2012 Mazda CX-9: owner complaints and recalls

Analysis of 221 owner complaints filed with NHTSA and 4 recall campaigns. Updated 2026-07-25.

221
Complaints
4
Recalls
9
Crash reports
0
Fire reports
8
Injuries
45.2
Severity index

Severity index 45.2 - Medium. This weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints; see methodology.

Among the 129 2012 vehicles we track with at least 40 complaints on file, the 2012 Mazda CX-9 ranks 92 of 129 by severity, where 1 is the worst. Its severity is higher than 29% of its model-year peers. See the full 2012 ranking.

What actually fails

ComponentComplaintsShare of complaints citing it
SERVICE BRAKES14364.7%
ENGINE2511.3%
AIR BAGS2310.4%
POWER TRAIN188.1%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL115.0%
SUSPENSION94.1%
STEERING73.2%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER62.7%

The single most-reported system is SERVICE BRAKES, cited in 143 of 221 complaints (64.7%). One complaint can name several systems, so these shares overlap and do not total 100%.

Complaints filed per year

2012: 22013: 72014: 242015: 302016: 422017: 422018: 192019: 162020: 192021: 52022: 72023: 52024: 12025: 21213141516171819202122232425
YearComplaints
20122
20137
201424
201530
201642
201742
201819
201916
202019
20215
20227
20235
20241
20252
Complaint volume is declining, consistent with a defect that was addressed by recall or that affected early builds.

Recall campaigns

CampaignReportedComponentSummary
18V71700012/10/2018AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULEMazda 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 Maria
19V78200031/10/2019AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULEMazda 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 d
17V45700018/07/2017AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULEMazda North America Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2012 CX-7, CX-9 and Mazda6 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
15V45100020/07/2015SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:LOWER BALL JOINTMazda 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.
Source. US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration public complaint and recall APIs (api.nhtsa.gov), retrieved 2026-07-25. Complaints are unverified consumer reports; volume is influenced by how many units were sold and how long the vehicle has been on the road. Not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer.