The 2012 Mazda CX-9 has 5 recalls, the most serious being a passenger-side airbag inflator that can explode and send metal fragments into the cabin, posing a risk of serious injury or death.
Multiple recalls cover this same airbag inflator defect, including filings that address vehicles where a prior replacement used an inflator of the same flawed design, meaning earlier repair attempts did not fully resolve the issue. The front suspension is also a concern: water can seep into the front lower ball joints and cause corrosion over time, eventually causing the lower control arm to separate from the joint and leaving the driver with no steering control.