There are 50 owner-reported brakes complaints for the 2010 Mazda CX-9in NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
Stiff brake pedal , more effort to stop and longer distant to stop.
My wife was taking my daughters for marching band and all of a sudden she tried to press the brakes but the brakes felt too hard and she was unable to stop the car safely. She had to take immediate action by moving the car to the shoulder to stop the car. There were no warning signs on the screen. The car was taken to the mechanic and the dealership. The dealership said that this was a brake booster issue which would be fixed for $1500. This is a serious issue which if had happened on the highway would have been tragic. Mazda and the dealership refuse to fix this free of cost since they say that they had already communicated about "an extension of warranty" to fix this problem in 2015 - at which time there were no issues with the brakes.
Vehicle difficult to stop, believe it is a bad brake booster.
Braking inconsistently - sometimes easy to stop, sometimes hard. I had brakes looked at, and the man said it was the brake booster. He googled it, and found a recall online and told me to take it to my dealer. It doesn't look like there's an active recall - but a lot of complaints. What's going on? This is going to be expensive. My college age daughter drives that car. Do they have to have a severe accident to get that fixed? I can't afford to fix it right now.
While driving the vehicle went to stop car and was unable to stop brake pedal was hard as a rock luckily I didn't hit anything or anyone. upon further research it seems that this model has an issues with the brake booster failing causing exactly what I experienced. As it turns out I did not qualify for the extended warranty on the brake booster due to a agreement between you and mazda my issue is it should be life of the model with no expiration date due to the fact it can happen at any moment. Luckily my family wasn't harmed and luckily someone else's family wasn't harmed because of this failure. My vehicle only has 86,000+ miles.
Brakes not working due to brake booster problem which was brought to the attention of Mazda. Mazda and the transportation authority agreed on an extended warranty which is no longer in effect. There have been many more complaints for this same problem, yet a recall has not been listed for this vechicle and alot of people are paying out of pocket. I already brought this to the attention of traffic safety and never received a return reply. Brakes are squishy than you end up having to put brakes all the way to get car to stop. People are unaware of this major brake and safety defect
Driving and brakes would not work without pressing really hard. The problem was reported before on these cars and continue to be a problem. https://www.carcomplaints.com/Mazda/CX-9/2010/brakes/stiff_difficult_braking.shtml my car has been in 2 shops for about 3 months now. They had to replace several parts in the braking system. Than the rear brakes completely froze up and towed to Mazda out of Greensboro NC.
The contact owns a 2010 Mazda CX-9. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle was unable to stop while the brake pedal was depressed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 162,706. The consumer stated the brake booster was replaced on 07/22/2022.
I HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING ISSUES WITH MY BRAKES. VERY HARD TO PUSH, NOT COMING TO A STOP, SOUNDS LIKE AIR & MAKES A HISSING SOUND WHEN BRAKE ARE APPLIED.THE 1ST TIME I NOTICED I WAS DRIVING STRAIGHT ON A 2 LANE ST. A CAR WAS COMING FROM THE OFF RAMP ON THE RIGHT OF ME & CUT ME OFF. I TRIED TO BRAKE BUT, THEY WERE SO HARD TO PUSH DOWN, I HAD TO JUMP INTO THE NEXT LANE IN ORDER TO NOT REAR END HER BUT, BECAUSE I HONKED MY HORN, THE LADY JUMPED INTO HER NEXT LANE CAUSING ME TO HAVE TO CUT BACK OVER AGAIN, ALL THE WHILE MY BRAKES ARE REALLY HARD TO PUSH, THE CAR WOULDN'T STOP. THEY MADE HISSING SOUNDS. I HAD MY MECHANIC CHECK, STATES IT'S THE BRAKE BOOSTER & THERE MAY BE A RECALL. I CHECKED ONLINE, JUST A WARRANTY. MAZDA WILL REPAIR BEFORE 90K OR 7 YEARS. I CALLED MAZDA, WHO SAID THEY ONLY MAKE RECALLS WITH SAFETY ISSUES. I'D SAY THE BRAKES MALFUNCTIONING IS DEFINITELY A SAFETY ISSUE. THE 7 YR EXPIRATION WAS UP IN 2018. WHEN I BOUGHT THE VEHICLE IT ALREADY HAD 105K, SO THE WARRANTY WAS EXPIRED. THAT MAKES NO SENSE. IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN A RECALL. WHAT HAPPENS TO PEOPLE LIKE ME WHO BUY THE MAZDA CX-9 AFTER THE 7 YR OR 90K MILE EXPIRATION? IT DOESN'T APPLY TO US AND WE HAVE TO PAY OUT OF POCKET? KNOWING THAT THIS WAS A SAFETY ISSUE AND THAT IT WAS HAPPENING TO 2010-2011 CX-9 MODELS, IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DEEMED A RECALL. ESPECIALLY WHEN PEOPLE BUY USED CARS. THIS IS NOT JUST AN ISOLATED ISSUE OR INCIDENT. THIS WAS LITERALLY LISTED BY PEOPLE WITH THE SAME COMPLAINTS. I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO FIX MY VEHICLE. IT'S MY SOURCE OF TRANSPORTATION TO GET TO WORK. I DEFINITELY BELIEVE THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN A SAFETY RECALL BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE STILL HAVING ISSUES. WHAT IF SOMEONE DIES. WHO'LL BE AT FAULT IF A PERSONS BRAKES GO & THEY GET INTO AN ACCIDENT & GET INJURED OR DIE? THERE HAVE BEEN SO MANY COMPLAINTS REGARDING THIS ISSUE, HOW COULD IT BE DEEMED A WARRANTY AND NOT A SAFETY RECALL?
THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY LOST BRAKING POWER, AND THE BRAKE PEDAL WOULD SOMETIMES FEEL "SPONGY" AND SOMETIMES FEEL ROCK-HARD, WITH VARYING RESULTS FOR BRAKING POWER. I WENT TO A MECHANIC WHO SAID THE BRAKE BOOSTER FAILED, AND WE FOUND THIS WAS A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH THE MAZDA CX-9, HOWEVER NHTSA'S INVESTIGATION WAS RESOLVED WHEN MAZDA COVERED THIS PROBLEM FOR ONE YEAR FROM THE DATE IS CLOSING THE NHTSA INVESTIGATION. THIS APPARENTLY IS STILL A PROBLEM, THOUGH. I CALLED MAZDA'S CUSTOMER SERVICE, AND THEY REFUSED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THIS PROBLEM EXISTED AND WOULD ONLY GIVE THE SCRIPTED "THERE ARE NO OPEN RECALLS ON YOUR VEHICLE".
HISSING SOUND WHEN BREAK PEDAL IS APPLIED. POWER BREAK BOOSTER FAILURE. THIS IS WHEN THE VEHICLE IS STATIONARY OR MOVING ON ANY STREET.
I EXPERIENCED A SEVERAL BRAKING PROBLEMS IN MY CAR IN THE FALL OF 2020. I TOOK IT TO THE MAZDA DEALERSHIP AND THEY REPLACED THE BRAKING SYSTEM PER MAZDA'S SSP 93 BULLETIN. HOWEVER, MAZDA INFORMED ME THAT MY CAR WAS OUTSIDE OF THE EXTENDED WARRANTY FOR THIS ISSUE AND I HAD TO PAY FOR THE REPAIR MYSELF. I ARGUED THAT IT WAS CLEARLY A SAFETY ISSUE BECAUSE THE BRAKING SYSTEM PERFORMED SO POORLY THAT I NEARLY GOT IN MULTIPLE ACCIDENTS. MAZDA STATED THAT IT WAS NOT A SAFETY ISSUE, THEREFORE NO RECALL WAS NECESSARY, AND I WOULDN'T BE COVERED FOR THE REPAIR. I BELIEVE THE NHTSA NEEDS TO MAKE THIS A FULL SAFETY RECALL. THE BRAKING FAILURE IS VERY DANGEROUS TO DRIVERS AND MAZDA NEEDS TO TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS ISSUE.
BRAKE BOOSTER SPONGY...KNOWN MAZDA ISSUE,NHTSA CLOSED ISSUE WHEN MAZDA AGREED TO EXTEND WARRANTY,WITHOUT RECALL. OUR PROBLEM OCCURRED AFTER WARRANTY ENDED...PROVING BRAKE RECALL NEEDS TO HAPPEN!!!! ON JULY 1ST,2020, MY WIFE'S TRIP BACK HOME NEARLY TURNED TRAGIC WHEN THE CAR WOULDN'T BRAKE(FELT SPONGY) DOWN THE HIGHWAY RAMP . FORTUNATELY FOR HER ,THERE WERE NO CARS AT THE INTERSECTION AS THE CAR ZOOMED RIGHT AT 60 MPH .EVENTUALLY,SHE WAS ABLE TO MANEUVER IT TO THE RIGHT LANE AND DROVE IT HOME WITH HAZARD LIGHTS ON. RIGHTFULLY DISTRAUGHT ABOUT THE WHOLE ORDEAL ,WE HAD TO THANK OUR STARS FOR HAVING HER HOME ALIVE AND WITHOUT CAUSING INJURY/DEATH TO OTHERS. ON MY DRIVE TO THE MECHANICS I HEARD AIR HISSING AND FELT THE BRAKE REALLY HARD TO PUSH. AGAIN HAZARD LIGHTS/ MANUAL DRIVE GOT US THERE. THE MECHANICS IMMEDIATELY SUGGESTED THAT THIS IS A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH MAZDA CX-9 AND THAT MAZDA WAS AWARE OF IT. HE SAID THAT MAZDA HAD PROVIDED EXTENDED WARRANTY FOR CUSTOMERS WHO HAD THE ISSUE UNTIL MARCH 2015. WE WERE GROSSLY UNAWARE OF ANY OF THIS,AS WE NEVER HAD THE PROBLEM UNTIL THIS JULY. NOT SURE HOW WE WENT ON FOR SO LONG WITHOUT ANY PROBLEM( MAY BE PROPER CARE/USE?),BUT ANY ISSUE WITH A BRAKE SHOULD HAVE BEEN ADDRESSED BY A COMPLETE RECALL ,NOT BY JUST PROVIDING EXTENDED WARRANTY FOR A LIMITED TIME ,JUST FOR PEOPLE CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING THE ISSUE.MAZDA CUSTOMER SERVICE DOWNPLAYED THE COMPLAINT AS OWNER'S EXPENSE AS WE DID NOT HAVE THE WARRANTY. OUR SITUATION PROVES THAT BRAKE ISSUES ARE NOT SOLVED BY EXTENDING WARRANTY,AND THE ONLY WAY TO ADDRESS THIS IS BY ISSUING A RECALL AND CORRECTING THE PROBLEM. IN ADDITION, THERE MIGHT BE MANY MORE MAZDA OWNERS STILL DRIVING THEIR VEHICLES,COMPLETELY UNAWARE OF THIS PROBLEM,THUS CONSTITUTING HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS. THE NEXT TIME WE MIGHT NOT BE AS LUCKY TO ESCAPE WITHOUT INJURY/DEATH.
ABOUT 1 MONTH AGO I NOTICED MY CAR MAKING A HISSING SOUND WHEN MY FOOT WAS ON THE BRAKE PEDAL AT A RED LIGHT OR STOP SIGN. IF I WAS A LONG RED LIGHT OR IN A DRIVE THRU FOR MORE THAN 5 MINUTES I NOTICED MY CAR WOULD BEGIN TO TREMBLE. THEN ABOUT A WEEK AGO I NOTICED IF I HAD TO BRAKE SUDDENLY, THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS VERY HARD TO PUSH DOWN MAKING IT ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO STOP. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER ON 2/3/2020 AND THE TECHNICIAN MENTIONED THAT THEY HAVE BEEN HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THE BRAKE BOOSTER.
THE BRAKE PEDAL BECAME VERY HARD TO PUSH. I ASSUME IT COULD BE THE BRAKE POWER BOOSTER OR BRAKE MASTER CYLINDER.
WHEN I APPLY MY BRAKES IT SOUNDS LIKE THEY ARE RELEASING AIR, AND THEY SEEM TO BE HARDER TO APPLY THEM. IT ALSO MAKES THIS SOUND WHILE I AM STATIONARY APPLYING THE BRAKES. I HAVE 156K MILES ON THE CAR, IS THIS NORMAL?
AS NOTED BY MANY ON THIS SITE, I EXPERIENCED A SCARY BRAKE BOOSTER FAILURE. COMPLETE LOSS OF POWERED BRAKES WHICH PUT MY WHOLE FAMILY IN DANGER. THIS IS A FAMILY CAR AND I HAVE SMALL CHILDREN SO THIS IS APPALLING THAT MAZDA WOULD NOT ISSUE A RECALL FOR THIS PROBLEM. I SEE THAT THERE WAS A TSB AND ASSOCIATED EXTENDED WARRANTY PERIOD FOR THIS ISSUE BUT AS MANY HAVE NOTED ON THIS SITE, THE TRUE FAILURE TENDS TO OCCUR AFTER THE 7 YEAR WARRANTY PERIOD. I ACTUALLY STARTED NOTICING SOME ISSUES WITH THE BRAKING ON THIS VEHICLE YEARS AGO, BUT ASSUMED THAT IT JUST NEEDED NEW BRAKE PADS AND ROTORS AS THE CAR WAS GETTING OLDER. IF I HAD RECEIVED SOME TYPE OF COMMUNICATION FROM MAZDA OR NHTSA, THEN I WOULD HAVE KNOWN THE TRUE ISSUE DURING THE EXTENDED WARRANTY. I ONLY HAVE 77,000 MILES ON THIS CAR, BUT SINCE IT IS OLDER THAN 7 YEARS... MAZDA REFUSES TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM OR TAKE ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THIS QUALITY DEFECT. I PAID FOR THE REPAIR MYSELF. MAZDA HAS LOST A LOYAL CUSTOMER. SHAME ON THEM FOR PUTTING DRIVERS AND THEIR FAMILIES KNOWINGLY AT RISK AND NOT DOING THE RIGHT THING.
THE BRAKES ARE HARD TO PUSH, APPEARS SPONGY AND MAKES A HISSING NOISE WHEN PRESSURE APPLIED.
BRAKE PAD BECOME VERY HARD TO PUSH. I CAN'T STOP THE CAR AS USUAL.
BRAKE BOOSTER WENT OUT. ALMOST CAUSING AN ACCIDENT BECAUSE THE BRAKES WENT STIFF. I ABSOLUTELY CAN NOT BELIEVE THIS ISN'T A RECALL. I GUESS IT TAKES A SERIOUS INJURY OR LAWSUIT TO BECOME A LAWSUIT. I WAS TOLD BY MECHANIC TI HAVE TO HAVE REPAIRS AT DEALER. DEALER IS IMPOSSIBLE TO GET A HOLD OF FOR AN APPOINTMENT. I TOLD THEM NEEDS TO BE FIXED ASAP AND THEY BOOKED ME A WEEK OUT!! SO UPSET I DROVE AND SUDDENLY BRAKES STIFFNESS. COULD BARELY APPLY PRESSURE
Showing 1–20 of 50 complaints
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026