This is getting REALLY, REALLY old.

We've had a "click-click" in the front end for a few weeks now. Put it in drive, and as soon as we move, "click-click." Same thing in reverse. Just two clicks. Nothing more. According to mazdas47.com, it's likely the splines, so we were planning on taking it in to have that repaired.

Then today, as she drove to the bank, my wife noticed a nasty metal-on-metal scrape from the left front wheel of the CX-9. So we took it to Penkhus and Joey managed to diagnose THAT problem on the spot. The heat shields around the brakes -- those thin, metal disks behind the rotors -- warped and were rubbing. WARPED! HEAT SHIELDS! He said they'd seen that before, on 9s and on 6s. So they took it in to fix that, and to check out the "cilck-click." And they have to order a bushing for that problem, so it's at the dealership overnight.

Kudos to them for handling it quickly -- they're taking care of us again -- but the reliability of our 9 is starting to get depressing.

Fan Control Module
Liftgate not opening properly
Brake Squeal
Two different sealing strips coming out
The heat shields
And now this bushing.

When we go out of warranty in a year, these things will KILL us. Sadly, we've decided that we will pay on the loan until the warranty is up, then go to CarMax, trade it (upside down, no doubt), and cut our losses. Yep, we'll be paying on negative equity forever, but to pay the ridiculous payments we have on this car WITHOUT a warranty with the issue it's having is a losing proposition.

I will NEVER buy a first-model-year car again. BIG mistake.

That really sucks. I feel your pain! I bailed out of my MS6 for reliability issues and a rapidly expiring warranty (I drive a lot now for business). Early build first year=POS= lots of rental car time.

Hope it stays reliable for you in the interim...

Yeah, I am considering an aftermarket warranty on the MS6 for just that reason.

my families 1st year '99 durango had these problems...but ours went as far as the fuel pump going out, tranny going out, all power windows failing, AC failure, rear hatch hydrolic failure...all in all was about 8 grand in repairs over the life of that SUV...oh and all this happened about 6 months after the warranty ran out.

1st gens are the worst to buy..

Got a first year early build MS6 here and the only problem I have had was a faulty wiring harness for the airbag sensor in the driver's seat.

bobopud wrote:Got a first year early build MS6 here and the only problem I have had was a faulty wiring harness for the airbag sensor in the driver's seat.

Yeah, admittedly my MS6, even though it's a first-year and relatively early build car, is pretty solid. Smoking turbo's the only problem I've had...so far.

sucks to hear about all those issues. I can understand wanting to get rid of the vehicle at the end of the warranty.

on a different note, we bought a first year civic and aside from a tsb for emissions (which was coverered under warranty) we didn't have an issue with it at all. The rear window switches failed at 90k but what can you do.

Maybe a call to MNAO to see if they'll extend the warranty, given the history? If only to get you less upside down when it finally does expire...

Its funny to me to see how many people complain about little warrenty stuff... Anyone here ever owned anything German? You then have a right to complain. Also, My 06 Jetta GLI is a VERY VERY early build 06 and becides stuff out side of normal (rabbit chewed thur the MAF sensor) and recalls, nothing has be wrong with the car. Most 1st year models are just as relaible as any other year, sometimes you just get one or 2 that aren't perfect as seems to be in stealths case. It is what it is. Stealth, if your interested I can look into extended warrenties for you as well just so you have some options, if you would like to pm me how many miles and the vin of the vehicle I and how long of a warrenty you would like and what you would like it to cover ( I can go really basic, or something that would mimic the factory bumper to bumper) and i'll get you a price.

turbo99jetta wrote:Its funny to me to see how many people complain about little warrenty stuff... Anyone here ever owned anything German? You then have a right to complain. Also, My 06 Jetta GLI is a VERY VERY early build 06 and becides stuff out side of normal (rabbit chewed thur the MAF sensor) and recalls, nothing has be wrong with the car. Most 1st year models are just as relaible as any other year, sometimes you just get one or 2 that aren't perfect as seems to be in stealths case. It is what it is. Stealth, if your interested I can look into extended warrenties for you as well just so you have some options, if you would like to pm me how many miles and the vin of the vehicle I and how long of a warrenty you would like and what you would like it to cover ( I can go really basic, or something that would mimic the factory bumper to bumper) and i'll get you a price.

Actually, we drive Mazda's BECAUSE we wanted reliable vehicles. Had no trouble with my 6S and no trouble with the MPV we had. Only the smoking turbo issue with the MS6. So we're disappointed in the lack of reliability of the CX-9 so far. If my wife wanted to spend time driving a loaner or our 3rd family car (the Jeep), she'd have bought a VW.

And I think the definition of "small warranty" issues is subjective. Driving down the road with the sound of nails scraping a ship's hull isn't small. Neither is anything that calls into question the integrity of the suspension of brakes. Sure, weather stripping is minor. The liftgate thing was easy for them to fix. But it's STILL time without a car that we're paying for. So it irritates us, and makes us less pleased with our purchase.

As far as extending the warranty, thanks for the offer. Let me talk to my wife. She says right now that she's not interested and just wants out of the CX-9 before something major breaks. I'll see what I can talk her into.

She LOVED the car. LOVED it. Until things started breaking regularly. So maybe I can lure her with that. We'll see.

OK, we took the CX-9 out today for an extended drive. THe heat shield issue is definitely fixed, and the "click-click" spline/bushing issue is gone as well. So good job to the Penkhus boys -- they said there is a TSB on the click-click in the splines now, so anyone having that issue should take it in!

Damn that sucks about all those repairs. I feel your pain- my 8 had a lot of warranty of stuff done before I starting putting parts on:

-Motor replaced
-New starter TSB
-New motor mount TSB
-Radio and HVAC controls replaced (shorted out due to heat, common in AZ apparently)
-New Catalytic converter
-New AST and radiator cap

I think that's it. I also had a friend who was a tech at a Mazda dealership so he hooked me up a lot. I mean, when my engine went, it had a lot of bolt-on parts (no turbo but intake, exhaust, etc) so any normal dealership prob would have denied my claim.

turbo99jetta wrote:Its funny to me to see how many people complain about little warrenty stuff... Anyone here ever owned anything German? You then have a right to complain. Also, My 06 Jetta GLI is a VERY VERY early build 06 and becides stuff out side of normal (rabbit chewed thur the MAF sensor) and recalls, nothing has be wrong with the car. Most 1st year models are just as relaible as any other year, sometimes you just get one or 2 that aren't perfect as seems to be in stealths case. It is what it is. Stealth, if your interested I can look into extended warrenties for you as well just so you have some options, if you would like to pm me how many miles and the vin of the vehicle I and how long of a warrenty you would like and what you would like it to cover ( I can go really basic, or something that would mimic the factory bumper to bumper) and i'll get you a price.

ever own a 1st year dodge? You then have more of a right to complain

anyway,

Glad to hear your problems are dealt with or being dealt with, Stealth.