I believe there is a way you can just keep it FWD. My brother-in-law has a Speed 6, which I believe runs on the same AWD system. With a touch of the e-brake, he engages the car to just FWD. The e-brake is not on (just slightly pulled), but the light is on, so the system thinks the e-brake is engaged, therefore does not give any power to the rear wheels. This was very easy to prove with his car as it's much lighter and faster. I have not tried it on the wife's CX-9, probably will not until we see some white stuff on the ground. It will not be easy as it has a "foot" e-brake.