AutoUtility currently tracks 126 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2018 Mazda CX-9. Engine & Cooling issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 73 complaints (57.9% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 4 filings cite a crash, 1 cites a fire, 2 report one or more injuries.
- • Total NHTSA Complaints: 126 reports
- • #1 Reported Problem Area: Engine & Cooling (73 reports • 57.9% of submitted complaints)
- • Secondary Problem Areas: Electrical System (15), Powertrain & Transmission (13)
- • Crash-Citing Complaints: 4 filings
- • Fire-Citing Complaints: 1 filings
- • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 2 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Most Reported Problems for 2018 Mazda CX-9
Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records
Engine & Cooling
Electrical System
NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #19V403000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING
Powertrain & Transmission
Brakes & Traction Control
Driver Assistance & Safety Tech
Symptoms Mentioned in NHTSA Owner Reports for 2018 Mazda CX-9
Specific mechanical, electrical, and driver-assist defect symptoms identified via deterministic narrative analysis
AutoUtility uses deterministic phrase matching to identify recurring symptom descriptions within consumer-submitted NHTSA complaint narratives.
Engine Coolant Intrusion / Oil Leak
Engine Overheating / Temperature Warning
Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2018 Mazda CX-9
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"I was driving home from work and may car started overheating out of nowhere. I was stuck in traffic and white smoke was exiting my exhaust. I pulled over and all of my coolant leaked out of my car. Took it the shop and they said I had a cracked head and need a whole new engine. I seen that there..."
"The cylinder head on this 2018 Mazda CX-9 (Skyactiv-G 2.5T engine) cracked, allowing engine coolant to leak and intermix with engine oil, causing loss of coolant and catastrophic engine failure. The vehicle became undriveable in the first week of November 2025 at approximately 125,019 miles and has..."
"My passenger heated seats malfunction while I was driving. As I was driving on the highway I smelled something burning. I didn't know where the smell was coming from it was strong . Then while I'm driving on the highway my seat started to smoke a lot I got scared and pulled on side of the road. I..."
"My wife was driving the vehicle when the emergency lights started going off. She had to pull over because the car wouldn't run and said it was overheated. All the maintenance has been done to the car. We took it to the dealership and they said it is a cracked head and it is a known issue. They even..."
"My 2018 Mazda CX-9 with the SKYACTIV-G 2.5T engine has been diagnosed with a cracked cylinder head, cracked exhaust manifold, and cracked turbocharger at approximately 88,000 miles. This is a known design defect documented in Mazda TSB 01-002/23 and addressed by Customer Service Program CSP11,..."
Complaint History for Mazda CX-9
Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2026)
| Model Year | NHTSA Complaints | Crash Reports | Safety Recalls | Detailed Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 Mazda CX-9 | 35 | 1 | 2 | View 2015 Problems → |
| 2016 Mazda CX-9 | 99 | 3 | 0 | View 2016 Problems → |
| 2017 Mazda CX-9 | 61 | 0 | 0 | View 2017 Problems → |
| 2018 Mazda CX-9 Current Page | 126 | 4 | 2 | Current |
| 2019 Mazda CX-9 | 53 | 1 | 2 | View 2019 Problems → |
| 2020 Mazda CX-9 | 19 | 1 | 1 | View 2020 Problems → |
| 2021 Mazda CX-9 | 37 | 7 | 1 | View 2021 Problems → |
| 2022 Mazda CX-9 | 9 | 1 | 0 | View 2022 Problems → |
| 2023 Mazda CX-9 | 12 | 3 | 0 | View 2023 Problems → |
| 2024 Mazda CX-9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | View 2024 Problems → |
| 2025 Mazda CX-9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | View 2025 Problems → |
| 2026 Mazda CX-9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | View 2026 Problems → |
Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2018 Mazda CX-9
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 35 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications
| Vehicle Component / System | Total Complaints | Crash Reports | Fire Reports | Reported Injury Entries | Reported Fatality Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE | 58 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine & Cooling NHTSA category: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel System NHTSA category: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Seats & Restraints NHTSA category: SEATS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| AIR BAGS,SERVICE BRAKES,VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,BACK OVER PREVENTION | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,CHILD SEAT | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LANE DEPARTURE,BACK OVER PREVENTION | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steering NHTSA category: STEERING | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Suspension NHTSA category: SUSPENSION | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,BACK OVER PREVENTION | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.
Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.