2015 Mazda CX-9

On December 14, 2015, I bought, a Mazda CX-9, at Sentry West Mazda located at 940 Boston Turnpike, Shrewsbury MA 01545. Unfortunately, the car's engine contains a defect in design, manufacturing, materials and/or workmanship that causes the water pump to suddenly and prematurely fail well-before the end of the useful life of the engine, which leads to catastrophic engine failure or a costly replacement due to the water pump’s inaccessible placement in the engine. On March 7, 2022 while driving the car to the dealer to take care of a Check Engine Warning Light, the car started to shake, all the dashboard lights turned on and the car stopped. My car was immediately towed to the dealer, and hours later I was told that my car needed a new engine. I felt paralyzed with awed when I heard that my 2015 Mazda CX-9, which was just 6 years old with no more than 90,000 miles, needed a new engine. I have been taking this vehicle to the Mazda dealer for all its repairs and maintenance needs, so I can be confident that my family were safe in this car. Unfortunately, this has not been the case. In addition, please note that there is a pending litigation against Mazda for this kind of Engine. Please see more information in this link. https://www.ktmc.com/mazda-water-pump-engine-failure I strongly believe that a car like this is a threaten to the life of anyone driving in and to the people around it. Therefore, I am asking to this organization to take immediately action on this case. Thanks in advance for your attention to this matter, [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

The contact owns a 2015 Mazda CX-9. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the temperature gauge began to accelerate rapidly. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to park on the side of the road for approximately 3 hours, until the engine cooled down. The contact stated she added water and continued driving to her destination. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with needing the engine to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 110,435.

I was driving into the highway and my vehicle just shut off. I was in the car with my children and I was scared that we were going to be rear ended. I had my mechanic look at the car and he advised me that the water pump leaked and the coolant leaked into the oil. I’m having another mechanic provide me with an estimate of how much the repair is going to cost. After the car shut off and I tried to turn it in again the batter, engine and oils light went off and I had the car towed to the local mechanic.

ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON THEN MY VEHICLE STARTED OVER HEATING AND LEAKING COOLANT. VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO DEALERSHIP.AFTER TECHNICIAN DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM, I WAS TOLD IT WAS THE INTERNAL WATER PUMP THAT CAUSED FLUID TO MIX WITH THE ENGINE OIL RUINING THE ENGINE. I WAS TOLD I HAD THREE OPTIONS: BUY A NEW ENGINE, BUY A USED ENGINE OR BUY A NEW CAR. I WAS TOLD THAT THIS WAS AN ISSUE WITH THIS YEAR, MAKE AND MODEL FOR SEVERAL CUSTOMERS. I ASKED WHY A RECALL NOTICE WAS NOT GIVEN TO VEHICLE OWNERS AND WAS TOLD IT WAS NOT A SAFETY ISSUE. IT WOULD HAVE RESULTED IN AN ACCIDENT IF I WAS ON THE FREEWAY DUE TO THE SUDDEN OCCURRENCE OF THE BREAKDOWN. I WAS DRIVING ON A STREET IN TRAFFIC. (MIDDLE LANE)WHEN MY CAR STARTED OVERHEATING AND SHUT DOWN. I MANAGED TO GET IT TO RESTART AND WAS BARELY ABLE TO SAFELY PULL INTO A PARKING LOT WHERE I QUICKLY TURNED IT OFF. I CONTACTED THE GREENWAY MAZDA DEALERSHIP TO REPORT PROBLEM AND REQUEST TOW SERVICE . MAZDA HAS APPARENTLY BEEN AWARE OF THIS ISSUE FOR A WHILE.

WE PURCHASED A 2015 MAZDA CX9 WITH 30,000 MILES THREE YEARS AGO. AT THE START OF THE MONTH, THE CAR SUDDENLY OVERHEATED WHILE DRIVING AND THE ENGINE FAILED! THE MECHANIC SAID THE WATER PUMP FAILED, THE COOLANT MIXED WITH THE ENGINE OIL AND THE ENGINE WAS DONE. $$7944.41 ADDITIONALLY, THE OVERHEATED ENGINE CAUSED THE TRANSMISSION FLUID TO BURN TO A POINT THE THE TRANSMISSION FAILED. $$4864. THIS HAPPENED AT 65,000 MILES, 5,000 MILES PAST WARRANTY. AFTER RESEARCHING THE PROBLEM, WE LEARNED THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM ON MAZDAS THAT USE THE DURATECH ENGINE. THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF EXAMPLES AND A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT.

WHILE DRIVING MY 2015 MAZDA CX-9 ON A VERY BUSY INTERSTATE, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT APPEARED ON THE DRIVER PANEL. I WAS TRAVELING WITH MY VERY YOUNG CHILDREN, AGES 4 AND 20 MONTHS. APPROXIMATELY 10 MILES LATER, I STARTED HEARING A RATTLING SOUND UNDER THE HOOD. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, MY CAR STALLED OUT AS I ENTERED MY SUBDIVISION. MY HUSBAND HAD TO PUSH THE CAR TO OUR DRIVEWAY. I CALLED AAA THAT SAME DAY AND HAD THE CAR TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP THAT SERVICES THE VEHICLE. I WAS TOLD THAT THE WATER PUMP NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AND WAS QUOTED A PRICE TO FIX THE ISSUE. LATER, I WAS TOLD THAT AFTER FURTHER INSPECTION BY THE DEALERSHIP THAT THE COOLANT MIXED WITH FLUIDS AND THE ENGINE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. I WAS QUOTED OVER $7000 TO COMPLETE THIS WORK. DURING THE COURSE OF MY RESEARCH, I HAVE LEARNED THAT A LOT OF MAZDA CUSTOMERS WHO HAVE THIS MODEL VEHICLE EXPERIENCE THIS ISSUE QUITE FREQUENTLY. I CALLED MAZDA CUSTOMER CARE AND WAS TOLD THAT MAZDA IS NOT ELECTING TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS ISSUE. I WAS FORTUNATE THAT I WAS ABLE TO ARRIVE TO MY SUBDIVISION WITHOUT INJURING MY CHILDREN OR SELF, BUT THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE THAT COULD RESULT IN THE LOSS OF LIVES IF NOT CORRECTED IMMEDIATELY.