NHTSA Complaint #11428575 — 2020 MAZDA CX-9

The 2020 Mazda completely shut off following an exit from an expressway, turn under a bridge and slow down for a red light. The Mazda electrically shut off and coasted to a braked stop in the center lane of a 3 lane road. The entire electrical system went dead, no exterior lights, signals, instrument panel or radio. There was no warning, everything electrical just shut off. In a moving traffic situation the car could not maneuver or restart without being placed in PARK. (There is a history of Mazda CX 9's having a similar problem which sent the driver to the local dealership.) The car was restarted by shifting into Park and pressing the start button, all functions appeared normal as the driver moved it to a parking lot to review the situation. The driver was unable to re-create the complete shut down and finished the trip. The driver took the Mazda to the dealer following the incident and was asked to leave the Mazda for observation. The driver was notified by the dealership that the problem was being elevated to the national team for diagnosis. 10 days later the local dealer called the driver and said that they; nor the Mazda engineers in California; could reproduce the system shutting off or find any error codes. They wanted to return the car to the driver with no need for a repair. The driver spoke to the National Mazda help line and the representative was aware of the situation. The representative reiterated that engineers had been unable to find the source for the incident in the computer logs so they could not provide a remedy. The representative offered the driver the choose of a purchase buy back and a discount on the purchase of a new car.