2016 Mazda CX-9 Wheel Vibration

I've had my CX-9 Gt AWD since July and have had serious vibrations coming through the car when traveling at highway speeds. It's done this since day one and I've had it in the shop a few times attempting to rectify it.

First time, they did a wheel balance and chacked for bent rims. Second time we did a force balance, which seemed to rectify the problem for a short time, and the shake came back again.

On a few instances, the car didn't shake, especially when evaluated by the dealer. That was rather annoying.

Went back again and now it seems they will swap out the tires and rims to see if that was the cause.

The dealer has been great. They are always very helpful and accommodating. I've called and written Mazda several times and get no response from them.

Anyone else have this issue?
 
I have new cx9 , and no issues so far, fingers and toes crossed!!

On a diff topic, what trim did you get and any deals you got on it? Unfortunately here in our area (MB) not a lot of delas nor any inventory in dealerships...am still contemplating on getting the CX9
 
Back ON topic!

I had some vibration in my GT FWD at highway speeds.
All four tires were out-of-balance and the rebalance solved the problem.

It sounds as though your dealer is taking all reasonable steps to correct the issue.
A wheel/tire replacement is the next logical step.

I hope that solves the problem.
If not, they'll likely next double-check all suspension components if they haven't already.

Good luck and keep us posted.
 
When I test drove the CX-9, the dealer's demo car had some steering wheel and front seat vibrations. My guess was that the tires needed rebalancing. When I decided to get the CX-9, I actually test drove the car I was buying to make sure it had no issues. I hope the dealer resolves your problems asap.
 
You might also want to go to a third party who has a Hunter Roadforce balancer. Go to Hunter's website, and it will direct you to local mechanics by zipcode who have an actual Hunter 5000 Roadforce Balancer. Yes it might cost a hundred, maybe 150, but if your dealer has a numbskull who is not qualified to use their Hunter Roadforce balancer, he may not be doing it right. You could also have a defective tire or tires, but usually the Hunter RF Balancer will detect an out of round tire.
 
I think that is the Hunter GSP9700 Road Force Balancer
http://www.gsp9700.com/index.htm

It looks for wheel eccentricity, tire eccentricity, tire road force variations (one part of the sidewall is stiffer than other parts), finds the best solution to these physical problems of where to locate the tire on the wheel, then does the balancing.
 
I wanted to give an update, as its been nearly 2 months since I posted.

After the balance at the dealership (3rd time in 5 months) the car seemed alright. They said all tires were really out of balance. Not sure how that happened as just a few months prior it was road forced balanced. They did not replace the rims and tires as I thought that time.

Now, fast forward to February and the shake is back, again.

I believe swapping out the tires and rims is the next logical step, but if that does not cure it, there must be a suspension or chassis issue I would assume.

Once I make the appointment, I'm going to notify Mazda, again, about whats going on. To date, they have not responded to a single one of my calls or emails. The dealer has been more than accommodating, but if this not corrected this time, I feel I'm in for a fight with Mazda. I didn't buy a $40K car to visit the shop every 2 months for balance issues.

BTW, this is a 2016 CX-9 GT AWD
 
Code Section
Tit. 73 1951, et seq.
Title of Act
Automobile Lemon Law
Definition of Defects
Nonconformity to warranties which significantly affects the use, market value, or safety of vehicle
Time Limit for Manufacturer Repair
1 year following date of actual delivery to consumer, within first 12,000 miles of use or during time of the warranty, whichever may first occur
Remedies
Purchaser's option: replace with comparable vehicle of equal value or accept return and refund full purchase price, including all collateral charges, less a reasonable allowance for purchaser's use not exceeding 10 per mile or 10% of purchase price, whichever is less


Even if this problem does not qualify under the Lemon Law, a filing gets their attention real quick.
 
Code Section
Tit. 73 1951, et seq.
Title of Act
Automobile Lemon Law
Definition of Defects
Nonconformity to warranties which significantly affects the use, market value, or safety of vehicle
Time Limit for Manufacturer Repair
1 year following date of actual delivery to consumer, within first 12,000 miles of use or during time of the warranty, whichever may first occur
Remedies
Purchaser's option: replace with comparable vehicle of equal value or accept return and refund full purchase price, including all collateral charges, less a reasonable allowance for purchaser's use not exceeding 10 per mile or 10% of purchase price, whichever is less


Even if this problem does not qualify under the Lemon Law, a filing gets their attention real quick.

In my state, it's two years or 24,000 miles.

It goes back to the dealer next week and will be taking a look to see if there is something in the drivetrain causing it. I've reached out to Mazda, again, and so far no response. I've downloaded the Lemon Law paperwork from my State DMV website and will file if not corrected this go around.
 
I wanted to give an update, as its been nearly 2 months since I posted.

After the balance at the dealership (3rd time in 5 months) the car seemed alright. They said all tires were really out of balance. Not sure how that happened as just a few months prior it was road forced balanced. They did not replace the rims and tires as I thought that time.

Now, fast forward to February and the shake is back, again.

I believe swapping out the tires and rims is the next logical step, but if that does not cure it, there must be a suspension or chassis issue I would assume.

Once I make the appointment, I'm going to notify Mazda, again, about whats going on. To date, they have not responded to a single one of my calls or emails. The dealer has been more than accommodating, but if this not corrected this time, I feel I'm in for a fight with Mazda. I didn't buy a $40K car to visit the shop every 2 months for balance issues.

BTW, this is a 2016 CX-9 GT AWD

do a quick & very easy check under the car for any signs of oil leak coming from the front transfer case or rear differential ........ you may need to lift the front of the car and remove a plastic panel to check the front transfer case for signs of oil leak from the breather valve,

the rear differential is easily accessible without lifting the car and no plastic panel to remove, just crawl underneath from the back and check for signs of oil leaking from the center of the rear axle, most likely the rear diff is ok,

it's the front transfer case you really need to look at. you might have a bad transfer case causing the vibrations...... see mazdman's post #18 (link below).

how many miles was on your car when you bought it, was it a demo car where a lot of test drivers like to gun the engine to test the turbo ? it might have overstressed the transfer case .....

https://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123859423-Snow-with-my-2016-CX-9-issues/page2
 
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do a quick & very easy check under the car for any signs of oil leak coming from the front transfer case or rear differential ........ you may need to lift the front of the car and remove a plastic panel to check the front transfer case for signs of oil leak from the breather valve,

the rear differential is easily accessible without lifting the car and no plastic panel to remove, just crawl underneath from the back and check for signs of oil leaking from the center of the rear axle, most likely the rear diff is ok,

it's the front transfer case you really need to look at. you might have a bad transfer case causing the vibrations...... see mazdman's post #18 (link below).

how many miles was on your car when you bought it, was it a demo car where a lot of test drivers like to gun the engine to test the turbo ? it might have overstressed the transfer case .....

https://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123859423-Snow-with-my-2016-CX-9-issues/page2

I didn't see any evidence of any leaks. Car goes to the dealer next week. Mazda is sending out a field tech to evaluate. I'll keep you guys posted.
 
I didn't see any evidence of any leaks. Car goes to the dealer next week. Mazda is sending out a field tech to evaluate. I'll keep you guys posted.

Update:

My 2016 CX-9 is getting a new driveshaft and 4 new tires. After various tests conducted by my dealer with a Mazda field tech on hand, they believe the driveshaft was the culprit for the vibration.

I hope this fixes it. My dealer has been outstanding through and through. I'll keep you guys posted after a few thousand miles to see if it's been corrected.
 
Update:

The dealer had my car while I was on vacation. They replaced all 4 tires and replaced the drive shaft propeller.

So far, so good. Hopefully the issue has been corrected.

My dealer has been extremely helpful during the process.
 
Propeller shaft = drive shaft. An unbalanced drive shaft can be a hard-to-find source of vibration. If they did tires and drive shaft, then they didn't know where the problem was and just did everything.
 
Propeller shaft = drive shaft. An unbalanced drive shaft can be a hard-to-find source of vibration. If they did tires and drive shaft, then they didn't know where the problem was and just did everything.

Vibration is back, so the drive shaft nor the tires are the culprit. Waiting for further diagnosis. Not feeling very confident at this point.
 
Vibration is back, so the drive shaft nor the tires are the culprit. Waiting for further diagnosis. Not feeling very confident at this point.

did they look at the engine mounts ? sometimes they go bad or get loose and the engine will vibrate the car at highway speeds.....
 
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