NHTSA Complaint #11462554 — 2015 MAZDA CX-9

2015 Mazda CX-9 with 93k miles: while driving in traffic, check engine light suddenly came on, the car began to shudder as I heard a loud knocking noises coming from under the hood, and then a sudden loss of power while trying to navigate through a busy intersection while trying to make a left turn left myself in danger of almost being struck from the vehicle behind me and an oncoming vehicle from the opposite direction due to me stalling out in the middle of an intersection. The water pump (unbeknownst to myself and apparently many others) is located inside of the engine and behind the timing belt components failed without showing any prior signs of failure due to the water pump being hidden inside of the engine. The coolant had been leaking into the oil pan and mixed with the oil but because the water pump was purposely hidden inside the engine NO leaks of coolant (which would have been the early warning tell-tale sign of a problem) were visible. This faulty design caused a catastrophic failure of my engine which has been verified by a Mazda dealership and the engine had to be replaced at my cost. Although there were no injuries or deaths in my case, it does not nullify a faulty design and component of a vehicle putting peoples safety at risk when it is a well known industry fact that Mazda knowingly continued to manufacture this faulty design and use it in their vehicles.