Any other CX-9 owners here?

[grampi]

Originally Posted by PimTac
Originally Posted by grampi
It appears the CX-9 is not a very common model, by that I mean there doesn't seem to be many of them on the road. I have seen very few since we bought ours. There also doesn't seem to be very many owners in this forum either. That's okay, I like driving something that you don't see a million of every time I go somewhere...




It depends on the region. I cannot drive a mile without seeing a newer Mazda. Mostly CX5 but I do see CX9 as well. A few other models are around. I would say the CX9 is the number 2 most spotted Mazda here.

I see almost no CX-9s here. Lots of 3s running around, and the CX-5s are pretty common, but very few 9s...

 

[grampi]

I took my CX-9 to my mechanic yesterday to have him change out the ATF and the rear end differential fluid. He called me to have me come look at it while it was up on the rack to show me a leak. It appears the transfer case is leaking. Not a fast leak, but enough to see the fluid on the bottom of the case, and it's on the top of the plastic cover that covers that section of the bottom. It's going back to the dealer today to have them fix it. This should be covered under the 5 year/70K mile drive line warranty. I'm glad this happened before it was out of all of its warranty...

 

[Ws6]

Originally Posted by grampi
I took my CX-9 to my mechanic yesterday to have him change out the ATF and the rear end differential fluid. He called me to have me come look at it while it was up on the rack to show me a leak. It appears the transfer case is leaking. Not a fast leak, but enough to see the fluid on the bottom of the case, and it's on the top of the plastic cover that covers that section of the bottom. It's going back to the dealer today to have them fix it. This should be covered under the 5 year/70K mile drive line warranty. I'm glad this happened before it was out of all of its warranty...

5/70? What year is your cx5?

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted by Ws6
Originally Posted by grampi
I took my CX-9 to my mechanic yesterday to have him change out the ATF and the rear end differential fluid. He called me to have me come look at it while it was up on the rack to show me a leak. It appears the transfer case is leaking. Not a fast leak, but enough to see the fluid on the bottom of the case, and it's on the top of the plastic cover that covers that section of the bottom. It's going back to the dealer today to have them fix it. This should be covered under the 5 year/70K mile drive line warranty. I'm glad this happened before it was out of all of its warranty...

5/70? What year is your cx5?

2017 CX-9, not a CX-5...

 

[Toros]

Some models... not sure which years, have the very problematic Ford PTU... Power Transfer Unit. One of those "fluid never needs changing" designs. Explorers, Flex, Lincoln Mkx and Edge of certain model years were all plagued with it.

 

[Ws6]

Originally Posted by grampi
Originally Posted by Ws6
Originally Posted by grampi
I took my CX-9 to my mechanic yesterday to have him change out the ATF and the rear end differential fluid. He called me to have me come look at it while it was up on the rack to show me a leak. It appears the transfer case is leaking. Not a fast leak, but enough to see the fluid on the bottom of the case, and it's on the top of the plastic cover that covers that section of the bottom. It's going back to the dealer today to have them fix it. This should be covered under the 5 year/70K mile drive line warranty. I'm glad this happened before it was out of all of its warranty...

5/70? What year is your cx5?

2017 CX-9, not a CX-5...

Yup. Should be a warranty issue I'd think.

 

[PimTac]

Originally Posted by Toros
Some models... not sure which years, have the very problematic Ford PTU... Power Transfer Unit. One of those "fluid never needs changing" designs. Explorers, Flex, Lincoln Mkx and Edge of certain model years were all plagued with it.




The 2017 doesn't have that unit.

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted by PimTac
Originally Posted by Toros
Some models... not sure which years, have the very problematic Ford PTU... Power Transfer Unit. One of those "fluid never needs changing" designs. Explorers, Flex, Lincoln Mkx and Edge of certain model years were all plagued with it.




The 2017 doesn't have that unit.

No, apparently it has the problematic 2017 design...

 

[Mr Nice]

Just take it to the dealer and have them fix it under warranty.

 

[PimTac]

Originally Posted by grampi
Originally Posted by PimTac
Originally Posted by Toros
Some models... not sure which years, have the very problematic Ford PTU... Power Transfer Unit. One of those "fluid never needs changing" designs. Explorers, Flex, Lincoln Mkx and Edge of certain model years were all plagued with it.




The 2017 doesn't have that unit.

No, apparently it has the problematic 2017 design...

They will take care of it.

 

[Ws6]

Originally Posted by grampi
Originally Posted by PimTac
Originally Posted by Toros
Some models... not sure which years, have the very problematic Ford PTU... Power Transfer Unit. One of those "fluid never needs changing" designs. Explorers, Flex, Lincoln Mkx and Edge of certain model years were all plagued with it.




The 2017 doesn't have that unit.

No, apparently it has the problematic 2017 design...

Literally never heard of one leaking before. I think it's just a "humans made it, so it can happen" thing.

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted by PimTac
Originally Posted by grampi
Originally Posted by PimTac
Originally Posted by Toros
Some models... not sure which years, have the very problematic Ford PTU... Power Transfer Unit. One of those "fluid never needs changing" designs. Explorers, Flex, Lincoln Mkx and Edge of certain model years were all plagued with it.




The 2017 doesn't have that unit.

No, apparently it has the problematic 2017 design...

They will take care of it.

I'm sure they will too. This dealer has been great about taking care of the issues I've found...I was just being facetious...

 

[14Accent]

I like those CX-9's, the redesigned ones. Never cared for the last gen with the V6.

Question, just out of curiosity: do you like the seats? I really liked these until I had one come in the shop and I test drove it. I could NOT get comfortable in the seat, the side bolsters felt like I was getting jabbed in the shoulder blades! I'm not big: 5'10 ~150, and no matter what way I adjusted the seat I could not get the bolsters out of my shoulder blades.

It took less than a 10 minute drive for it to get uncomfortable to the point of leaning forward against the steering wheel to get away from the seat. I was really disappointed about this, every other Mazda I've driven recently had great seats, and the CX-9 really has a beautiful interior, but there's no way I could sit in those seats. For reference, the trim I drove was a higher model, either a GT or the one above that.

 

[grampi]

I like those CX-9's, the redesigned ones. Never cared for the last gen with the V6.

Question, just out of curiosity: do you like the seats? I really liked these until I had one come in the shop and I test drove it. I could NOT get comfortable in the seat, the side bolsters felt like I was getting jabbed in the shoulder blades! I'm not big: 5'10 ~150, and no matter what way I adjusted the seat I could not get the bolsters out of my shoulder blades.

It took less than a 10 minute drive for it to get uncomfortable to the point of leaning forward against the steering wheel to get away from the seat. I was really disappointed about this, every other Mazda I've driven recently had great seats, and the CX-9 really has a beautiful interior, but there's no way I could sit in those seats. For reference, the trim I drove was a higher model, either a GT or the one above that.

I have not noticed this with the seats. They seem very comfortable to me. I was used to driving the wife's Sienna, which had very uncomfortable seats, so these seem like a recliner by comparison...

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted by grampi
Originally Posted by PimTac
Originally Posted by Toros
Some models... not sure which years, have the very problematic Ford PTU... Power Transfer Unit. One of those "fluid never needs changing" designs. Explorers, Flex, Lincoln Mkx and Edge of certain model years were all plagued with it.




The 2017 doesn't have that unit.

No, apparently it has the problematic 2017 design...

Literally never heard of one leaking before. I think it's just a "humans made it, so it can happen" thing.

I talked to the mechanic and he thinks the fluid we see on the transfer case is engine oil. The said the transfer case uses the same fluid as the tranny, which is blue. The fluid that's leaking out is a goldish color. He put a dye in the motor oil and I'm taking it back Tuesday, they are going to see if they can trace out the source of the leak. I have been keeping an eye on the oil level and haven't noticed it dropping yet, though it is a slow leak and I probably wouldn't be able to see a level change on the dipstick...

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

I don't see a lot of them on the road. But its a nice looking rig. I serious question why they didn't continue using the V6. For me it would be a buy with the 6 I'm not even vaguely interested in a turbo 4.

 

[PimTac]

I don't see a lot of them on the road. But its a nice looking rig. I serious question why they didn't continue using the V6. For me it would be a buy with the 6 I'm not even vaguely interested in a turbo 4.

Mazda wanted to divest themselves from all things Ford and that V6 was a Ford engine.

The Skyactiv T 2.5 is a great motor with a ton of torque that kicks in at very low rpms.

 

[grampi]

I don't see a lot of them on the road. But its a nice looking rig. I serious question why they didn't continue using the V6. For me it would be a buy with the 6 I'm not even vaguely interested in a turbo 4.

Fortunate for me it no longer has the V6. That engine was prone to water pump failures, and they were located in the engine block, which meant changing one would easily run $2k or more. I wasn't keen on a buying a 4 popper turbo either until I drove this one. If you absolutely can't fathom buying a turbo, then don't test drive a CX-9...it drives very nicely...

 

[Ws6]

I don't see a lot of them on the road. But its a nice looking rig. I serious question why they didn't continue using the V6. For me it would be a buy with the 6 I'm not even vaguely interested in a turbo 4.

The i4 engine used is amazing. I have one in my CX5, and it's just flat out excellent. Instant torque at any rpm, and it just goes. Very efficient as well in daily driving. When I compare it to vehicles like the Passport, Blazer RS, and Edge Sport, it is "driver's race close to equal" with them per magazines at least (never raced on, myself, so no personal comment), even though they have V6's. Reliability-wise, the i4 in the Mazda's is pretty proven, using architecture almost a decade old, never really had any issues. The turbo iteration is nearing half a decade in production sales, and same story. I am sure you could find one, but I have literally NEVER seen anyone post about their engine taking a true dump on them. Turbo either. Yes, there are a few stories like this one where there is an oil leak or something, but this is any make/model and not indicative of a systemic issue with this powertrain.

 

[grampi]

I took the CX-9 back to the Mazda service dept. today to have this leak checked out. They pulled the bottom cover off and the area that was covered in fluid last time was dry as a bone this time. The last time I had it in they put a dye in the motor oil, and then I drove it for about a week and half before they rechecked it. They have some type of a special light that makes the dye show up really when when it leaks out, but they said they didn't see anything. Before I bought the vehicle I had my personal mechanic check it out and he found motor oil on the engine. He said it could have come from a leak, or a sloppy oil change. It appears the oil on top of the engine, along with the oil we saw on the bottom of the transfer case was from a sloppy oil change. I'm guessing the previous owner took it to some Jiffy Lube kind of place to get the oil changed and the goober doing it spilled a bunch of oil on the engine in the process. I hate these places! The good news is there's nothing wrong with this vehicle!