Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2011 Mazda CX-9 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2011 Mazda CX-9. The contact stated that while attempting to park the vehicle at a slow speed in the driveway, the vehicle suddenly experienced unintended acceleration, lurched forward, and crashed into a tree before coming to a stop. The contact was unable to stop the vehicle during the sudden unintended acceleration. During the failure the vehicle sustained front end damages, but no air bags had deployed. No injuries were reported. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The contact stated that twice in the day before the unintended acceleration, the vehicle jerked forward in traffic however, the contact attributed the issue to the brake pedal not being firmly depressed or the clutch not properly engaged while shifting gear. The local dealer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 Mazda cx9. The contact stated that while his wife was driving approximately 13 MPH and attempting to slow down, the brake pedal was harder than usual to depress. As a result, the driver rear ended the vehicle in front causing a five vehicle collision at a traffic light. None of the frontal air bags deployed. The police were present and a police report was filed. There were no injuries reported. The vehicle was towed to an impound lot where the insurance company was scheduled to have an inspector inspect the vehicle. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for a diagnostic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The contact referenced NHTSA action number: pe14005 (service brakes, hydraulic). The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 86,000.
I own a 2011 Mazda CX-9. Another vehicle crashed head on into my vehicle while it was idling stoped at a stop sign when impact accursed . The air bags failed to deploy and both front passenger seat belts did not retract. There were injuries and a police report was filed. The vehicle was taken to an autobody shop for repair; however, a diagnostic test was not performed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was invalid. The failure mileage was 104,585
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 Mazda CX-9. Another vehicle crashed head on into the contact's vehicle while it was idling. The air bags failed to deploy and both front passenger seat belts did not retract. There were no injuries and a police report was not filed. The vehicle was taken to an autobody shop for repair; however, a diagnostic test was not performed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was invalid. The failure mileage was 104,585.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 Mazda CX-9. The contact stated that while driving approximately 10 MPH, both front and rear side driver and passenger side curtain airbags deployed inadvertently. During the incident no collision had occurred and vehicle was not driven over a bump. The driver sustained neck and left shoulder injuries and suffered headaches since the incident. Medical treatment was required. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer brown Mazda of chantilly (4155 auto park service chantilly, va). The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 137,000.
I came outside to my car one morning and started the vehicle.. I noticed the airbag light was blinking, and it never was before.. So I shut the vehicle off to visually inspect it.. What I found was the passenger curtain airbag had malfunctioned.. It didn't deploy fully, but it puckered my headliner so now it's just hanging on the passenger side.. I informed Mazda of this and I was told it's only a recall on passenger airbag sensor, but no recalls for curtain airbags.. What can I do
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 Mazda cx9. The contact stated that the passenger's side air bag warning light illuminated although the passenger seat was occupied. The dealer was unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 36,000.
While driving the side airbags exploded and I had to stop in the middle of the street, get vehicle towed to mazda dealer in Alpharetta, GA Now, im without a vehicle. What do I do now?
Takata recall I had to put in my VIN to make an appointment for recalls & was sent a message back stating there are no recalls on my car. When I looked it up on your website it says my car is in recall for airbags and lower control arm. But according to the Mazda dealer & the Mazda website I don't have any recalls on my car!!! So to date I haven't been able to fix the items that are being recalled. When the recall for the airbags came out I contacted Mazda & there was no recall. Again when the recall was expanded I contacted Mazda. My vehicle was not on the list. I went to your site to see what you had about my car & discovered you have 2 open recalls on my car that as far as far as Mazda is concerned I have none. Yet you have on your website that I do so I am trying to get to the bottom of this. Does my car have any recalls or not? …
My vehicle has two unresolved recalls. The first dates back to July 2015 related to the front suspension ball joint fitting. This has been brought to the attention of south bay Mazda on multiple occasions and the issue has not been resolved nor have I ever received a response from them. A second recall was issued for Mazda CX-9s related to the passenger side airbag in May 2016. Due to the poor customer service at south bay Mazda I've taken my business to culver city Mazda. Culver city Mazda gave me a rental vehicle on aug 8th 2016 while Mazda na orders and delivers parts. I've had the rental vehicle for nearly three months with no resolution in sight. It's very stressful to drive a rental vehicle which I will be liable for if anything happens to it while in my possession. It's also very disturbing that these recalls are taking so long to remedy. …
Related recalls
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2007-2012 CX-7, CX-9, and 2009-2012 Maza6 vehicles. These vehicles had their passenger frontal air bag inflators previously replaced under a prior recall using inflators of the same design.
Remedy: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge.
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2014-2015 Mazda CX-9 vehicles sold, or ever registered in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S.
Remedy: Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began November 9, 2018.
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Mazda North America Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2009-2011 Mazda6, and 2007-2011 CX-7 and CX-9 vehicles. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, and used as original equipment or replacement equipment.
Remedy: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the remedy is performed. Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, free of charge.
NHTSA investigations
Inadvertent Curtain Air Bag Deployment
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this Preliminary Evaluation (PE19-006) on May 2, 2019 to investigate two Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQs) and Early Warning Reporting data related to allegations of inadvertent deployment (IAD) of side curtain airbags in Model Year (MY) 2010 through 2013 Mazda CX-9 vehicles. ODI sent an Information Request (IR) to Mazda North America Operations, LLC.
Airbag complaints in other CX-9 years
Frequently asked questions
How common are airbag problems on the 2011 Mazda CX-9?
NHTSA has 22 complaints about the air bags of the 2011 Mazda CX-9, 13% of the model year's 170 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2011 Mazda CX-9 airbag problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 19V-782 (inflator module, Oct 31, 2019); NHTSA recall 18V-717 (inflator module, Oct 12, 2018); NHTSA recall 17V-429 (inflator module, Jun 29, 2017). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2011 Mazda CX-9 airbag problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 105,000 miles, and 11% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 4 crashes, 0 fires and 2 injuries to air bags problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.