CSR

Mazda · NHTSA safety record

2018 Mazda CX-9

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

Owners have filed 128 safety complaints about the 2018 Mazda CX-9 with the US government. Of those, 4 describe a crash, 1 mentions a fire, 2 people were injured and no death is recorded. 2 recall campaigns are open against it, covering the gasoline fuel system and the electrical system.

The most complained-about system is the engine, named in 76 complaints, 59% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 27,000 miles, the median across the 16 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers December 2017 to September 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

128 complaints on file

128

Complaints

4

Describe a crash

1

Mention fire

2

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.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
ENGINE 76 · 59%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 19 · 15%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 15 · 12%
POWER TRAIN 13 · 10%
SERVICE BRAKES 11 · 9%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 5 · 4%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 4 · 3%
BACK OVER PREVENTION 3 · 2%
STEERING 3 · 2%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 3 · 2%
AIR BAGS 2 · 2%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 2 · 2%
0 31 62

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 128.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2023 at 39.

44 33 22 11
17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2017 to 2026, the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA crashes a car into a barrier and a pole and measures what happens to the dummies inside. This is what it awarded the 2018 Mazda CX-9, and it is a separate question from what owners report going wrong later.

Test SUV AWD SUV FWD
Overall
Frontal crash
Frontal, driver
Frontal, passenger
Side crash
Side barrier
Side pole
Rollover
Chance of rollover 15.1% 15.9%
Stability control standard Forward collision warning standard Lane departure warning standard

A rating belongs to a tested body style and drivetrain, not to the model as a whole, which is why more than one is listed. A dash means NHTSA did not rate that test for this vehicle.

Recall campaigns

2 on file

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP

21V875000 · November 12, 2021

The defect
Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2018 Mazda3, Mazda6, 2019 CX-3, 2018-2019 MX-5, CX-5, CX-9, and 2019-2020 Mazda2 vehicles. The impeller inside the low-pressure fuel pump may crack and deform, potentially causing the fuel pump to fail.
The risk
Fuel pump failure may cause an engine stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the fuel pumps, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 18, 2022. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500 Option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 5321K.

Mazda North American Operations · up to 121,038 vehicles across all model years covered

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING

19V403000 · May 30, 2019

The defect
Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2018 CX-9 vehicles. The wiring harness may disrupt electrical communications and disable the passenger frontal air bag, turn signals, and/or engine starting system.
The risk
The passenger frontal air bag may not deploy, increasing the risk of injury. Inoperable turn signals prevent the driver from signaling to other drivers, increasing the risk of crash.
The remedy
Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will repair the wiring harnesses, free of charge. The recall began July 26, 2019. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500, Option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 3419E.

Mazda North American Operations · up to 7,854 vehicles across all model years covered

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

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

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed

TAKATA RECALL - WAS IN A HEAD ON COLLISION WITH 3 OTHER CARS INVOLVED, ALL CARS WERE TOTALED AND ALL OF THE OTHER CARS' AIRBAGS DEPLOYED WITH THE EXCEPTION OF MINE AND I WAS INJURED AS A RESULT.

NHTSA complaint 11243501. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed · 28,000 miles

I'M CONSTANTLY HAVE A FRONT WINDSHIELD ERROR : CAUSING MY VEHICLE TO JUST AUTOMATICALLY STOPING WHILE DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY AND STREETS. MY AIR BAGS DIDN'T DEPLOY WHEN I WAS I A ACCIDENT . I'VE TAKEN IT TO THE DEALER 3 TIMES ALREADY AND THEY ALWAYS HAVE A DIFFERENT EXCUSE OR REASON

NHTSA complaint 11340475. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

fire

Passenger seat heater either had a grounding issue or shorted out, causing to seat to start smoldering and catching fire, destroying the seat. There has been recalls and lawsuits for this specific issue on this model in other years, but not for this model year.

NHTSA complaint 11713860. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

crash · towed

I was resting my foot on my brake in the middle of sealed traffic and when I eased up to move forward when traffic my brakes did stop causing me to bump the car ahead of me. After that what came next was that my car then accelerated forward with my foot still on the brake. By then 2 other vehicles were involved in this accident. My car is now totaled from this.

NHTSA complaint 11497382. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE

124,000 miles

While driving at highway speed in heavy rain the oil light suddenly came on followed within 30 seconds by an urgent need to immediately stop the car due to overheating. There was no radiator fluid left due to the sudden and catastrophic structural failure caused by a known manufacturing defect. Mazda calls it csp-11. They did NOT do a recall even though a situation such as this is clearly life-threatening. They offer an extended warranty to fix the problem fully up to 120,000 miles. Our car has 124,000 miles. Two months ago it would have been fully repaired at no cost but now they want in excess of 11 THOUSAND DOLLARS. I have spoken to more than 6 people in customer service, 2 supervisors,

NHTSA complaint 11764935, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
My 2018 Mazda Cx-9 equipped with the skyactiv-g 2.5T developed a serious cylinder-head/cooling-system failure. The vehicle began to lose coolant with no apparent external leak and subsequently displayed and engine -overheating warning. It continued to lose coolant after a flush. The Mazda dealership inspected the vehicle and diagnosed a warped cylinder head; I was also advised that the engine oil was milky, indicating coolant contamination. The affected component is the engine cylinder head/cooling system. This condition created a safety concern because loss of coolant and overheating can lead to severe engine damage or engine failure and potentially leave the vehicle disabled while driven.

NHTSA complaint 11764333, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
I was driving home from work and may car started overheating out of nowhere. I was stuck in traffic and white smoke was exiting my exhaust. I pulled over and all of my coolant leaked out of my car. Took it the shop and they said I had a cracked head and need a whole new engine. I seen that there was a warranty sent out for a problem with an exhaust manifold issue leaking coolant and that is exactly what caused my problem. I contacted Mazda and they said there is nothing they can do. I will have to hire a lawyer and file a class action lawsuit. I never recieved anything from Mazda regarding the issue. They should be paying for my car. I had zero issues until the day it faulted out. I am

NHTSA complaint 11755628, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
The cylinder head on this 2018 Mazda CX-9 (Skyactiv-G 2.5T engine) cracked, allowing engine coolant to leak and intermix with engine oil, causing loss of coolant and catastrophic engine failure. The vehicle became undriveable in the first week of November 2025 at approximately 125,019 miles and has remained inoperable since; it was not in a crash and had to be towed. This matches a known, documented defect on Mazda's Skyactiv-G 2.5T engine: coolant leakage at the cylinder head near the exhaust manifold, leading to overheating and engine failure. Mazda issued technical service bulletin(s) addressing cylinder-head cracking and coolant intrusion, revised the cylinder-head casting (a

NHTSA complaint 11750583, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SEATS
My passenger heated seats malfunction while I was driving. As I was driving on the highway I smelled something burning. I didn't know where the smell was coming from it was strong . Then while I'm driving on the highway my seat started to smoke a lot I got scared and pulled on side of the road. I realized my seat was the issue turned off the heated seats on the control. Step out the vehicle on side the highway I was nervous and scared standing outside my vehicle. The smoke eventually died down and cleared out. I never turned it back on and put a small piece of tape over the hole it burned through my seat.

NHTSA complaint 11742848. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
My wife was driving the vehicle when the emergency lights started going off. She had to pull over because the car wouldn't run and said it was overheated. All the maintenance has been done to the car. We took it to the dealership and they said it is a cracked head and it is a known issue. They even issued a extended warranty for it. It is TSB 01-002/23. There should be a recall on this not just a partial credit.

NHTSA complaint 11742255. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Mazda CX-9

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2021 39 1 —
2020 19 1 —
2019 53 2 —
2017 61 0 —
2016 106 0 —
2015 35 2 —
2014 54 3 —
2013 68 4 —
2012 221 4 —
2011 170 4 —
2010 195 6 —

Other 2018 Mazda models

CX-5 350 MAZDA3 108 MAZDA6 58 CX-3 10

Complaints on file, same model year.

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.

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