2008 Mazda CX-9
Complaints about this year name ball joint far more often than the model's other years — 14% of them, about 35× the usual rate of 0.4%.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 172 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 61 |
| Involving a crash | 10 |
| Recalls | 6 |
| EPA combined | 17.5 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- axle — 15.7% of this year's complaints, against 3.7% across the model's other years (4.2×). Owners wrote it as: axle, shaft, front end, september.
- approximately mph — 10.5% of this year's complaints, against 2.7% across the model's other years (3.9×). Owners wrote it as: approximately mph, mph front, replaced manufacturer, repair facility.
- wheels — 6.4% of this year's complaints, against 1.5% across the model's other years (4.2×). Owners wrote it as: wheels, fall off.
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
Also unusual this year
- amount time — 11% of complaints, 28× usual
- time recall — 10% of complaints, 25× usual
- axle — 9% of complaints, 22× usual
What owners wrote
WHILE DRIVING 30 MPH, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY JERKED AND CAME TO A SUDDEN HALT WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE FRONT BALL JOINT AND AXLE FRACTURED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REP…
I WAS PULL OUT OF MY OFFICE PARKING LOT AND TURNED RIGHT ON TO A 1 LANE ROAD. AS I TURNED RIGHT THE LOWER BALL JOINT DISLODGED FROM THE CONTROL ARM. IT PULL THE DRIVERS SIDE TRANSAXLE WITH IT AND IT TIE ROD ENDS. SLAMMING MY CAR TO A HALT AND ALMOST CAUSING AN…
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 19V782000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 17V429000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 17V457000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 15V451000 SUSPENSION Fixed free of charge.
- 09V066000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Fixed free of charge.
- 09E011000 EQUIPMENT Fixed free of charge.
How this was worked out
Every year of the Mazda CX-9 was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2008 Mazda CX-9? What happened to yours?
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