2010 Mazda CX-9: grinding or squealing brakes

Filed Mar 23, 2026 · Suspension · MO

Front suspension broke while my husband was driving back from a fire as he is a volunteer firefighter. He states car did not have any lights on dash to report there was a problem. The next thing he knew he heard a loud squealing noise and lost control of the vehicle taking him off road in a small ditch. As the axle broke it went upward and hit both belts and shredded them. He was not able to move or drive the car at all. I am the owner of this vehicle had I been driving I would have totaled and crashed,also I do have A [XXX] son I drive to school most days. Thank goodness my husband is a heck of a driver. I have contacted the Mazda manufacturer and they are stating that the vehicle was already fixed that they will not do a safety remedy. As I found out there was a 8515G recall for the front suspension interior corroding. I just purchased this vehicle on 2/24/2026 it broke on 3/19/2026. The vehicle states to have been fixed in 2017. I have the inspection papers from the previous dealer from whom I bought it from in 2021 and the one from the dealer that I purchased it and that inspection was in 2025. There has been no inspections after I purchased or after the catastrophic failure happened I am in process of this and my insurance is the next I'm contacting. There was no police report as there was only damage done to the vehicle,luckily no one else was involved and my husband was ok. We have never dealt with this before and didn't really know what to do or how to go about this. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Jan 7, 2019 · Transmission · SC

The transfer case was replaced at 34,000 miles and now we are having to replace the transfer case again. Additional transmission damage may have occurred. Mazda refuses to stand behind their product and admit to a design flaw. The first transfer case smelled like propane. The second transfer case had gear grinding noise

Filed Jan 14, 2018 · Engine · 109,000 miles · PA

I was driving my car when the transfer case on my 2010 cx9 broke at 109.000 miles and spline gear is worn out. Overwhelming oil smell coming back into car along with horrible grinding noise. Took to my mazda dealer, mazda wasn't sure if they could fix, suggested replacing transmission. Mazda tried to fix the transfer case issue, but could have humming noise. Instead of humming noise, after one day of receiving my car back, transmission is failing. Already put $2200 into this repair, but was told the transmission could fail at any time. I find this hard to believe after I put my car in for scheduled maintenance all the time and take great care of my car.

Filed Jul 15, 2017 · Acceleration, Brakes · 30,000 miles · AR

Took my car to dealer 2-3 times for the brakes, way before my warranty was any where near expiring, because I kept hearing a grinding sound. They kept telling me nothing was wrong, that my brakes had some gravel on them and they just cleaned them. I don't travel on dirt roads or anything, city roads/highways. No out of town travel at all, actual only in town travel, home/work. My 2nd concern is, while driving sometimes my speed seems to shift, as if the gears are shifting. 3rd concern is, I received a recall notice, don't recall what it was about but I took it to the dealership and I was told they done that work last time I came in but I don't believe it was done, since they haven't been honest with me before. They didn't even look at the letter. If I recall correctly brake complaints/ service started 2011 or 2012 to 2014....

Filed Nov 16, 2015 · Transmission · 113,400 miles · CT

Car was making grinding sounds when the vehicle was in motion, especially when I turned left/right as well as when I was stopping the vehicle. Most noticeable on city streets. Needed to replace transfer case and transmission.

Filed Jul 19, 2014 · Brakes · 42,100 miles · OH

I was driving around town and attempted to brake. I noticed that there was a odd pressure that was not allowing me to brake properly. I had to push hard in order to feel my car slowing down. After I pushed past the pressure, the brake pedal was able to push down normally to a full stop. It has done this every time I have used the brake since. It is now getting much worse and becoming increasingly harder to push the brake down to get the car to stop. As I was parking in my garage I was almost unable to stop in time so that I didn't hit the back wall of the garage. The brake pedal when pressed completely to the floor makes a squealing noise. I have parked the car in the garage and do not plan on driving it until I can get it looked at. As I said, it is getting worse every time I drive it and I believe my safety is compromised when driving this vehicle in this condition.

Filed May 14, 2014 · Brakes · 19,000 miles · AZ · crash

I filed a complaint through mazda in 2012 and it didn't go anywhere. I saw an article in USA today, regarding my vehicle stating that an investigation was started due to 7 reported incidents on brake failures which resembled my experience. I am now sharing my story as it could have resulted in serious injury. I was approaching an intersection and applied the brake but the car did not slow down, I pushed the brake all the way to the floor and the wheels squealed but the car did not slow. I let up on the brake and reapplied and that is when the car began to slow down. But, it was too late. I hit the car in front of me and launched it into the middle of the intersection. Thankfully, the light had just changed and the cross traffic was at a stop. When the police arrived, they noticed one skid mark on the driver side only which was around 200 yards. About 4 feet prior to impact, there were two skid marks, one on each side of the vehicle. They said that they had never seen anything like it and that I should take it to an independant person to get the brakes checked out. I have photos of this and sent all of the documentation sent to the insurance company and to mazda. I felt neither believed me and was very diappointed in mazda's response. Eventially, I gave up. We actually were going to sell the vehicle as I didn't feel comfortable driving it. However, after all of the responses I was getting about what I described as impossible with anti lock breaks or that it was a result of "panic breaking", I second guessed myself and we still have the vehicle. On a separate occassion 2-4 weeks prior to the accident on may 15, my husband was driving very slowly in a residential area and when he applied the brake, the car initially did not stop until reapplying. He rolled part way into the intersection. I was with him when this occurred.

Filed Oct 5, 2013 · Brakes · 38,000 miles · CA

This individual brought the car in to the dealer complaining of high pitched squeaking sound from brakes. Dealership checked brakes and said nothing wrong. Picked up car next day and felt that car not riding well and let it sit in driveway for 2 days. Went to drive again and pedal was "hard" as if it was on the floor. Then whenever I pressed on the pedal, I heard a hissing sound as if air was letting out of tires. Car response for slowing to a stop much longer. Called dealer asap and arranged to drop car off that night. Dealer called next day to say good thing we dropped car off night before as there was little to no brakes left due to power booster failure. How was it that I could tell brakes were going but dealer could not? This is a leased car. 10 weeks left on lease. Past warranty. $800 repair. Clearly mazda is having an issue with the 2010 cx-9 power booster due to the number of complaints lodged on this site. The service department for the dealer worked very hard on my behalf and was able to get mazda to cover most of the repair, the dealer picked up another $200 and I had to pay $100. Fair I guess but since this is a serious issue mazda should recall the cars and do the fix for free.