2010 Mazda CX-9 Brakes Problems

The break booster went out without any warning or indicators while driving almost resulting in a collision. There are no warning lights on the dashboard.

NHTSA ID

11746341

Incident

Jun 23, 2026

Stiff brake pedal , more effort to stop and longer distant to stop.

NHTSA ID

11614349

Incident

Sep 2, 2024

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.

NHTSA ID

11609995

Incident

Aug 13, 2024

Vehicle difficult to stop, believe it is a bad brake booster.

NHTSA ID

11550478

Incident

Oct 17, 2023

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.

NHTSA ID

11517304

Incident

Mar 1, 2023

Mileage

120,000 mi

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 Mazda and the transportation authority agreed on an extended warranty which is no longer in effect.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

NHTSA ID

11492546

Incident

Aug 11, 2022

Mileage

94,000 mi

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.

NHTSA ID

11490831

Incident

Jul 30, 2022

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.

NHTSA ID

11484740

Incident

Sep 1, 2022

Mileage

86,524 mi

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.

NHTSA ID

11473560

Incident

Jul 12, 2022

Mileage

162,706 mi

Driving on I-5, near Gold Hill, Oregon, when the traction control system light came on and the Vehicle slowed down. I had to push the gas pedal to the floor to get the car to move and I could not shift gears! It shuddered and the wheels seemed to lock up. I could smell burning rubber. I forced the car to the next exit, pulled off and shut it down. I sat there waiting for it to cool off. When I started it again it was a little rough at first but then seemed to get better and I was able to get home. I bought the car in June of 2020 from Lithia Motors in Medford, Oregon. I also bought a Power Train Warranty For $2,500 which was set to expire on 6/10/2021. I called Lithia and made an appointment to take it to them for repairs on June 1, 2021. I got as far as Grants Pass, OR, and it did the same thing I described above. I called a tow truck and had it towed to Lithia in Medford. When I got to Medford, the Service Manager told me I would have to take it to Crater Lake Ford. When I got to Crater Lake Ford I was told to take it to Crater Lake Mazda which I did. I described in detail what the car was doing to.the Service.Manager and told him I feared it was some kind of transmission problem. I also told him I had a power Train. Warranty the would expire on June10thso time was no the essence! I never suspected the brakes because we had the bakes repaired in November of 2020 at Lithia Motors. They were making a hissing sound. They replaced the.brake booster among other brake parts for $1,300 plus. That job was still under warranty. I got a call on June 15th telling me the problem was in the gear shift. He said it was now repaired and I could come and pick it up. I paid $674 for that repair. I got three miles from the dealership and the original problem occurred. I had it towed back to Mazda and it has been there ever since!! They replaced they're (traction control module), but that didn't fix it. After test driving it the original problem occurred! It's still at Mazda.

NHTSA ID

11429182

Incident

May 27, 2021

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?

NHTSA ID

11414722

Incident

Apr 8, 2021

Mileage

166,900 mi

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.

NHTSA ID

11406440

Incident

Sep 3, 2020

Mileage

68,000 mi

HISSING SOUND WHEN BREAK PEDAL IS APPLIED. POWER BREAK BOOSTER FAILURE. THIS IS WHEN THE VEHICLE IS STATIONARY OR MOVING ON ANY STREET.

NHTSA ID

11363095

Incident

Sep 15, 2020

Mileage

135,000 mi

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".

NHTSA ID

11360501

Incident

Sep 18, 2020

Mileage

152,600 mi

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.

NHTSA ID

11354411

Incident

Jul 1, 2020

Mileage

66,945 mi

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.

NHTSA ID

11307816

Incident

Feb 3, 2020

THERE ARE NOISES COMING FROM THE FRONT TIRES, WHEN DRIVING. NO ONE COULD PINPOINT THE PROBLEM. BRAKE BOOSTER WENT OUT A COUPLE MONTHS LATER.

NHTSA ID

11290243

Incident

Oct 16, 2019

Mileage

125,000 mi

VEHICLE PULSATES WHILE BRAKING WHILE DRIVING FAST OR AT SLOWER SPEEDS. THE STEERING WHEEL DOES NOT SHAKE. THE BRAKE PEDAL DOES NOT PULSATE. THE VEHICLE BRAKES WERE CHANGED SEVERAL TIMES WITH NEW ROTORS AND PADS ON ALL FOUR TIRES. I NOTICED THERE WAS A RECALL ON LOWER CONTROL ARMS #15V-451. IT ONLY WAS INSPECTED AT THE TIME OF RECALL BUT NEVER CHANGED. COULD IT BE POSSIBLE THAT THEY ARE NOW WORN AND CAN BE CHANGED PER THE RECALL.*DT

NHTSA ID

11277789

Incident

Nov 1, 2018

THE BRAKE PEDAL BECAME VERY HARD TO PUSH. I ASSUME IT COULD BE THE BRAKE POWER BOOSTER OR BRAKE MASTER CYLINDER.

NHTSA ID

11240723

Incident

Jun 17, 2019

Mileage

114,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 MAZDA CX-9. WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED, THE BRAKES LOST POWER AND THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DIFFICULT TO DEPRESS WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT CALLED MAZDA OF CLEAR LAKE AT 281-823-5000 (LOCATED AT 20101 GULF FREEWAY, WEBSTER, TX 77598) AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE WARRANTY WAS EXPIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 100,000.

NHTSA ID

11228984

Incident

May 25, 2019

Mileage

100,000 mi

THE BRAKES ARE HARD TO PUSH, APPEARS SPONGY AND MAKES A HISSING NOISE WHEN PRESSURE APPLIED.

NHTSA ID

11228969

Incident

Jun 3, 2019

Mileage

100,000 mi

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

NHTSA ID

11221945

Incident

Jun 1, 2019

Mileage

100,000 mi

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?

NHTSA ID

11220850

Incident

Jun 17, 2019

Mileage

156,000 mi

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.

NHTSA ID

11219521

Incident

Jun 8, 2019

Mileage

77,700 mi

BRAKE PAD BECOME VERY HARD TO PUSH. I CAN'T STOP THE CAR AS USUAL.

NHTSA ID

11219274

Incident

Jun 1, 2019