Mazda · NHTSA safety record
Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.
Owners have filed 106 safety complaints about the 2016 Mazda CX-9 with the US government. Of those, 3 describe a crash, 1 mentions a fire, 3 people were injured and no death is recorded. No recall campaign has been matched to this year, make and model.
The most complained-about system is the engine, named in 67 complaints, 63% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 40,000 miles, the median across the 29 complaints that gave an odometer reading.
Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers August 2016 to September 2026 · How this is counted
106
Complaints
3
Describe a crash
1
Mention fire
3
People injured
0
Deaths
A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.
No recall campaign was matched to this year, make and model. That is not the same as a clean vehicle: recalls are issued against production ranges, and the only reliable check is your own VIN.
One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 106.
By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2024 at 26.
This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2016 to 2026, the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.
NHTSA has not crash tested the 2016 Mazda CX-9. Its New Car Assessment Program tests a selection of each year's vehicles and does not reach motorcycles, heavy trucks, motorhomes or most low-volume models, so an absence here says nothing about how the vehicle would perform. It is not a low score.
What owners have reported about this vehicle is below, and it is a different question: a crash test measures what happens to the people inside in a controlled impact, while a complaint records what broke during ordinary use.
Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.
2 injured · crash · towed · 49,000 miles
I WAS T-BONED ON PASSENGER SIDE OF MY MAZDA CX9 AIR BAGS DID NOT WORK ON MY MAZDA.OTHER VEHICLE AIR BAGS DID GO OFF.I WAS TRAVELING ABOUT 45 MPH WHEN OTHER CAR PLOWED INTO MINE.
NHTSA complaint 11149815. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
1 injured · 26,000 miles
DRIVER STOPPED VEHICLE IN A DRIVEWAY WITH MINIMAL SLOPE, SHIFTED THE VEHICLE IN PARK, TURNED OFF THE VEHICLE AND EXITED. DRIVER PROCEEDED TO REAR PASSENGER DOOR TO RETRIEVE 1 YEAR OLD FROM CAR SEAT. AFTER RETRIEVING CHILD FROM CAR SEAT, DRIVER FELT REAR PASSENGER DOOR PUSHING INTO HER LEG, BACK AND HEAD. VEHICLE PROCEEDS TO ROLL OUT OF THE DRIVEWAY BACKWARD WHILE IN PARK. DRIVER AND CHILD ESCAPE VEHICLE'S REAR PASSENGER SIDE DOOR, WHICH IS PUSHING THEM ALONG IN THE VEHICLE'S PATH TOWARD RESIDENTIAL STREET. VEHICLE CONTINUES ROLLING IN PARK BACKWARD DOWN RESIDENTIAL STREET, THROUGH A 3-WAY STOP INTERSECTION, UP A CURB, THROUGH A YARD AND INTO A BUSH ON A PRIVATE PROPERTY. A WITNESS WHO
NHTSA complaint 11268666, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
fire
My seat warmer caught fire and burnt a hole through the seat.
NHTSA complaint 11582514. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
crash · towed · 5,500 miles
AFTER A MINOR REAR END ACCIDENT, THE DRIVER FRONT SEAT NOW ROCKS SIDE TO SIDE AND IS DISTRACTING AND UNSAFE. IT WAS TAKEN TO THE LOCAL MAZDA DEALERSHIP THAT PROVIDED AN INSPECTION AND SAID THAT THERE IS NO PROBLEM WITH THE SEAT. THEY STATE THAT IT IS NORMAL FOR THEIR SEATS TO ROCK SIDE TO SIDE. HOW UNSAFE AND FRIGHTENING. PLEASE SEE ATTACHED DOCUMENTATION FROM THE DEALERSHIP.
NHTSA complaint 10926822. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
Cracked head cyclinder leaking. Unsafe to drive, coolant can leak into engine if not already. They are aware of it and extended a warranty for the issue in 2024. However people like me, my coolant didn't leak until this year 2026. There have been lawsuits on this issue, but they are still failing to address this issue. They created another part to replace the defected part which costs around $6000-$7000. Yes, took it to a Mazda dealer and confirmed the issue and they can fix but cost would be out of pocket. No warning at all. The only way this was discovered was the smell of the coolant leaking.
NHTSA complaint 11768085. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
My car have a manufacturer engine defect that the company or corporation is not willing to fix. Only because I exceeded the warranty I call them (MAZDA) an told them that it wasn't under my control the these issues happened after the warranty expire. But they still refuse to help me.
NHTSA complaint 11765988. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
Engine revs or surges while in park, possibly faulty throttle box
NHTSA complaint 11757879. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
The cylinder head (which involves the engine cooling system) has a known manufacturer defect that affects all year/models of the Mazda CX-9 with turbo. The manufacturing defect poses a risk to motor vehicle safety in a group of vehicles or equipment of the same design and/or manufacturer. Specifically, the overheating and failure of the engine can occur at any time, without warning. This puts my family at risk of being stranded on a roadway, particularly because my car is often driven in rural areas. The manufacturing defect is significant and is acknowledged by Mazda: Mazda has offered owners a voluntary, limited, warranty extension (CSP11) of 10 years or 120,000 miles. The voluntary
NHTSA complaint 11734209, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
I own a 2016 Mazda CX9 Touring FWD (180k miles). Today my car was diagnosed with cracked cylinder head, resulting in coolant and oil leak from the head gasket. While there is a class action settlement about it where Mazda accepted the manufacturing defect, they do not cover the engine repair/cylinder head replacement because my car's mile is over 120k. If it is a manufacturing defect, why year/mile make a difference on the responsibility of the manufacturer? Mazda obviously sold defect vehicles to their customers, and driving these vehicles under this condition is very dangerous! Now, they are expecting me to pay more than $10,000 for a vehicle priced around $6,000!
NHTSA complaint 11706610. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
In June of 2022 I started having a strong antifreeze/engine coolant smell inside the cab of my vehicle and also outside the vehicle. I had the car checked for a radiator leak, but there wasn’t one. I took my car into my local Mazda where they found that the engine coolant was leaking into the heads of the engine. Mazda kept my car for 5 months and repaired the problem, it cost me $4000 and they had added a 12 month 12,000 mile warranty for the parts. My car is a 2016 Mazda cx-9 at the time of the repair it had 70,430 miles on it. Now a few years later I am having the same issue with the coolant smell inside the cab and outside my vehicle, it goes into the shop for diagnosis on Monday
NHTSA complaint 11697196, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
| Model year | Complaints | Recalls | Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 39 | 1 | — |
| 2020 | 19 | 1 | — |
| 2019 | 53 | 2 | — |
| 2018 | 128 | 2 | — |
| 2017 | 61 | 0 | — |
| 2015 | 35 | 2 | — |
| 2014 | 54 | 3 | — |
| 2013 | 68 | 4 | — |
| 2012 | 221 | 4 | — |
| 2011 | 170 | 4 | — |
| 2010 | 195 | 6 | — |
Every Mazda on this site — 82 vehicles.
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. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.
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 guarledes
Independent developer and analyst