Defective Interior Metallic Door Handle

[SeCX-9]

Hi Gang,

I am having a quality problem with the interior door piece on my CX-9 and wanted to find out if anyone else is having the same problem. I have a 2008 CX-9 AWD GT with 8K miles and less than 5 months old.

A few weeks ago, I went out of town, and let my wife borrow the CX-9 (yeah, I gave her plenty of warnings about where to park….far from everyone else). When I returned, I found no dings or damage on the outside of the car, but I did find the interior door handle all scratched up. I am referring to the metallic finish, plastic piece that runs the horizontal interior length of the door and is used for opening and closing the door while seated inside. A.K.A. The door handle.

We have no dogs, cats or even kids so this could not be from them. What I determined was that the scratching was caused by her wedding rings or fingernails as she climbed in and out of the car those few days. I saw similar (but not as much) on the passenger side which she is the ONLY person to ever use that door.

While getting my thoughts together to bring the car in this Friday for a few TSB fixes, I lightly ran my bitten fingernail (i.e. no real nail) across the plastic piece and WHAM! Instant scratch! I was thinking WTF!

If this is truly a door handle, as designed by Mazda, I would expect that this piece would hold up to many years of opening and closing without much impact. If this was truly a quality piece, I would expect Mazda to design this piece to withstand REAL fingernails on many different types of people. But what I found was a poorly designed handle, or one that was defective.

It is my belief now that this piece is defective from Mazda and clearly not designed well, or the production process on the date my handles were manufactured had a defect in the production line. Surely I should not be able to easily scratch this metal, with the slightest rubbing of my fingernail. Right?

I have attached a few photos of my door handle and would like to hear if others have experienced similar with their CX-9s.

Thanks
H

[MacMaster]

Hi Gang,

I am having a quality problem with the interior door piece on......

Thanks
H

I m in the same boat, my handles are like yours for awhile now, I thought they were aluminum, but it turned out they r just cheap plastic with a silver paint on it. Should mazda replace them for free? I think so, Will they replace them for free? I dont think so. What you can do is , just go to walmart and get a silver spray paint or a silver sharpie pen and paint the handles gently. I used the sharpie method but it looks even worse now lol. First it looked cool tho. After awhile u start touchin on it and the sharpie ink starts comin off. Maybe we should contact Mazda USA. Like you said they are not designed well, and as a former 929 owner I could say that my 929 was over 14 years old when I sold it and everything was fine with my car, even the door handles were steel and chrome finished and never got scratched.

[NCZ13]

i think its not that its a cheap part per se, but is the kind of material used for looks and visual feel, the downside is that looks comes with the cost of a fragile piece.

mazda should replace this under warrenty, because no matter the interior design should some scratch that easily.

[SeCX-9]

Great feedback so far.

I am headed into Mazda Service for the throttle shut-down TSB and the brake squeek TSB. I'm planning on hitting the service department hard on the handle quality.

I would love to hear more comments.

[CharlieXray9er]

Mine is only 3 weeks old and I noticed where my pants rub on either side of the drivers cockpit. is showing blemishes. Crappy design and finish. Mazda needs to re-finish the peices and swap them out at the dealer, this is totally unacceptable!!(five-0) If they don't I may remove them and clear coat them to protect them.

[Ljspeed]

My wife's biggest concern of our purchase was that...lol She asked how durable those metallic handles were and he couldn't answer her. Now this post comes up but I had to admit that we have been super careful on those surfaces. I think we should push companies that offer accessories to come up with a more durable replacement part... even offer it in a different material or color choice. That would be awesome because mine aren't scratched yet but I believe they are extremely fragile.

Lj

[broomco]

Add me to the list, I have the same scratches, both driver and passenger side. Better not get dinged for it at the end of the lease...

[Fishrule1]

Same story here. I was absentmindedly rubbing my fingernail - lightly, mind you - along the handle while waiting at a traffic signal. I was horrified to find that I'd pulled paint off. My vehicle is only three months old. At this rate these handles will look horrible in no time.

[SeCX-9]

This is unbelievable.

I will be addressing this as a quality defect with my Mazda service department tomorrow morning and will report back what they say.

If I get no satisfaction, I'll be contacting the Marketing VP guy who sent me a letter shortly after my purchase asking me to contact him if I have any problems or concerns. After that, its the CEO of Mazda USA.

Stay tuned.....

[CharlieXray9er]

This is unbelievable.

I will be addressing this as a quality defect with my Mazda service department tomorrow morning and will report back what they say.

If I get no satisfaction, I'll be contacting the Marketing VP guy who sent me a letter shortly after my purchase asking me to contact him if I have any problems or concerns. After that, its the CEO of Mazda USA.

Stay tuned.....

Go GET'EM TIGER!!

I just got $500 out of them for a switch box complaint...I don't think they want to see me again...lol

[DPSpeed]

I see I'm not the only one, my drivers side handle is really bad now. My 08 is 6 months old with 7k miles.

[CX9Zoom]

The same problem here.

[SeCX-9]

Just got back from my dealer.

They are replacing all the metal trim door handle pieces. Not a single question asked.

They said they had not heard of this before. however, I think if we all go back to our dealers and demand replacement, they'll get the idea that there is a quality problem. I just wrote a letter to the Director of Customer Satisfaction with photos and a short video of how EASY it is to scratch the piece with a finger that has no real fingernail.

Now, I need to find a clear film to put over the new pieces so the same problem does not happen again.

I'll keep you posted.

[Desert_Fox]

Just got back from my dealer.

They are replacing all the metal trim door handle pieces. Not a single question asked.

They said they had not heard of this before. however, I think if we all go back to our dealers and demand replacement, they'll get the idea that there is a quality problem. I just wrote a letter to the Director of Customer Satisfaction with photos and a short video of how EASY it is to scratch the piece with a finger that has no real fingernail.

Now, I need to find a clear film to put over the new pieces so the same problem does not happen again.

I'll keep you posted.

Try here http://www.decalfx.com/paint_protection_film.html

[Force-1]

After reading this thread I decided to take a good look at the door handle pieces in my CX-9. They still look as good as the day I purchased it, some 11 months ago. I was also unable to scratch them with my fingernail, and they appear to be quite hardy to me.

Perhaps there was a bad batch?

[SeCX-9]

After reading this thread I decided to take a good look at the door handle pieces in my CX-9. They still look as good as the day I purchased it, some 11 months ago. I was also unable to scratch them with my fingernail, and they appear to be quite hardy to me.

Perhaps there was a bad batch?


Very interesting. That was something that I had proposed to the dealer that possibly these were from a defective batch. It was just way to easy to scrape the paint off with the lightest of touch.

Do you have a 2008 or 2007?

The dealer called and told me they ordered all 4 pieces and will replace them when I come in on Wednesday.

[CharlieXray9er]

I personally would take the pcs. to a body shop and have them clear coated. Just to maintain some sanity.....I think it would be money well spent, and probably wouldn't cost to much.

[Force-1]

Do you have a 2008 or 2007?



2008 GT.

[CX9 SportOwner]

Any 07 owners have this?
We have had nothing like this on ours.

[btm2518]

Same problem on our 7 month old 2008 GT. My wife will be glad to know it wasn't her fault (since it is her car).

[SeCX-9]

Just got my CX-9 back.

She's in brand-spanking-new condition on her doors! All 4 pieces were cheerfully replaced. No questions asked by the dealer.

I recommend you all follow suit and put in your defect claim. Maybe someone upstairs will see a trend and do something.

Cheers

[SeCX-9]

Try here http://www.decalfx.com/paint_protection_film.html

Hey Desert Fox,

Thanks for the advice on decalFX. They're right here in my home state. I ordered a 24 x 24 piece of vinyl to cut into strips and install over the plastic pieces. The front will be an inch or so short, but it will protect most of the plastic pieces. The rear 100%. ( Since I got them replace by the dealer, I put blue painters masking tape over them until I have a full-time solution in place.)

I'll let you know how it turns out.

[tran1981]

New TSB on this:

http://www.finishlineperformance.com/pdf/cx-9/bulletin/09-033-08-1993.pdf

[SeCX-9]

WOW! I cannot believe it.

I knew it had to be defective! It was just too easy to scrape off the paint. Tran1981 thanks for validating what I originally posted here all along.

Interesting that the dealer didn't admit to the TSB. Perhaps they knew and that's why I had no questions asked. Probably will still install the clear vinyel when it arrives tomorrow.

Thanks again!

[SeCX-9]

This is unbelievable.

I will be addressing this as a quality defect with my Mazda service department tomorrow morning and will report back what they say.

If I get no satisfaction, I'll be contacting the Marketing VP guy who sent me a letter shortly after my purchase asking me to contact him if I have any problems or concerns. After that, its the CEO of Mazda USA.

Stay tuned.....

Update.

Received letter dated 30 October from admin to Director of Marketing I wrote to with my complaint. This is almost 30 days AFTER Mazda USA issues TSB on the defective paint (ie, their fault). They don't appear to know about the TSB.

They apologize for the defect and cannot assure me that this won't happen again.

She includes two gift cards for $50 each ($100 total) towards parts and/or service at any Mazda dealer.

[RtDXtreme]

Mine is doing the same on the door handles. The scrathes also appear on both sides of th center console.

Once I get them replaced, I plan to clearcoat them or even paint them glossy black.

Anyone know how to remove the trim from the center console? Is it just as easy as the doors; just pull out and back?

[Scott P]

Our handles look like that as well. I think it is from retracting the seat belt without holding onto it. The same colored piece under the console door is lightly scratched from the seat belt as it is put into the buckle.

Ideally, I would repaint them with better paint or apply some colored vinyl.

[DSherwood]

How did you come across the marketing department for Mazda? I have a 08-GT built before the Nov 1, 2007 note and the paint is certainly scratched up, it was scratched before I bought it, they painted over it and it became worse-paint on plastic is terribly easy to scratch. I bought some vinyl off of ebay (whole roll) for 7 bucks, but why should I have to take the time on a new car to make it right.

any help would be great, thanks.

DSherwood

[chiurw]

I just had the chrome-looking plastic trim replaced in my CX-9. The dealer said there was a TSB for these. The new ones look a little better and the paint looks a bit thicker.

[SeCX-9]

Forget about the re-paint. The dealer has to replace these per the TSB if a customer complains. Since you are on record for this problem, they should not give you a hard time.

[DSherwood]

I just got back from dealer, they replaced the doors and ordered the console trim pieces to replace no problem (finally). I complained when it was new (a year ago) and enough people raised a rant about it, so kudos to those of us real folks for demanding a good product for a good price!

thanks everyone on here!

[SC300ES]

When they issue a TSB on things like this, is there a time limit to get the faulty part fixed? I have no scratches or damage on my door handles yet, but what if I do in a year or so?

Thanks,

Ed

[chiurw]

When they issue a TSB on things like this, is there a time limit to get the faulty part fixed? I have no scratches or damage on my door handles yet, but what if I do in a year or so?

Thanks,

Ed


Ed,

I believe that TSBs just tell the mechanic how or what to fix. If you go within the warranty period, then it will be fixed free of charge. Otherwise, you may have to pay for it.

[Lindyrect]

My 07' has the same problem. No TSB for it though. I am pretty positive that the paint did not change by year that quick.

[dohc97]

My 08 has the same problem. Also, the airbag light keeps blinking on me. I have an appointment with the service deptartment on Saturday ofr these issues.

[SeCX-9]

When they issue a TSB on things like this, is there a time limit to get the faulty part fixed? I have no scratches or damage on my door handles yet, but what if I do in a year or so?

Thanks,

Ed


You need to confirm that your car has a VIN number in the specified range before they will replace them. If you haven't seen the problem, your car is probably not in the range. It was so obvious. The TSB has the #s.

Try putting rubbing some hand lotion on the plastic or suntan lotion (both are which Mazda say cause the problem) on the plastic and let it sit for a few days and see what happens.

[dohc97]

Just got back form the dealer. They are ordering the SAS module(?) for the blinking airbag light and the interior trim.

[Renovatorbear]

Mine too. I have a 2008 and I have scratches all over those same parts. I've been very careful, but I think my wedding ring and the buckle on the seat belt make the scratches. It looks like crap.

Also, I'm having trouble with a white powdery substance that is coming out of the dash vents. The first time it happened was immediately after i turned on the AC. The stuff blew right into my eyes! Now, no matter how often I dust the dashboard, the white dust reappears within a day. I'm wondering if it's related to the airbags or if it's some type of insulation from the circulation system...?

Anyone else having a problem such as this?

Thanks!

[Scott P]

When I took it in, the service manager said he hadn't seen that problem and would have to call Mazda. I handed him the TSB and after a quick glance, he said he'd order the parts right away. They are sitting at the dealership now. I just need to find the time to take it in.

[dohc97]

I got mine done yesterday. For those who has this done, is the replacement part 'sturdier' than the original part? I was given a cx7 as a loaner and I tried scratching the painted plastic part but could not produce a single scratch.

[Lindyrect]

Speaking of defective cheap parts, after a year of ownership my door panel has developed a divet in it where I set my arm on the window sill when I drive. I have had this happen before, but normally it takes like six years.

[jabba]

Speaking of defective cheap parts, after a year of ownership my door panel has developed a divet in it where I set my arm on the window sill when I drive. I have had this happen before, but normally it takes like six years.

I'm in the plastics industry, and can tell you that the good plastic is slowly being replaced by the cheapest crap that the cheapest industry will produce in Asia (which is usually polypropylene or ABS). Not trashing Asia, it's just that the cost to produce is many folds cheaper than here. The problems is, many times they are not retooling correctly, which means they may not be adding enough stiffening ribs to the cheap parts. Hence the divet in your part.

It's to the point that You have to go more high end luxury vehicles to retain the good plastic, it's not just Mazda that is doing this. Ah well, guess they have to please the stockholders...

[techspeak]

damn, we had an 01 civic that had the most of the chrome peeling off of the inside door handle only about 60K miles on that badboy... That shit is sharp!!

[techspeak]

I'm in the plastics industry, and can tell you that the good plastic is slowly being replaced by the cheapest crap that the cheapest industry will produce in Asia (which is usually polypropylene or ABS). Not trashing Asia, it's just that the cost to produce is many folds cheaper than here. The problems is, many times they are not retooling correctly, which means they may not be adding enough stiffening ribs to the cheap parts. Hence the divet in your part.

It's to the point that You have to go more high end luxury vehicles to retain the good plastic, it's not just Mazda that is doing this. Ah well, guess they have to please the stockholders...

So are you familiar with the endocrine disrupters in plastics, like bisphenol A and phthalates? Those chemicals in plastics make men grow boobs and lose sperm :S.... what about the formaldehyde off gassing?

[Renovatorbear]

I got my parts replaced today too. thanks for posting about this. it looks so much better. and of course, no charge.

[Mazoom]

Long time lurker, 1st time poster.
Brought the CX9 in for warranty stuff today, and had the scratches that many of you mentioned. However, the dealer (Westchester Mazda, NY) only wants to replace the side that's actually scratched up. They even claim that some discoloration on the passenger side isn't bad enough to warrant a replacement.

WTH man? Anyone else have a similar problem? Don't you think that if the paint is faulty to begin with that all the affected parts should be replaced?

I bought her at Wayne Mazda, NJ but live much closer to Westchester Mazda. Any recommendations? Thanks.

PS- I also brought her in because my windshield fluid wasn't spraying. Turns out a mouse made a home in the fenderwall and elected to eat through the hose. Stupid mouse cost me $150!

[ushtang]

I bought mine from Ramsey Mazda in Ramsey NJ. I called them up and told them I had the problem on both sides and new there was a TSB for the issue. They ordered the parts for me without having me come in first so that they can could inspect it first.

Had them both replaced yesterday.

[Mazoom]

I bought mine from Ramsey Mazda in Ramsey NJ. I called them up and told them I had the problem on both sides and new there was a TSB for the issue. They ordered the parts for me without having me come in first so that they can could inspect it first.

Had them both replaced yesterday.

Good point. I'll just call up the dealer and talk to the salesman I got it from. I'll post an update later.

[SeCX-9]

Long time lurker, 1st time poster.
Brought the CX9 in for warranty stuff today, and had the scratches that many of you mentioned. However, the dealer (Westchester Mazda, NY) only wants to replace the side that's actually scratched up. They even claim that some discoloration on the passenger side isn't bad enough to warrant a replacement.

WTH man? Anyone else have a similar problem? Don't you think that if the paint is faulty to begin with that all the affected parts should be replaced?

I bought her at Wayne Mazda, NJ but live much closer to Westchester Mazda. Any recommendations? Thanks.

PS- I also brought her in because my windshield fluid wasn't spraying. Turns out a mouse made a home in the fenderwall and elected to eat through the hose. Stupid mouse cost me $150!


Scratch up the other one and bring it back. This repair costs them $0 out of their pocket and all the work to swap them out takes less than 5 minutes, which they bill to Mazda USA. The service department is a different cost center than the sales department. Complain to your sales department about the poor service.

I only had my front ones scratched, but the dealer replaced all 4 pieces. It's a known defect by Mazda. This should be replaced without any issue.

[Mazoom]

Scratch up the other one and bring it back. This repair costs them $0 out of their pocket and all the work to swap them out takes less than 5 minutes, which they bill to Mazda USA. The service department is a different cost center than the sales department. Complain to your sales department about the poor service.

I only had my front ones scratched, but the dealer replaced all 4 pieces. It's a known defect by Mazda. This should be replaced without any issue.

Update: Westchester Mazda still stuck by their -only replace the affected armrest- policy, so I called up Wayne. Talked to my salesman, and then to a service rep, and he promptly ordered 4 new armrests for me. Huge plus since it only necessitates one trip into NJ.

For those who have this issue, DO NOT SETTLE FOR LESS THAN 1 ARMREST! Hope this helps.

[Padre Dave]

Mine too....will be going in later this week to get the panels replaced. I am glad they are making good on this problem.

[Crystalwhitey]

Guys, this is a good site for showing all the TSBs

http://www.finishlineperformance.com/store/pages.php?pageid=15

Note the paint peeling from the door handles are included!

[sbmrinaldi]

This TSB does not appear to cover the 07 CX-9's. I have an 07 and driven minimally but still showing similar signs. Anyone challenge this on an 07?

[CX9 SportOwner]

Maybe it simply hasn't reared it's ugly head on 07's yet. Absolutely get them to replace the parts under warranty.

[jirathcx9]

The same problem here.

[ceric]

Guys, this is a good site for showing all the TSBs

http://www.finishlineperformance.com/store/pages.php?pageid=15

Note the paint peeling from the door handles are included!

That link/page does not contain all the TSBs.
For example, the one about Loss of Power while Climbing Hill is not there.
I started a thread on CX9 TSBs on edmunds.com. There are multiple links. Together, they cover all TSBs I know of.

[robert_h]

When I bought my 08 GT last December, the dealer was aware of the defective metal-looking door trim/handle. They then replaced these metal-looking trim items. SOO...it is a known problem that Mazda will fix...they do know about it...maybe your dealer just sort of plays a bit unaware.