Home · 2016 Mazda CX-9 · Complaints

What 99 owners told NHTSA about the 2016 Mazda CX-9

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (99)Crash / fire / injury (5)Engine (61)Electrical system (14)Brakes (11)Transmission & drivetrain (9)Fuel system (8)Body & structure (4)Seats (3)Speed control (3)Wheels (3)Airbags (2)

3 of 99 complaints match · Speed control · clear filters

Mar 4, 2024Speed controlEngineFuel system

Vehicle “surges” at idle. 300-500 RPMS at a time. Sometimes the brakes hold and sometimes not. Have nearly been in 3 collisions the last 2 days because of this issue. The ECM codes indicate throttle body or TPS issue, both of which have been unfounded. Vehicle has 63,000 miles. Researching this topic online found that many others have had this issue with no associated safety recalls noted. I am hoping to bring light to this so someone doesn’t have to be injured or killed to have this rectified.

NHTSA ODI 11575368

Sep 19, 2023Electrical systemSpeed control

As I am accelerating to merge onto the highway from an on-ramp, while the gas pedal is depressed, I will get a series of sensor alerts simultaneously (city brake malfunction, park assist malfunction, lane assist malfunction, etc.) and my gas pedal becomes non-functional at 60-70mph. It is terrifying especially when there is other traffic around my vehicle. This exact issue has happened 6 times within the past 12-18 months at seemingly random intervals but always when I am accelerating onto the highway at 50-70mph. I typically pull off to the side of the highway and turn off the vehicle. After letting it sit off for ~30 seconds, I turn the vehicle back on and all of the sensor alerts have cleared and the vehicle functions properly including the gas pedal and I am able to rejoin the highway. I took the car to the Mazda dealership in my state of Vermont a few months ago to have them diagnose and address the problem. They had never heard of this issue and were unable to find the root cause or fix it. Please help, this is dangerous!

NHTSA ODI 11545342

Jul 1, 2022Speed controlEngineFuel system

Traveling on the highway going on a road trip. Had vehicle inspected prior and no fuel system problems were noted. I was going 75mph with my family when there was a coasting feeling in the car. I looked and my check engine light popped on and my car immediately would not accelerate and we quickly lost speed. By the grace of God were we able to pull over safely! Code P0132 was the engine code and after an hour, the engine light went back off and we were able to keep a safe speed traveling home. After speaking with a mechanic and dealership, I learned that this was a common problem with the Denso fuel system. My vehicle was not included in a recent recall that included a different year of my vehicle. If manufacturers are aware that a major defect is out there, how many people have to have an accident or potentially cause a huge accident because a car made 2 years prior with the same part from the same manufacturer has the same dangerous problem? It’s ridiculous and I hope you look at this near fatal issue that has effected thousands of people, whose vehicles’ were made in 2017, 2016, 2015 and are not included in the recall.

NHTSA ODI 11472060

Working with the data? Download all 99 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 14, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2016 Mazda CX-9 verdict →