Ford Bronco vs Mazda CX-9: which is more reliable?
The Mazda CX-9 is clearly ahead of the Ford Bronco on the federal record: 84/100 against 66/100 across every model year we score.
The record, side by side
Ford Bronco
- 5 model years scored
- 886 owner complaints on record
- about 49 complaints per year on the road
- 60 recall campaigns, 15 safety-critical
- best year 2024 (76/100) · worst 2022 (51/100)
Mazda CX-9
- 11 model years scored
- 885 owner complaints on record
- about 7 complaints per year on the road
- 19 recall campaigns, 13 safety-critical
- best year 2022 (93/100) · worst 2012 (50/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Bronco against CX-9
The comparison that decides the purchase. A nameplate is not one car — a redesign can move the record sixty points inside two years, and the two nameplates rarely move together.
What owners actually complain about
Ford Bronco
- Visibility/Wiper — 154 complaints
- Engine — 144 complaints
- Electrical System — 108 complaints
Mazda CX-9
- Engine — 302 complaints
- Service Brakes — 284 complaints
- Power Train — 87 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Bronco's complaints concentrate in Visibility/Wiper, the CX-9's in Engine. That difference matters more to a buyer than the score gap, because it says which repair bill you are taking on.
Years to avoid on each
Ford Bronco: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2021, 2024, 2025.
Mazda CX-9: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020….
A year scores below 45 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. Every car’s years to avoid.
What each costs today
A recent used Ford Bronco prices at about $40,800 and a Mazda CX-9 at about $34,200 — the Mazda CX-9 is roughly $6,600 less, and they return 20.0 against 23.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Ford Bronco or the Mazda CX-9 more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Mazda CX-9 scores 84/100 against the Ford Bronco's 66/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The Mazda CX-9 carries about 7 complaints per year on the road against 49 for the Ford Bronco.
Which Ford Bronco and Mazda CX-9 years should I avoid?
Ford Bronco: no year scores below 45. Mazda CX-9: no year scores below 45. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Ford Bronco and the Mazda CX-9?
The largest complaint group on the Ford Bronco is Visibility/Wiper (154 complaints); on the Mazda CX-9 it is Engine (302).
Is the Ford Bronco or the Mazda CX-9 cheaper to own?
A recent used Ford Bronco prices at about $40,800 and a Mazda CX-9 at about $34,200, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.