2021 Mazda CX-9: owner complaints and recalls

51% of everything owners report about the 2021 Mazda CX-9 points at a single system: engine. That is 18 of 35 complaints on file.

35
Complaints
1
Recalls
6
Crash reports
0
Fire reports
1
Injuries
91.4
Severity index

Severity index 91.4 - Medium. It weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints, so a vehicle attracting serious reports scores above one attracting many trivial ones (how this is calculated).

Middle half of all tracked vehiclesThis vehicle: 91.4p25 35p75 96cleanestworst
Where the 2021 Mazda CX-9 sits against the quartiles of every vehicle we track.

What actually fails

EngineEngine: 18 complaints (51.4%)18 51%Unknown Or OtherUnknown Or Other: 6 complaints (17.1%)6 17%Service BrakesService Brakes: 4 complaints (11.4%)4 11%Forward Collision Avoid…Forward Collision Avoidance: 3 complaints (8.6%)3 9%Back Over PreventionBack Over Prevention: 2 complaints (5.7%)2 6%Power TrainPower Train: 2 complaints (5.7%)2 6%Air BagsAir Bags: 2 complaints (5.7%)2 6%SuspensionSuspension: 1 complaints (2.9%)1 3%
Systems named in complaints. One complaint can name several, so shares overlap.
ComponentComplaintsShare of complaints citing it
ENGINE1851.4%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER617.1%
SERVICE BRAKES411.4%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE38.6%
BACK OVER PREVENTION25.7%
POWER TRAIN25.7%
AIR BAGS25.7%
SUSPENSION12.9%

Complaints filed per year

06112021: 12022: 112023: 92024: 102025: 22026: 2 (partial year)21221123242526
Complaints filed per calendar year, not model year. The hatched bar is the current year and is still incomplete.
YearComplaints
20211
202211
20239
202410
20252
2026 (year to date)2
Complaint volume is rising - the last three years carry 1.8x the filings of the three before them, which usually signals a wear-related defect surfacing with age.

Recall campaigns

CampaignReportedComponentSummary
21V75000027/09/2021SEATS:MID/REAR ASSEMBLYMazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2020-2021 CX-9 vehicles equipped with 60/40 split bench second-row seats. The left-side second-row seat may unexpectedly slide forward during a crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Fe
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.