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 accident with the car behind me. The wheel faced left even though my car was still slighty turning right. This is a danger and a hazard, I've also heard this is serious problem amongst other cx-9 drivers....
2008 Mazda CX-9 wheels complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 16 of 16, newest first, as owners wrote them.
On 06 june 2015 at approximately 1400 my wife was making a left hand turn through an intersection at approximately 15 MPH. Near the end of the turn the front passenger wheel broke loose turning nearly 90 degrees to the right and jammed itself into the rear of the fender well. The car was immediately immobilized and came to an abrupt halt in the middle of the intersection. Looking at the damage it was obvious that the lower ball joint had failed and broke completely free. This caused the wheel to turn nearly 90 degrees to the right which subsequently ripped out the cv axle from the transmission. Had this occurred at highway speeds the results could have been deadly. The vehicle had to be towed to a repair facility where the control arm/ball joint assembly, the cv shaft, and sway bar link was replaced. There is also fender well and body damage that will have to be repaired. On 10 july 2015, I noticed an unusual instability while negotiating wide turns on the highway. It felt as if the vehicle had a wheel loose. While turning to the right, the vehicle would abruptly turn even sharper to right almost causing an unintentional lane change. After coming out of the turn I could feel the vehicle suddenly correct itself. Once I arrived at my residence I jacked up the front end of the vehicle to inspect the front wheels. The front passenger wheel seemed normal (was repaired in june 2015 as mentioned above). Much to my dismay when inspecting the front driver side wheel, I discovered that the ball joint on this side is now broke. It is not separated, but is clearly broken as evidenced by the excessive movement and clunking noise when moving the wheel from side to side as it is suspended above the ground from the car being on a jack. I will be having this repaired this week once parts arrive from the local mazda dealer. Bottom line: I no longer feel safe in this vehicle.
While driving vehicle on road at approximatley 20 MPH the wheel detached from the axle on the front passenger side of the vehicle resulting in damage to the vehicle.
While making a right turn into a parking place, the right front ball joint broke and cv joint became disconnected, causing the wheel to become disconnected from the car and pushing the wheel well back under the passenger door, making it inoperable. The tow driver said I must have hit something really hard, but in the two and a half years I've had this car, I've never hit anything! I drive a lot for my job and am grateful this didn't happen while I was traveling 70 MPH on the highway. It was very scary and has shaken my confidence in this car. I had the car repaired on an emergency basis, but the mechanic told me while the other ball joint was safe enough for me to make the trip home (350 miles), I should definitely get it checked out as well, as it looked suspect for the long term. The car is at the mechanic now, and I was a nervous wreck driving it home earlier today.
I had been hearing a knocking noise in my car when I went to make left or right hand turns for approximately a week. After having my mechanic investigate he took a look at the ball joints, they are 'non-serviceable,' which means they are a sealed unit. He said from what he could tell they were fine. Later that day I attempted to pull out of a parking space. My wheels were spinning in the snow, I got out and took a look and my front left tire was off! The ball joint was no longer attached the car. The only thing securing the wheel to the car was the tie rod. After having it towed to my garage both lower control arms were replaced on the vehicle (one per side) along with the cv joint. They were replaced with mazda parts. Inspection on the passenger right side revealed there was barely any grease in that ball joint. I had luck on my side that day otherwise I am certain someone would have died.
I was driving slowly and approaching a stop sign. As soon as I stopped I heard a loud noise and my car jerked forward. The front driver side wheel disengaged from the vehicle and was jutting out at an angle. I could not move the car whatsoever. The tow truck driver informed me that my ball joint and axle had broken. This could have caused a very serious accident, especially if we had been driving faster or on the freeway--I'm very lucky my passenger and I were not hurt.
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