana 11/2021 with not quite 59k on it. On 6/21/2023, with 77K miles, my car had a catastrophic engine failure. I was driving my grandchildren ages, 3-12 years of age home. Safety was definitely at risk with speeds of 70 freeway were completed right before engine stopping. The mechanic shop has confirmed the car giving 3 codes related to timing belt/water pump and the other code which confirms engine failure. No warning lights had come on until I tried to restart it. Since this situation is most recent, I have not had anyone else inspect the vehicle. I am working through my options and will take recommendations for resolution.
I was driving on interstate and there were not any other vehicles that were all that close to me. All of a sudden there was this huge extremely loud bang and glass shattering sound. Scared me to death. I never saw anything, I pulled over at next exit and saw my sunroof with a huge hole and shattered. I drove back by where i was driving and there was nothing i could see that could have caused that to happen. After doing a little research i'm positive the sunroof exploded. Thankfully my kids were not in there and i was able to remain calm enough to get pulled over safely
My transmission is slipping ….
The car started creating a noise like air was leaking when i apply brake. The problem continued to increase, and braking became harder and harder. The dealer indicated that I had to replace the brake booster. This is a 2014 CX-9. A NHTSA search showed that vehicles manufactured in 2013 were affected. My car was purchased in Feb 2014. I suspect this one too had that faulty equipment.
Sudden failure of water pump located inside the engine caused engine to shut down immediately while driving 70 mph on busy expressway. Extremely dangerous situation due to heavy traffic and high speeds traveled. Only by sheer luck were we able to coast across 4 lanes of traffic to an exit ramp and barely make it into a parking lot after crossing 2 more lanes on the frontage road. Very difficult to steer and brake due to no engine power. Repair cost was $4,433. Two subsequent follow up repairs for check engine light and oil control valve issues related to water pump failure were required and covered under initial repair warranty. Research on web indicates this is a common problem with this engine with many complaints occurring soon after 100k miles. In many cases customers reported having to replace the engine or sell the car for parts due to the high cost of repair. Locating the water pump inside the engine block was a terrible design fault and extreme safety hazard when it fails.
Showing 12 of 54 complaints.