Mazda CX-9 reliability by year
14 recall campaigns and 1,478 owner complaints across 17 model years. Best year to buy: 2021. Year to avoid: 2010.
Worst model years to avoid → — the single year to avoid for every model line we track, ranked side by side.
Years to avoid — and why 2 flagged on the NHTSA record
Cleaner on the data: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and others. Still verify the specific vehicle.
At-a-glance: every year color-coded
Each cell shows the last two digits of the model year and its 0–10 reliability score from NHTSA data. Click any year to see the full record. ★ best year · ✕ year to avoid.
Year-by-year reliability 17 model years · newest first
Per-year recall counts add up to 47, more than the 14 campaigns above, because a single NHTSA campaign often covers several model years and is counted once in each.
Common trouble spots across the CX-9 aggregated across 17 model years
Common questions
What's the best year to buy a Mazda CX-9?
Based on NHTSA complaint volume and severity weighting, the 2021 Mazda CX-9 scores 8.0/10 — the strongest in the 2007–2023 range. 38 complaints on file, 1 active recall. Reliability scores reflect the federal complaint record, not subjective owner reviews.
Which Mazda CX-9 year should I avoid?
The 2010 Mazda CX-9 scores 4.6/10 — the weakest in the lineup. 195 owner complaints with NHTSA, 6 active recalls. That doesn't mean every 2010 is a problem — it means failure rates run higher than peer model years on the same platform.
Which years of the Mazda CX-9 should I avoid?
On the NHTSA complaint and recall record, the model years to be most careful with are 2010 (high-risk ownership — brakes: 81 complaints, classified severe); 2008 (high-risk ownership — suspension: 44 complaints, classified severe). The cleaner years on the data are 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2017. This is our read of the federal data, not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection of the specific vehicle.
How many years of the Mazda CX-9 are tracked?
17 model years (2007 through 2023) with NHTSA records on file. Total across the lineup: 14 distinct recall campaigns and 1,478 owner complaints. Those campaigns land on 47 model-year entries in total, because one campaign often covers several years at once — which is why per-year recall counts add up to more than the campaign count.
What's the most-reported problem on the Mazda CX-9?
brakes is the most-reported category — 382 complaints across 10 model years. Average shop repair runs about $450.