r/MazdaCX9

Hi everyone, I own a 2023 Mazda CX-9 (purchased new, Touring Plus, Crystal Blue Mica) that I had to buy in a hurry as I was changing jobs and losing company car privileges. With about 30K on the odometer, it's been a great car so far and there's not much I don't like about it.

I have a benefit through my current job that pays for oil changes every 5K miles, and brakes and tires as needed as long as I go to an affiliated chain place like Goodyear, NTB, Firestone, Valvoline Instant Oil Change, etc.). All other general maintenance is up to me to take care of.

My question,... Besides the "regular" maintenance items like wipers, engine and cabin air filters, etc., what are the most important "other" items that should be on my radar for service? I'm thinking things like coolant flush and refill, brake fluid replacement, transmission/differential service (this is my first AWD vehicle), and so on.

I'd appreciate any insight from first hand experience. Thank you.

Looking for some advice from CX-9 owners/mechanics.

I have a 2018 Mazda CX-9 with approximately 129,000 km. The car has been serviced on time throughout its life.

Recently I've developed a continuous **"**wo wo wo wo" / humming-type noise which sounds like it's coming from one or more of the wheels. It increases with road speed and seems to become more noticeable when braking.

I initially thought it might be a wheel bearing, axle/CV, brakes or something similar.

I took it to my regular mechanic at Ultra Tune. They inspected the wheels/brakes during the service and didn't find an obvious problem with the wheel/brake drum/disc. They suggested it could potentially be tyre wear.

I then took it to JAX Tyres, who performed a wheel alignment, balance and rotation yesterday.

The strange thing is that the noise is now noticeably worse.

I'm also now getting a vibration through the brake pedal and steering wheel when braking at around 40 km/h and below. The car otherwise drives straight, feels stable and brakes normally.

I'm wondering if the tyre rotation has simply moved a badly worn/cupped tyre to the front, or whether I'm dealing with something like:

• Cupped/scalloped tyre
• Wheel bearing/hub
• Brake disc runout / thickness variation
• Sticking brake calliper
• Bent dust shield/backing plate
• Wheel/tyre runout
• CV axle/driveshaft
• Suspension component

Has anyone experienced something similar on a CX-9?

What would you check first?

Also, is there a good way of distinguishing a cupped tyre from a wheel bearing without simply replacing parts and hoping for the best?

Thanks!

Had questions for you guy I have a 2020 cx-9 sport and I was wanting to get the touchscreen to work all the time instead of at slow speeds or stopped is there a jailbreak program for it or anything you may know of to help?

I have a 2015 CX9 GT and recently have noticed intermittent clunking when braking.

I took it to my mechanic who indicated that the ball joints are showing some wear and there is a little bit of play in them. He has recommended that I replace both the control arms and the ball joints.

Is it necessary to replace both or can you just replace the ball joints only? Is it wise to replace both while I'm having them done anyway?

Help !!! Is this a good deal ? I’ve read that the engine needs to be replaced on a lot of these and sounds like it has ? At 158k miles will this car be reliable ?

I have a 2017 Mazda Cx-9 Grand Touring and I was curious if anyone had suggestions for an adapter I can use for my dashcam! I had a Dongar for my previous ‘23 CX-5, however it does not fit in the plug behind the mirror or under the shroud for my current vehicle. The website doesn’t have a selection for 2017. I know both are 10-pin connectors I just can’t figure out which kind I need. If you have any advice, please send it my way!

Hey all — long-time lurker, first post. Trying to figure out if I have an actual problem or if I've just read too many forum threads at 1am.

The car: 2019 CX-9 Grand Touring, FWD, 90,000 miles. Original owner maintenance, oil, coolant flushed, brakes & fluid done always done on schedule. Sparks changed at 80K.

The symptom: A very mild clunk on gear changes. Honestly I did not notice it at all until I started reading about it online, and now I can't unnotice it. It only shows up on cold starts in winter, goes away once the car warms up, and it's never been harsh enough that a passenger would comment. No warning lights, no slipping, no RPM flare, no delayed engagement into D or R.

How I got here: Dealer recommended a differential fluid service, so I took it to a local independent shop I trust. While it was there they suggested a transmission drain and fill, and mentioned the clunk could either stay mild forever, improve with fresh fluid, or eventually snowball into a transmission failure. Their honest summary was: keep driving it as-is, do the drain and fill, or trade it in now before a failure tanks the value. The dealer separately wants $200 for a transmission diagnostic, which my mechanic thinks is a runaround.

Here's the part that confuses me. Mazda's official line is that SKYACTIV transmissions have lifetime fluid that never needs changing. In 90,000 miles across a dealership and multiple shops, not one person ever brought up ATF until now. But every forum thread I read says owners are doing drain and fills at 40–60k. So which is it?

What I'd love to hear from you:

• If you've done a drain and fill on a 2nd-gen CX-9, at what mileage, and did it change how the car shifted? Better, worse, no difference?
• Did anyone with a cold-start clunk get it fixed with a TCM reflash or an adaptive shift relearn at the dealer instead of a fluid service? I've seen bulletins for cold-engine shift shock on other Mazdas and I'm curious if that's the real fix here.
• Is anyone doing multiple drain and fills spaced a few thousand miles apart, or is one enough?
• Has anyone actually had a 2.5T transmission fail, and what did it feel like in the weeks before it went? Trying to understand what the real early warning signs are.
• FWD owners specifically: were you ever quoted a separate front differential fluid service? My understanding is the front diff is inside the transaxle and shares ATF, and that the transfer case is AWD-only, so I'm not sure what would even be getting drained. Curious if others got the same quote.

For reference, the dealer quoted $390 for the transmission drain and fill and $200 for the "front diff." Northeast US pricing if that matters.

I'm not looking to dump the car over this — I like it and I'd rather maintain it than panic-trade it. Just trying to figure out whether fresh fluid at 90k is smart preventive maintenance or an unnecessary poke at a transmission that's currently doing fine.

Thanks in advance.

Update: Did a drain and fill with Mazda FZ type fluid. No issues so far, transmission seems to be shifting better than before. Will post an update if that changes. Cheers!

My phone suddenly disconnects from the car while streaming music but reconnects shortly after. It happens quite often. Has anyone experienced similar issues with this car? I thought about replacing the Bluetooth module, but ChatGPT is saying this might not be the issue.

I was a doubtful optimist. Figured it wouldn’t happen to all of them, and mine would be different. Currently sitting in the service department waiting for the definitive diagnosis that we all know is coming.

I’m in Canada, where there isn’t (yet?) an extended warranty covering the issue. Anybody had Mazda cover the entire repair on their car in Canada yet? We are the second owner, and didn’t buy it from Mazda but had it serviced at this dealer since it was bought. I do have an aftermarket warranty that was bought when we got the car, so that’s the backup plan.

Fellow Canadians who’ve had theirs repaired by Mazda, me know how it turned out for you.

Had the car serviced recently. None of the work was related to the passenger side door area. brakes and transfer fluid. Now the passenger window will not fully open. It only opens about a third of the way. Will not go any lower.

Tried the normal press and hold thing. Doesn’t make the window go any lower and if anything reconfirms to the car it’s at the lower limit.

Disconnected the battery. Reconnected. Did the initialization procedure. Worked for all windows expect for passenger side window.

While doing the press and hold procedure a few times the blind spot monitoring system throws an error. Not sure if it’s related.

Doesn’t look or sound like anything is in the way for jam-safe. Would rather not pop the door panel off but may not have a choice.

Before I do. Are there any other ideas? Again. The window will not go down more then a third of the way. Pressing and holding window switch does not improve this. Disconnecting battery did not improve this.

Anyone got these on their ride? Thoughts? What adjustments do I need to setup on my 2023?