What have you done to your CX-9 today?

I had some time today so I tackled a couple things on the CX-9.

The stock LED dome lights just weren't cutting it for me. I found some LED boards on Amazon for $13 for 4. They come with festoon adapters so you can use them in all but the third row dome lightsI have switchable red and white LED boards in my 4Runner overhead lights and really like them but I can't find any for the CX-9. Since I could only use one color for each light, I went with the most used color in the front and second row. I prefer red at night but I don't need that up front because I have my "just in case" headlamps mounted to the visors and they are set to red. Red in the second row doesn't wake our toddler (and soon to be second baby) at night and doesn't bother the driver. We typically will drive with the red on the second row on just so we can see her better.

7EB9D78F-D201-4FFC-90C5-83F266003016.jpeg

A12B458F-F618-49F3-BBE3-516E3EB7E1DB.jpeg


The liftgate light was atrocious even with a better LED board. I had some auxillary reverse lights sitting around from a previous vehicle so I thought I'd use those. They are 0.7A each so the pair is a bit too much for the stock 20 GA wiring. Opted to run some 16 GA wire from the battery through a relay. That was probably the hardest wire I've ever run in a vehicle. It's fused and uses the stock switch though! Each light is 900 raw lumens and oh man does it show

0B3C0890-08D4-4A7E-8AD8-353D69583059.jpeg
7AD942C0-5675-480D-9BDE-7E639EAC0F42.jpeg
F42C7753-AEDE-4C0D-85EA-B5ACB6AB0027.jpeg


Also installed the incorrect canvasback so we can finally take our dogs with us in it. Canvasback is sending the right one out but said I could use this one in the meantime.

929D4F5E-58D8-478A-9071-23C9928C1A98.jpeg


Last thing I did today was rip out the rear wiper. I don't like wipers that mess up the lines of a vehicle and I can barely see out the back window with the mirrors for my girls in the second row anyway.

995E3035-3DE6-4B29-9A0B-DF5EBE331197.jpeg


Not pictured are the replacement LED turn signals and license plate lights that were also done today
 
Nice job on the rear cargo lighting. I really like that.

What bulbs did you use for the turn signals?
 
Stupid question for all (Apologize in advance).
Does the second row fold all the way down on the cx9? I received two answers from different dealerships which had me 🙄.
one told me it just slides forward and the other said it can fold completely down. Can someone please confirm? My cx9 is a 2020.
 
If by fold all the way down, you mean fold flat to make a flat floor with the cargo area, then yes it does in my 2018. They also slide forward and back.
 
Yes that’s exactly what I mean. Idk what I might be doing wrong but I went to ikea for a relative and I couldn’t figure it out. I tried to fold them all the way down to make the flat service and no cigar. I wound up sliding them forward as much as possible. We wound up going back in my other suv that doesn’t give me this headache.
wonder wth I’m doing wrong. Dealerships seem not to know either considering the feedback I’ve gotten from them
 
I think You need to use the lever on the side of the seat ( at the bottom) that changes the angle of the seat back. Not the one besides the headrest that gives access to the third row.
its in the manual as well. I am surprised your dealer didn’t know, this should be common knowledge to them.
1618177799562.png
 
As @youri pointed out, the lever on the top of the seat will fold the seat forward partially and also slide the seat forward. It's used mainly for 3rd row entry. The lever near the bottom of the seat allows you to fold the seat flat.

I think the same applies to models with captain's chairs.
 
As @youri pointed out, the lever on the top of the seat will fold the seat forward partially and also slide the seat forward. It's used mainly for 3rd row entry. The lever near the bottom of the seat allows you to fold the seat flat.

I think the same applies to models with captain's chairs.
Thank you so much. Funny cause a lady at the dealer was getting an oil change and she said her bench second row doesn’t go flat either. I’m going to try it tomorrow. It is funny 2 dealerships gave me 2 different answers. I guess this is why I didn’t buy my cx9 locally lol.
 
I took out my drop-in k&n washable filter this weekend and washed her out nice and clean, used the K&N cleaning kit. She's all red again. After about 10 years, the rubber has not deteriorated and the filter shows no signs of wear. K&N really makes a good product. Only have to clean it out every couple two or three years. Kudos to K&N.
 
I took out my drop-in k&n washable filter this weekend and washed her out nice and clean, used the K&N cleaning kit. She's all red again. After about 10 years, the rubber has not deteriorated and the filter shows no signs of wear. K&N really makes a good product. Only have to clean it out every couple two or three years. Kudos to K&N.
You only clean the air filter once every 2 or 3 years?
 
So I randomly swapped out the amber side marker light with a white led bulb since I had some extra laying around. I kinda like the result so I figured I’d share.
 

Attachments

  • F6FC8535-780D-4C1B-A5A1-953467CEF76E.jpeg
    F6FC8535-780D-4C1B-A5A1-953467CEF76E.jpeg
    68.2 KB · Views: 133
  • D385A58E-B431-4C00-9418-E23AAAA06DC3.jpeg
    D385A58E-B431-4C00-9418-E23AAAA06DC3.jpeg
    65.3 KB · Views: 140
  • 59D0D816-C06F-4BAF-886F-AE491B8BEA09.jpeg
    59D0D816-C06F-4BAF-886F-AE491B8BEA09.jpeg
    76 KB · Views: 142
So I randomly swapped out the amber side marker light with a white led bulb since I had some extra laying around. I kinda like the result so I figured I’d share.

Looks good! I guess this can only be done on the Sport and Touring trims.
 
Looks good! I guess this can only be done on the Sport and Touring trims.
If the GT and Sig trims use a halogen for the side marker bulb then it can be swapped. I’m not sure if their headlamp is 100% all LED. It’s possible that it is halogen, I previously had a 2018 Mazda 6 which uses 100% LED minus the side running bulb which was halogen. Not sure why Mazda chose 1 bulb to be halogen out of a complete LED setup
 
If the GT and Sig trims use a halogen for the side marker bulb then it can be swapped. I’m not sure if their headlamp is 100% all LED. It’s possible that it is halogen, I previously had a 2018 Mazda 6 which uses 100% LED minus the side running bulb which was halogen. Not sure why Mazda chose 1 bulb to be halogen out of a complete LED setup

I believe the CE, GT and Signature all have LED "eyebrows" instead of the halogen bulb. This is based on the photos of each model on MazdaUSA.com's builder. The Sport and Touring trims appear to have a thicker reflector where the bulb would be, while the other trims have a slimmer appearance.
 
Changed my oil yesterday. I'm all out now, so I think I'll switch over to the Kirkland Signature 5w30 if it's still on sale. Maybe I'll run one more UOA on the Kirkland 5w30 sometime in 2022 (just to see if there's a difference).
 
Back