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2021 Mazda CX-9

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2021 Mazda CX-9 do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 61.

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How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.

What owners reported most

All reported categories

Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

Limited mileage data: 4 of 39 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Engine. Review the 20 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Forward Collision Avoidance. Review the 4 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Power Train. Review the 4 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

7 crash reports0 fire reports1 injury reports

Forward Collision Avoidance complaints

4 reports
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Mileage unknown · Sep 12, 2026
Forward Collision AvoidancePower TrainVehicle Speed Control

I entered the interstate normally, with no issues accelerating or merging. While driving at approximately 70 mph, in traffic, all three warning messages appeared on the instrument cluster at the same time: “Smart Brake System Malfunction,” “Driver Attention Alert System Malfunction,” and “Forward Smart City Brake Support Malfunc…

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I entered the interstate normally, with no issues accelerating or merging. While driving at approximately 70 mph, in traffic, all three warning messages appeared on the instrument cluster at the same time: “Smart Brake System Malfunction,” “Driver Attention Alert System Malfunction,” and “Forward Smart City Brake Support Malfunction.” At the same moment, the vehicle began to lose speed. I pressed the accelerator pedal firmly. The speed continued to decrease instead of increasing. I could not accelerate at all. An exit was thankfully immediately available. I took the exit, then continued on a side road, then into a parking lot before I could find a safe place to stop. At no point did the pedal work again — I was immensely lucky to navigate safely, especially with my toddler in back seat. Other traffic was present on the interstate at the time. The sudden loss of throttle at that speed, with traffic present on each road and merging across numerous lanes in [XXX] traffic, created a serious risk of collision while I searched for a safe stop. The vehicle has not been inspected by a dealer, it’s with Hiley Mazda of Hurst dealership in [XXX] now. TBD whether the problem can be reproduced. The vehicle can be available for inspection if needed. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI #11763863

Mileage unknown · Nov 29, 2024
Forward Collision Avoidance

On [XXX], [XXX], [XXX] I was driving on an interstate highway with a 65 mph speed limit with no warning and received the following codes which slowed the vehicle to the limp mode. 1) Smart Brake Support and Forward Obstruction Warning 2) Activsense system malfunction 3) Front Radar Sensor Malfunction 4) Engine Malfunctio…

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On [XXX], [XXX], [XXX] I was driving on an interstate highway with a 65 mph speed limit with no warning and received the following codes which slowed the vehicle to the limp mode. 1) Smart Brake Support and Forward Obstruction Warning 2) Activsense system malfunction 3) Front Radar Sensor Malfunction 4) Engine Malfunction 5) Dynamic Stability Control Malfunction I reported all three incidents to the dealer and no codes were left and the dealership had no solution for the problem. They suggested dirt, sunlight, or blowing debris caused it, but that was not the case. Luckily the first two incidents happened with little or no traffic around but the third was during rush hour and almost caused a major accident trying to get off the highway. I shut the car off, restarted and the problem resolved no lights left on or warnings appearing all three times. Contacted Mazda several times and all representatives at the dealership and California Headquarters claim no knowledge of this happening. I found a few others reporting the same issue and wanted to report this. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI #11627970

Mileage unknown · Oct 16, 2023
Forward Collision AvoidancePower TrainUnknown Or OtherCrashInjury

I was in a parking lot and came to a stop and placed the car in reverse to back into a parking space. The back-up camera was on and I began to back into the parking space when the car suddenly lurched/jerked forward and accelerated on its own. The car jumped the parking lot median strip and I hit a tree head on. I had my seatb…

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I was in a parking lot and came to a stop and placed the car in reverse to back into a parking space. The back-up camera was on and I began to back into the parking space when the car suddenly lurched/jerked forward and accelerated on its own. The car jumped the parking lot median strip and I hit a tree head on. I had my seatbelt on and the airbag deployed. The car then reversed back off the median into the parking lot. I turned off the car. Insurance company will have it inspected. The vehicle is a total loss. I was injured with a large lower abdomen hematoma and airbag burns on arms, wrists, and chest as well as various bruising. I was fortunate to have not hit pedestrians who were walking in the lot or other vehicles that were parked in the lot. There were no warning lights, messages, sounds. The brake assist did not engage. It was frightening.

NHTSA ODI #11550295

Mileage unknown · Oct 4, 2023
Forward Collision AvoidanceService BrakesUnknown Or Other

6/29/2023--Vehicle stopped suddenly with i-ACTIVESENSE system malfunction, Dynamic Stability Control malfunction, Engine malfunction, engine output reduced, Front radar sensor malfunction. Dealer said these faults due to bad battery--replaced battery per Service Manager [XXX] at Lakeland Mazda. 9/10/2023--Incident #2 with same…

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6/29/2023--Vehicle stopped suddenly with i-ACTIVESENSE system malfunction, Dynamic Stability Control malfunction, Engine malfunction, engine output reduced, Front radar sensor malfunction. Dealer said these faults due to bad battery--replaced battery per Service Manager [XXX] at Lakeland Mazda. 9/10/2023--Incident #2 with same faults as above with vehicle stopping suddenly at risk of creating a rear end collision. Lakeland Service Manager [XXX] now said that the faults are due to a faulty ERG valve. Lakeland Mazda and [XXX] are absolutely clueless as to the root cause of this problem and are releasing the vehicle back to the customer with the potential of causing a significant collision that can result in serious injury and/or death. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI #11548334

Official recalls

1

21V750000 · Seat Belts:rear/other; Seats:mid/rear Assembly

Sep 27, 2021

Mazda 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 Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 210, "Seat Belt Assembly Anchorages."

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A seat that slides forward during a crash can transfer excessive force onto a belted occupant, increasing their risk of injury.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the internal parts of the affected second-row seats, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 4, 2021. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500, Option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 5221I.

Additional source detail variants (2)

Seats:mid/rear Assembly

Mazda 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 Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 210, "Seat Belt Assembly Anchorages."

Consequence: A seat that slides forward during a crash can transfer excessive force onto a belted occupant, increasing their risk of injury.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the internal parts of the affected second-row seats, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 4, 2021. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500, Option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 5221I.

Seat Belts:rear/other

Mazda 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 Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 210, "Seat Belt Assembly Anchorages."

Consequence: A seat that slides forward during a crash can transfer excessive force onto a belted occupant, increasing their risk of injury.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the internal parts of the affected second-row seats, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 4, 2021. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500, Option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 5221I.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.