2015 Touring 1,000 mile review

Got my new CX-9 about a month ago, have 1,100 miles on it.

So far things are great, i miss my Honda Ridgeline, and the bed, but i'm getting used to the grocery getter little by little.

Couple things i have noticed, the all weather OEM mats i got them to throw in are really nice, but they don't really cover the floor like liners, and in upstate NY i need them to hold about 10,000 gallons of water/slush, thinking maybe i should get Weathertech liners.

It's "clunky" when i hit bumps on the road. Things feel tight, but hearing it is annoying. Not sure if anyone else notices this?

There is a super annoying whistling wind noise on the passenger door when it's windy. anyone else getting this on theirs?

power seems pretty sufficient, handling great for a big heavy SUV.

Auto HVAC seems to work well, but the whole auto AC, Rear, etc still needs to be figured out. Does the AC kick on, or is it just tellign you it'll kick on when needed? i'd hate to be running the condensor, etc when i only need 70 deg and it's 60 outside. i'm coming from a 8yr old pretty basic truck that had none of this.

Bluetooth connection seems good, but phonebook seems to have to download every time i get in the truck (??!!)

I am trying to figure out the lock/unlock programming. i got it to unlock when i park it, and the tail gate now unlocks, but getting out while it's running and trying to grab something in the rear seat and finding the rear door unlocked is annoying as hell.

auto off headlights- genius and very welcome when i'm leaving for work and getting out while dark.

so i was told it has synthetic in it from the factory. I'm used to doing 1,000 mile oil change on new cars, but i was told to go 5,000 miles. To me this just doesn't feel right. Anyone have advice on this? and are most people sticking with synthetic or going normal? i do my own, so i would like to stock up before it's needed.

Heated seats- AWESOME.

average MPG looks to be 19.1 , it started at 18.6 when i got it, so this was a welcome improvement.

Get the weathertech mats. Put ours in a month ago, they're never coming out. We live in Ontario, similar weather to yours. We take the dog to a nearby conservation area most days, and muddy trails are no longer a major cleanup (at leadt, not the cx9).

The OEM all-weather mats aren't great. They don't hold a lot of water and they're not terribly durable. I've got over 100K miles on mine but wore a hole where I rest my heal but the gas/brake pedals after less than 50K. At the time I couldn't find another option for all three rows. There may be other choices now like Weathertech.

If it says the A/C is on, then it's on. There's the rare day when the Auto setting will shut off the A/C but 95% of the time Auto wants to engage the compressor. I guess it makes the cabin a bit more comfortable but there are definitely times I'd like it to be a little more willing to let the fresh air in. The good news is you can manually turn off the A/C and the rest of the Auto functions will continue to work. Mess with the fan though and you're in Manual mode.

i also got the weathertech. they are awesome.

mazda keeps the weight down a few ways; one of those ways has been less sound deadening than other manufacturers. that may be part of the issue. also, reduction in noise, vibration, and harshness can sometimes come at the expense of handling and steering feel. part of that mazda zoom-zoom certainly has something to do with the bushings they use in the suspension and body and thus could be transmitting more nvh then you are used too.

the best way to know for sure is to bring the issue up with your dealer and ask them to drive another one. our 2011 with the 20" wheels transmits some clunk on certain bumps.

again, the cx-9 is not known as the most quiet of the three row crossovers. that is one thing that they specifically targeted with new cx-9. having said that, while i hear general wind noise i have never noticed it coming from a specific area. there might be a piece of molding that is not flush or needs to be re-glued. again, a test drive of another vehicle would help.

our A/C is almost always on. it annoys me too but i often find that when i turn it off it usually isn't too long before i am turning it back on again due to humidity/condensation.

my radio (w/nav) is different from yours. so can't help you there.

the 3.7 v6 is a ford engine. as such it comes with ford's semi-synthetic from the factory. i follow the 7500-mile schedule (#1). we drive a lot of highway. the mazda oem oil is likely a re-branded ford oil. for some reason my mazda dealer uses castrol syntec at the correct 5w-20 weight; which is fine because castrol is also recommended in the manual (page 8-19).

our heated seats are very weak and take forever to "warm" up; they never get hot. glad you like yours.

sjg said:

I guess it makes the cabin a bit more comfortable but there are definitely times I'd like it to be a little more willing to let the fresh air in.

Click to expand...

unless the recirculate button is activated you are always getting fresh air regardless if the a/c button is activated or not.

also, from the manual:

NOTE
l The air conditioning operates when the A/C
switch is pressed even if the fan is off.
l The air conditioner may not function when
the outside temperature approaches 0 C
(32 F). (Indicator light remains on even
when system is off.)

S197GT said:

unless the recirculate button is activated you are always getting fresh air regardless if the a/c button is activated or not.

Click to expand...

Good point. I guess I meant "un-conditioned" air.

"We’ve long complained that though every Mazda in the lineup drives well, there is a noticeable trade-off when it comes to wind and road noise." - Automobile mag

“NVH has been our Achilles’ heel,” says Coleman. “It’s totally at odds with the values of steering and handling, but we made the effort to correct those drawbacks for the (2016) CX-9.” - Mazda product development engineer Dave Coleman

http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews/driven/2016-mazda-cx-9-prototype-review/

We've had our 2014 gt since March, 6500 miles. It's been great, not a single issue. Gas mileage isnt great, though. I'd say we average 16-17 in suburban driving, maybe 20-21 hwy on 20" wheels. The body metal is very soft. Had a sequoia for 11 years, not a dent on it, the Mazda has a few already. Wish the homelink buttons lit up, blue tooth can take a few mins to get the music going, hav is not great, though seems to work better for my wife. It's pretty comfortable over long trips. Waiting for snow to arrive to see how it performs. Oil change was simple to do.

Does the 2014 have the issue with the transfer case oil?

RL911 said:

Waiting for snow to arrive to see how it performs.

Click to expand...

With the OEM Bridgestone Duelers, pretty crappy, at least for stopping. Leave yourself lots of extra distance.

For the wind noise, try lubing the weatherstripping on the doors. I heard that does wonders. Mine doesn't have any problems like that and I find it's very quiet on the highway compared to my old Mazda 6 and even my 2004 BMW X3.
I also put 6mil poly sheeting under my weathertechs to avoid any spills of salty water on hills. You can still press the mats through the tabs at the back so they stay secure. Happy driving!

+1 to the weather techs. There a huge upgrade over the OEM ones.

I did oil tests on mazda 6 with ford/mazda V6. I tried anything from motorcraft to semisyn. shaeffers 7000 ...general consensus was - oil was retaining enough lubricating efficiency well passed 7K mark....if that helps at all. I wouldn't go below 5k miles on any vehicle, I don't care what kind of oil it runs....oh unless it's that crap mobil one LOL. 5w 30 syn. was known to loose viscosity somewhere around 2.5k mark