NHTSA Complaint #11494654 — 2014 MAZDA CX-9

Water pump defect that led to pump failure, which led to catastrophic engine failure without any prior warning. The defect is in the internal chain-driven water pump. The pump is meant to circulate coolant through the engine while the engine is running. However, the defect allows coolant to leak from water pump into the oil pan and/or other engine components, mixing it with the engine’s oil and leading to destruction of the engine. Mazda’s internal data indicates that the company began receiving reports of premature water pump failures in vehicles identical to mine (mine is a 2014 Mazda CX-9) by at least June 2007, yet Mazda continued to sell the vehicle without fixing the defect and failed to warn customers of the defect. The owner's manuals say nothing about water pump maintenance because the water pump should last the life of the Mazda vehicle. My water pump failed and destroyed my engine at just a mere 72,400 miles. The water pump problem is caused by the elastomer bellow, which is made with hydrogenated acrylonitrile butadiene rubber, which is damaged by hot coolant. Due to problems with the seal, coolant leaks into other components because the water pump is located above the crankshaft. An engine will allegedly fail once coolant mixes with engine oil and travels through the engine. Mazda allegedly has done nothing to fix the water pumps and won't recall the vehicles to offer free repairs. The automaker is also not reimbursing owners who may pay thousands of dollars for repairs related to failed water pumps. When I took my CX-9 to my Mazda dealer because it was leaking coolant, the dealer informed me I needed a new water pump but then said that because of that they should just replace the engine, for a total cost of approx. $9,000. Dealer gave no explanation of why it concluded before looking inside engine or at timing chain why I must buy a new engine because of bad water pump. Clearly dealer knew defect was the reason but withheld that info. That's fraud