Who is towing with their CX-9?

Does anyone make an air-shock or ride-leveling device that will fit the CX-9 (2013)?
I tried Firestone Ride-Rite and they don't list anything on their website and I called and spoke to Customer Service, they said they don't offer one for this vehicle.
 
Transmission temp while towing?

Hi, newbie here. This thread has some great info in it and I appreciate everyone sharing what they know.

I have a 2013 CX-9 AWD so it has the towing package. I recently bought a small hybrid trailer that weights 2620. With my gear loaded I estimate it weights 3100 or 3200 lbs. In the car is just my wife and I, under 300 lbs combined. I also have a weight distribution hitch and sway bar. Hitch weight is just under the 350 lb limit. So everything is under the towing capacity. On our first trip everything worked great, no issues other than the crappy gas mileage that I expected. But I noticed the transmission temperature is a little higher than I expected. On hills the temperature would hit 235 degrees. Flat road was around 220 at 60 mph. I'm manually shifting and leaving in 5th for flat roads. Does this seem normal? Does anyone know what the max temperature should be before I should get concerned and slow down?

I'm using a bluetooth ODBII sensor to monitor the transmission temperature with my cell phone.

Thanks,
Greg
 
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So we just purchased a Jayco SLX Ultra lightweight camper for the family. I purposely avoided the heavier models and settled on a 15 ft 2400Lb dry weight trailer. From extensive reading online and talking to people who tow/camp everyone seems to be fairly confident that with WD, sway control, class 3 hitch and trailer brake control I should have NO problem at all with my 2010 GT AWD CX9. I understand I will be driving in Manual mode and never taking it into overdrive but was hoping for some insight from others who have towed this size trailer with their CX9 AWD. I have preemptively installed a transmission cooler and replaced my fluids with synthetic. Thoughts? comments? Anything else I should be doing?

I have considered having an external transmission cooler installed. The shop estimated 425 to do the install which seems high. Could you tell me what you installed?
 
I can't answer your question. But I can provide input on external cooler. If you are towing even semi-regularly, 425 is worth it for an external cooler.
My 2008 has an external trans cooler (oem) and about a month ago I towed an overloaded 6x12 uhaul trailer and even damaged the large threaded coupler on the U-Haul trailer from the constant forward and backward jerking motion of what was likely 4,000 pounds of junk in the trailer.
Probly not very smart of me, but I didn't realize how heavy it was until after un-coupling the trailer and seeing the damage done to the trailer.
Thanfully the oem mazda hitch is fine, and my transmission is fine. This was about a 500 mile trip.
I have only ever drained and re-filled my trans once, around 50k some miles, and now I'm at 95k. Trans fluid still has some red tint to it but I plan to drain-refill again this summer. Even after my overloaded towing situation, I've since driven another 750 miles or so and trans has no issues.
Likely thanks to the external cooler. Trans is rock solid but I would recommend you get that external cooler installed. A lot cheaper than burning up the trans.

Hi, newbie here. This thread has some great info in it and I appreciate everyone sharing what they know.

I have a 2013 CX-9 AWD so it has the towing package. I recently bought a small hybrid trailer that weights 2620. With my gear loaded I estimate it weights 3100 or 3200 lbs. In the car is just my wife and I, under 300 lbs combined. I also have a weight distribution hitch and sway bar. Hitch weight is just under the 350 lb limit. So everything is under the towing capacity. On our first trip everything worked great, no issues other than the crappy gas mileage that I expected. But I noticed the transmission temperature is a little higher than I expected. On hills the temperature would hit 235 degrees. Flat road was around 220 at 60 mph. I'm manually shifting and leaving in 5th for flat roads. Does this seem normal? Does anyone know what the max temperature should be before I should get concerned and slow down?

I'm using a bluetooth ODBII sensor to monitor the transmission temperature with my cell phone.

Thanks,
Greg
 
Thanks, that's good to know. I was considering it just as a kind of insurance. Better safe than sorry I guess.
 
@wazkaren, what are your transmission temps when you are just driving around without the trailer hooked up?

Also, I actually let the transmission go into 6th when I'm cruising on flat ground. My trailer weighs less than yours (2200lbs) but I can get the torque converter to lockout in 6th which is likely safer on all the components than having it hunting for RPMs in 5th. I'm not sure whether the lockout will engage in 5th. If someone knows, please correct me.
 
Without the trailer temps are 180 to 190.

It seems like the converter is locking out in 5th (when I press on the gas the rpms do not go up). Next time I'll try leaving in 6th and see if that makes a difference.

It's also possible that the temps I'm reading with the OBDII gauge are not real. I got the "Torque Pro" (an android app) settings from a different thread on this forum. And I don't know where the temp sensor is located so I may be fooling myself.

Greg
 
If you see low values without the trailer, and high values with it, then my guess is that you are getting some sort of reading from a sensor. I believe the tow-package vehicles have a separate fan controller for the fan that resides over the transmission cooler side of the radiator, while the non-tow-package vehicles have a single controller that operates both fans. The fans can operate even when the motor is off (don't go sticking your hand in there with the battery connected). The fan controller likely needs to read the temp signal to make sure that fan is engaged when the transmission is hot but the engine temp is cool. Of course, at 60 mph the fans probably don't engage at all since wind passing through provides more than enough cooling. I don't know what the recommended operating temps are for the transmission but if you are towing at or below the recommended rate at 60mph in moderate temps there should be no reason to worry about it. Just log those values you see, and pay very close attention when the outside temps exceed 90, you get stuck in traffic after a long pull, or you are pulling hard through the mountains. If you see temps spike well above what you've been seeing, it's time to slow down or pull over.
 
I tow an Aluma 6810 utility trailer with my 2016, pulling either materials for projects at the house, moving stuff for family or a combination of a motorcycle with a sidecar or two single motorcycles. The weights so far have been light, with the max being about 1800lbs and the trailer weighing about 500lbs.

The fuel economy drops, but that's about the only major difference. You have to rev the engine a little higher, but I can still do the same speeds towing as i can without. I can even overtake cars with power to spare.

One thing that took getting use to was the 'wiggle' of the traction control when accelerating. The car is automatically adjusting torque to the rear wheels to counter sway so you feel the car do this little shimmy at the rear to correct the sway, before you are even aware there IS sway. It's very controlled and predictable, but the first few times I was like "uhh what just happened?" on longer tows it's really nice feature, as the vehicle feels as firmly planted and nimble as when not towing.
 
I found out the feature I mention above is called Trailer Stability Assist (TSA). It uses the Dynamic Stability Control with Traction Control System to adjust braking and torque to reduce any sway.

As I said above, it does a great job and is an under-mentioned feature on the CX-9. It takes some of the mental workload off the driver when towing and allows the driver to concentrate on the road ahead.
 
I found out the feature I mention above is called Trailer Stability Assist (TSA). It uses the Dynamic Stability Control with Traction Control System to adjust braking and torque to reduce any sway.

As I said above, it does a great job and is an under-mentioned feature on the CX-9. It takes some of the mental workload off the driver when towing and allows the driver to concentrate on the road ahead.

I've never towed anything larger than a small pop-up so I probably don't don't realize how good the TSA. If it was not there then I'd probably notice it.

I've been out with my trailer a few times now and the CX-9 is towing great. I don't notice any swaying or any issues with towing so far. I'm very comfortable driving even when a semi passes me.

The transmission temp on my CX-9 runs around 220 degrees on a flat highway when I'm doing about 60mph in 5th gear. With small hills it will quickly climb to over 230. But I have not yet towed during hot weather or anything more than a small hill. I'm still not entirely sure what a safe maximum transmission temp would be but I'm assuming I'm OK as long as the AT warning light does not go on.

Greg
 
The trailer should not want to sway. Sway is caused by weight too far back in the trailer. 10% to 15% of the total trailer weight should be on the tongue. If the tongue is light due to the weight behind the trailer axle, the sway can become uncontrollable and you wreck. In many trailers the weights can be moved forward. In a few cases the axle can be moved back.

Strong winds can cause trailer sway. If the trailer is not correctly balanced as noted above, then wind sway can make things very dangerous very fast.

Inflate trailer tires to the max shown on their sidewall. Inflate the car tires to at least the cold inflation pressure shown on the placard on the car's door jam, and maybe higher for more stability.

There are a few sway control devices, and very few for small trailers. The friction sway damping brake works somewhat and is about the least effective of the bunch. Other sway damping devices are so heavy that they probably aren't suitable for the light trailers our cars can pull. A weight distributing hitch (equalizing hitch) is not a sway damping device. It's good, but does the job of correctly leveling the tow vehicle.
 
I don't know if my '13 AWD Touring edition has this "Trailer Stability Assist (TSA)" but I've never felt it. I will say it was pretty obvious the one time I didn't have it loaded properly. I tried placing our bikes on a bike rack behind the camper and that was too much weight off the back. It was fine under 50 mph but as soon as we got up to highway speeds it was clear the trailer wanted to take over controls. I pulled over at the next exit and put the bikes inside the camper.

To reiterate what PTguy said, if you experience any amount of sway and there aren't significant crosswinds or other circumstances, then you need to pull over and re-balance your load. You cannot expect an electronic nannie to save you during an emergency maneuver if it's already working hard at cruising speeds.

PTguy is not correct about tire pressures. The "Max" listed on the side of the tire is not the ideal pressure, especially not the ideal cold pressure. Your trailer should specify the correct tire pressure and if it doesn't, contact the manufacturer and ask them. My camper tires have a max of 65psi and it says right on the side of the camper above the fender to inflate them to 50psi. I'll add another 5psi if we have a heavy load for a longer trip, but that's all. I also add a few extra psi to the rear tires of my CX9 which helps a little for stability.
 
I've never towed anything larger than a small pop-up so I probably don't don't realize how good the TSA...

I've looked and can't find any reference to Trailer Stability Assist on older CX-9's.
It doesn't mean it wasn't available, I just can't find any reference.
Check your owner's manual, if it doesn't specifically state it in there, you might not have it.
Mazda's current literature states it's part of the DSC/TCS system on newer cars, but I'm not sure if you have DSC/TSC on older models you have TSA.
 
The transmission temp on my CX-9 runs around 220 degrees on a flat highway when I'm doing about 60mph in 5th gear. With small hills it will quickly climb to over 230.

Just curious, what are you using to measure your trans temp? Aftermarket gauge or some factory option.
I don't see a factory option for that on the newer CX-9.
 
I'm using a bluetooth ODBII sensor to monitor the transmission temperature with my cell phone.

Greg
 
PTguy is not correct about tire pressures. The "Max" listed on the side of the tire is not the ideal pressure, especially not the ideal cold pressure. Your trailer should specify the correct tire pressure
Yes, but...

The tire pressures on the sticker on the trailer show the cold inflation pressure needed to carry the weight. OK. But, raising the pressure in both the trailer and the tow vehicle tires add stability. If the stability is needed, airing up the tires is a bit of a help.

A retired tire engineer writes a very informative web site about tires. Here's his pages about ST (special trailer) tires: http://www.barrystiretech.com/sttires.html
 
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