2016 Mazda CX-9: True Cost, Problems & Verdict
99 NHTSA owner complaints · 0 recalls · data-computed verdict. No opinions — public data only.
Editor's note
Avoid the 2011 and 2012 CX-9, CAUTION verdicts at 65 and 50 with Service Brakes accounting for 100 of the 2011 car's 170 complaints and 143 of the 2012 car's 221; buy a 2014, 2015, 2017 or any year from 2019 to 2022, which score between 83 and 93. The 2018 car is a CAUTION at 57 with 126 complaints, 74 of them Engine. Read the full note on the model page. 2016 specifically: a year the record favours — 99 complaints, score 81/100. The caveats in the note apply to other years of this nameplate more than to this one.
Read the guide
Used Mazda CX-9, CX-3 and CX-7: what the record says, including 2016 — written and signed by Adir Trabelsi, 2026-09-16.
Owner complaints: 99 filed with NHTSA
Complaints per year on the road: 9.9
What owners say
Verbatim reports filed with the United States safety regulator (NHTSA) by owners of this exact model year. Public record.
Smart City Break Malfunction warning light appears while driving. Simultaneously the tire pressure warning appears. Also, at the same time, the temperature reads -20 to -40 degrees. Yes, vehicle is available for inspection. Fearful that car could randomly break while driving putting myself and family in danger since there is a malfunction. Mazda service center says the problem can’t be reproduced so there’s nothing…
Head gasket leaking and caused major engine issue at 89,000 miles. Mazda has known of this issue, but refuses to recall it.
Sudden and dramatic loss of engine coolant. Received a warning that engine was overheating, and to shut off engine. Quickly obeyed the prompt and found that most of the engine coolant had been lost due to a catastrophic failure of either the head gasket or head itself.
Recalls: 0 campaigns
| Campaign | Component | Summary |
|---|
What it costs to buy — and what owning it really takes
Class-level estimates, priced as a mid-size SUV of its model year, re-priced to your country. Not a quote, not a valuation of one specific car — condition, mileage and options move it. How these are computed.
What it costs to run
EPA combined 24 MPG · estimated annual fuel cost $2,550
Re-priced automatically from your country's retail fuel, electricity and parts indices — change country in the bar at the top. Estimates; see methodology.
What this car's problems cost to fix
Ranked by the components owners of this exact model year actually complain about. Each figure is flat-rate labour hours x the local shop rate plus a parts band — an estimate of what this kind of failure costs, not a quote, and not a prediction that this car will need it. Formula.
- Engine61 complaints · typical job: Cooling-system or timing-drive repair (6.0 h labour + parts)$1,040–$2,220
- Electrical System14 complaints · typical job: Alternator, battery-drain or body-module diagnosis and replacement (3.0 h labour + parts)$540–$1,310
- Service Brakes11 complaints · typical job: Pads, rotors and caliper service, both axles (3.0 h labour + parts)$580–$1,140
- Power Train9 complaints · typical job: Transmission service or clutch-pack repair (7.0 h labour + parts)$1,290–$4,040
- Fuel/Propulsion System7 complaints · typical job: Fuel pump or injector replacement (3.5 h labour + parts)$680–$1,620
- Unknown Or Other6 complaints · typical job: Diagnosis and mixed repair (2.0 h labour + parts)$360–$940
Other Mazda CX-9 years
FAQ
What is the most common problem with the 2016 Mazda CX-9?
The most-reported issue in NHTSA complaint data is Engine (61 complaints in our indexed sample).
Is the 2016 Mazda CX-9 a good used car to buy?
Our data verdict is BUY with a reliability score of 81/100, computed from 99 NHTSA complaints and 0 recall campaigns. See the verdict card for the top reasons.
How much does it cost to fix the 2016 Mazda CX-9's most common problem?
61 of the NHTSA complaints filed against the 2016 Mazda CX-9 sit in the Engine group — more than any other component on this model year. The representative job there is cooling-system or timing-drive repair: about 6.0 hours of labour plus parts, roughly $1,040–$2,220 at a US independent shop and re-priced to your country at the top of the page. It is an estimate of what this class of failure costs, not a quote for this car.
What does a 2016 Mazda CX-9 cost to run per year?
About $4,807 a year in fuel or energy plus the maintenance band — roughly $24,038 over five years, before purchase price, insurance and depreciation. Figures come from available EPA fuel-economy data and industry maintenance averages, and are re-priced to your country.
Compare with
Other midsize suvs of about the same age.
What will a 2016 Mazda CX-9 really cost YOU per year?
Fuel, maintenance band and depreciation — computed from public data in 10 seconds.
Open the true-cost calculatorData sources
Complaints & recalls: NHTSA ·
Fuel economy: EPA fueleconomy.gov ·
Scoring: our published methodology.
Maintenance bands are industry-average estimates (AAA Your Driving Costs, CarMD index) — labeled estimates, not measurements.
Last updated: 2026-10-04.
Moderate evidence — 99 complaints, 0 recalls on record
- 99 NHTSA complaints on record (9.9/yr of exposure) — worse than a typical year of this model (7.6/yr)
- 0 recall campaigns, 0 touching safety-critical systems