These help you judge whether this one is worth its price.
Costly problem zones ahead at your miles come with a Car Hunt Pass or Pro. See plans
Loading the EPA's yearly fuel cost
What about the price? Check the asking price on two listing sites. Buying from a dealer? Run its offer through the offer X ray.
Education, not financial or mechanical advice. Have any used car checked by a mechanic you trust before you buy.
The full record
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What owners complain about
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Seller kit
Questions for the seller, test drive checks and price points
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Walk up to the seller ready
Questions to ask the seller of a 2018 Mazda CX-9, built from this year's owner complaints and recalls. What to feel, hear and look at on the test drive, with boxes to tick at the car. Honest points to raise on price, from the records and never from guesses. Copy the questions to your phone in one tap.
A ready to send offer for the seller, by text or email
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Send the seller a fair offer
Type the asking price and your own offer for the 2018 Mazda CX-9, tick what you found, and get a polite message ready to text or email. Its reasons come from this year's owner complaints, recalls and crash ratings, and never from made up repair prices.
NHTSA's stars out of five, for each version it tested. Front crash stars only compare cars of about the same size and weight.
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Fuel economy
The EPA's estimates for each engine and transmission, and its own yearly fuel cost. Yours depends on how you drive and the shape the car is in.
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True cost to own
The loan, fuel, insurance and upkeep, a month and over 5 years
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What it really costs to own
What the 2018 Mazda CX-9 costs a month and over 5 years: the loan and its interest, fuel worked out from the EPA's figures for the version you pick, and your own insurance, registration and upkeep. A cost a mile, a link that reopens your numbers, and the breakdown copied to your phone in one tap.
Owner complaints for each model year, this one outlined. Tap a year to open it. The newest 2 are not judged yet. Bars are totals, so older years stand taller; the verdict compares every year at the same age.
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Before you buy this one
Built from this year's numbers. Whatever the data says, the car in front of you is the one that counts.
More owner complaints than usual. Buy only with records and an inspection.
Confidence: High
Based on 106 in its first 8 years (128 filed in all) vs about 41 typical across 6 other model years.
How the dial was counted
Year verdict: Typical year: 41 complaints, the median of 6 nearby years, leaving out 2011 and 2012, which were high themselves. Each counted over its first 8 years from January 2017; this one had 106.
Same car, better year: 2014 or 2023 CX-9 (both Worthy)
Not every car needs every fix. Run the VIN at NHTSA to see which are still open. Repairs are usually free at a dealer for the brand; ask before any work.
Fuel system
Nov 12, 2021 · Recall 21V875000
Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2018 Mazda3, Mazda6, 2019 CX-3, 2018-2019 MX-5, CX-5, CX-9, and 2019-2020 Mazda2 vehicles. The impeller inside the low-pressure fuel pump may crack and deform, potentially causing the fuel pump to fail.
What can happen
Fuel pump failure may cause an engine stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
The fix
Dealers will replace the fuel pumps, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 18, 2022. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500 Option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 5321K.
Electrical
May 30, 2019 · Recall 19V403000
Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2018 CX-9 vehicles. The wiring harness may disrupt electrical communications and disable the passenger frontal air bag, turn signals, and/or engine starting system.
What can happen
The passenger frontal air bag may not deploy, increasing the risk of injury. Inoperable turn signals prevent the driver from signaling to other drivers, increasing the risk of crash.
The fix
Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will repair the wiring harnesses, free of charge. The recall began July 26, 2019. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500, Option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 3419E.
Unverified reports, not adjusted for sales. One complaint can name several parts, so shares add up past 100%. Filed Dec 8, 2017 to Sep 17, 2026. 65% name a part that is usually costly to fix.
Owners reported 4 crashes, 1 fire and 2 injuries in these complaints.
Engine78 · 61%Usually costly to fix
Other or unknown19 · 15%
Electrical15 · 12%
What one owner wrote about the engine
While driving at highway speed in heavy rain the oil light suddenly came on followed within 30 seconds by an urgent need to immediately stop the car due to overheating. There was no radiator fluid left due to the sudden and catastrophic structural failure caused by a known manufacturing defect. Mazda calls it csp-11. They did NOT do a recall even though a…
Filed Sep 17, 2026NHTSA complaint 117649351 of 18 owner quotes
Car Hunt Pass or Pro
12 more parts, and 18 owner quotes
Every part owners name for the 2018 Mazda CX-9, with their own words about what went wrong. Usually costly to fix among them: Transmission and drivetrain, Body and frame.
The bar holds the middle half of the complaints that gave a mileage; the dark mark is the middle one. 41 complaints of 128 gave one. Owners file when something fails, so this shows when problems were reported, not how long the cars last.
EngineCostly60,000 to 90,000 mi
Half of these 33 complaints came between about 60,000 and 90,000 miles, the middle one around 75,000.
Run the VIN at NHTSA to confirm every recall was fixed.
This year has 2 recalls on file. Recall repairs are usually free at a dealer for the brand. Ask the dealer to confirm before any work is done. Look up a VIN at NHTSA.
Ask the seller for the service records.
Look closely for any work on the engine. It is the part owners complain about most for this year.
Have a mechanic you trust inspect it before you pay.
Ask them to look hard at the engine. It is usually costly to fix.
Look at a vehicle history report.
It can show reported crashes, flood or salvage titles, and mileage that does not add up.
On the test drive, pay attention to the engine.
Start it cold if you can. Listen for knocking or ticking, and watch for warning lights and smoke.
