CSR

Mazda · NHTSA safety record

2010 Mazda CX-7

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

155

Complaints

2

Crashes

2

Fires

1

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2010 Mazda CX-7 have filed 155 safety complaints with NHTSA between May 2010 and June 2024. The most complained-about system is the suspension, named in 52 of them (34%). The typical failure was reported at 65,000 miles, the median across the 71 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

NHTSA has issued 5 recalls covering this vehicle.

Recalls (5)

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

19V782000 · October 31, 2019

Do not drive until repaired

The defect
Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2007-2012 CX-7, CX-9, and 2009-2012 Maza6 vehicles. These vehicles had their passenger frontal air bag inflators previously replaced under a prior recall using inflators of the same design. The inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
The risk
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
The remedy
Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. The recall began December 3, 2019. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500, option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 1317F. Note: This recall supersedes recalls 16V356 and 17V012.

Mazda North American Operations · up to 69,879 vehicles across all model years covered

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

18V717000 · October 12, 2018

Do not drive until repaired

The defect
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.
The risk
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
The 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.

Mazda North American Operations · up to 155,436 vehicles across all model years covered

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

18V018000 · January 9, 2018

Do not drive until repaired

The defect
Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2013 Mazda6 and 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 2010 Mazda6, CX-7 and CX-9 vehicles sold, or ever registered in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." Additionally, unless covered in Zone A or Zone B, Mazda is recalling certain 2009 Mazda6, CX-7, and 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.
The risk
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
The 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 March 2, 2018. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500. Mazda's number for this recall is 1317F.

Mazda North American Operations · up to 70,227 vehicles across all model years covered

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

17V429000 · June 29, 2017

Do not drive until repaired

The defect
Mazda North America Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2009-2011 Mazda6, and 2007-2011 CX-7 and CX-9 vehicles. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, and used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front air bags, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
The risk
An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
The remedy
Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the remedy is performed. Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began on August 30, 2017. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500. Mazda's number for this recall is 1317F. Note: This recall supersedes recall 16V356 and all vehicles that were not remedied under that campaign are now covered by this one.

Mazda North American Operations · up to 205,377 vehicles across all model years covered

SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:LOWER BALL JOINT

16V593000 · August 11, 2016

The defect
Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain model year 2007-2012 Mazda CX-7 vehicles manufactured February 14, 2006, to May 9, 2012. In the affected vehicles, water may enter the front suspension ball joint fittings. If the water is contaminated with salt, such as from driving on snowy roads that have been treated, the ball joint may corrode and separate from the lower control arm, resulting in a loss of steering control.
The risk
A loss of steering control can increase the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace both front lower control arms, free of charge. As a priority, Mazda will first address all affected 2007-2008 vehicles as well as 2009-2011 vehicles currently 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. West Virginia, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia. The remaining vehicles will be addressed as parts are available. The recall began September 20, 2017. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500. Mazda's number for this recall is 9716H.

Mazda North American Operations · up to 190,102 vehicles across all model years covered

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 155.

SUSPENSION 52 34%
AIR BAGS 46 30%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 22 14%
ENGINE 20 13%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 12 8%
STEERING 10 6%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 9 6%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 7 5%
POWER TRAIN 6 4%
WHEELS 6 4%
SERVICE BRAKES 5 3%
STRUCTURE 5 3%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2017 at 57.

2010 2017 2024
2010 to 2024

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

STRUCTURE:BODY

1 injured

NEW HEADRESTS SINCE 2010 ARE TERRIBLE. MY NECK CONSTANTLY HURTS BECAUSE I LIKE TO SIT AGAINST THE BACK OF MY SEAT, AND MY HEAD IS PUSHED FORWARD AT AN ANGLE NO MATTER HOW I TRY TO ADJUST THE HEADRESTS IN MY CX7. THESE "SAFETY" REGULATIONS ARE CAUSING ME PAIN AND PERMANENT NECK ISSUES. THESE SAFETY REGULATIONS NEED TO BE REVISED. *TR

NHTSA complaint 10515394. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STRUCTURE:BODY

fire · 94,000 miles

MY DAUGHTER WAS DRIVING THE CX-7 ON THE HIGHWAY AND IT CAUGHT ON FIRE. THERE WAS A POP AND THEN SMOKE AND FLAMES. MY DAUGHTER MOVED TO THE LEFT SHOULDER AS SOON AS SHE HEARD THE POP AND THE VEHICLE ENGULFED IN FLAMES. THE VEHICLE WAS A TOTAL LOSS. AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT THE VEHICLE WAS IN GREAT CONDITION. THE VEHICLE WAS AT 94,000 MILES. AN OIL CHANGE WAS COMPLETED RECENTLY AS WELL AS ALL REGULAR MAINTENANCE.

NHTSA complaint 11024871. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

fire

My daughter was driving a 4 hour trip in Florida on I-95 Halfway into the trip she pulled into a parking lot to stop for lunch and before she could even turn off the vehicle, a fire erupted from under the hood. The car completely burned. There is a police report at Jupiter FL Police department # 22-184325

NHTSA complaint 11479489. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS:SIDE/WINDOW

crash · 6,700 miles

2010 MAZDA CX-7 WAITING ON THE GREEN LIGHT WAS HIT IN THE PASSENGER SIDE OF VEHICLE WITHOUT SIDE AIRBAGS DEPLOYING. I HAVE PHOTOS IF THIS WOULD HELP. POLICE AND FIREFIGHTERS WERE CONFUSED AS TO WHY THE AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. THE DRIVER'S SIDE FROM FRONT PILLAR TO REAR DOOR WAS IMPACTED. THE FRONT PILLAR HAS TO BE REPLACED. *TR

NHTSA complaint 10359918. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS
The contact owns a 2010 Mazda CX-7. The contact stated that while her son was driving approximately 35 MPH, the driver's side and passenger’s side air bags independently deployed. There was no accident to cause the air bags to deploy. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was driven back to the residence. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA complaint 11593824. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Low beam headlamps are extremely dim. Have bought new replacement headlamps and are still very dim. Bought both replacement headlamp housings thinking wiring could be compromised but that didn't help either. Replacing headlamps is difficult due to having to remove either the front tires OR the front entire bumper assembly to switch out lamps. No fog lights are present on this model so makes driving at night very difficult. and unsafe.

NHTSA complaint 11586279. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Recently got this car and am fixing it up. Vehicle's headlights function but are dysfunctional. Night driving is impossible as per nearly nonexistent illumination of roadway. Don't know how to fix/upgrade. Wanted to give this vehicle to my Florida student but now hesitate as Florida's roadways are not illuminated. Have seen many posts relative hereto, even when the vehicle was new. A manufacturer's recall should issue for new improved headlights. Please advise on a fix for this essential vehicular safety function .

NHTSA complaint 11502809. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Headlight to nowhere just started having horrible visibility it’s like if lights were off I change the bulbs several times LEDs H IDs factory bulbs still results no good

NHTSA complaint 11480073. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STEERING

130,265 miles

POWER STEERING FLUID LEAKING BETWEEN POWER STEERING RESERVOIR AND POWER STEERING PUMP.

NHTSA complaint 11402653. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Mazda CX-7

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2012 39 4
2011 153 4

Other 2010 Mazda models

Every Mazda on this site — 81 vehicles, 161 recall campaigns and 2 open investigation s.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst