Mazda CX-90 (CX-9)
Midsize three-row SUV · 2007–present. 54,676 units sold in the US in 2024
How it began
Mazda Motor Corporation of Hiroshima, Japan. The original CX-9 rolled off the line in October 2006 at a ceremony led by Hisakazu Imaki, then Mazda's president and CEO. For today's CX-90, the program manager was Mitsuru Wakiie; design was led by Yasutake Tsuchida, senior director of design at Mazda North America, and the interior came from a theme by senior design manager Ian Hedge, whose team in Irvine, California, worked alongside designers in Japan. Jeff Guyton, president and CEO of Mazda North American Operations, introduced it in January 2023.
Both CX-9 generations began production at Ujina Plant No. 1 in Hiroshima, near Mazda’s headquarters. CX-90 is built at Hofu Plant No. 2 in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. Mazda’s 2023 integrated report identifies these factory assignments, and the U.S. MY2026 country-of-origin report identifies Japanese final assembly for CX-90.
CX-9 debuted at the New York International Auto Show in April 2006. Mazda held its Ujina Plant No. 1 line-off ceremony on October 30, 2006, ahead of North American sales beginning in January 2007 as a 2007 model. CX-90 was revealed on January 31, 2023 as a 2024 model and reached the U.S. market in April 2023.
Mazda explained in 2011 that CX identifies its crossover-SUV family, which then included CX-7 and CX-9, with CX-5 as its compact member. The 2021 Large Product Group plan named CX-60, CX-70, CX-80 and CX-90, initially identifying CX-90 as the wide-body three-row model. Two-row CX-90 variants were later announced for the U.S. 2027 model year.
Mazda wanted a seven-passenger SUV that drove like a Mazda, far from the boxy SUVs of the day, and it designed the CX-9 specifically for North America with active families in mind. In 2021 Mazda announced its Large Product Group: the wider models, CX-70 and CX-90, would go to North America, where larger vehicles are preferred. The CX-90 replaced the CX-9 as the flagship three-row SUV, with the goal of moving the Mazda brand itself into premium territory instead of creating a separate luxury sub-brand, and of competing with SUVs such as the Acura MDX and Volvo XC90.
Generation by generation
- Gen. 12007–2015 · TB
A seven-seat crossover created for North America
Photo: MercurySable99 · CC BY-SA 4.0 What changed. It was an all-new model, larger than the CX-7 that had arrived months earlier. It used Ford's 3.5-liter Duratec V6 with 263 hp and 249 lb-ft, a six-speed Aisin automatic and a structure shared with the Mazda6 and Ford Edge. For 2008 it got a 3.7-liter V6 with 273 hp and 270 lb-ft, plus Blind Spot Monitoring. That year it won North American Truck of the Year, a first for Mazda.
The innovation. Its Active Torque Split all-wheel drive, originally developed for the Mazdaspeed6 sport sedan, could send up to 50% of torque to the rear wheels. That gave a family SUV of about 4,500 pounds the traction system of a sport sedan.
If you buy one usedNHTSA lists several recalls for the front passenger air bag inflator, which could rupture from propellant degradation after years of heat and humidity (17V429, 17V457, 18V018, 18V717 and 19V782); depending on the year and state they cover 2007 through 2015, and NHTSA’s August 13, 2024 warning says not to drive affected vehicles with an unrepaired recalled Takata inflator until the repair is completed. Other recalls: front lower ball joints that could corrode from water leaking in (15V451, 2007–2014 CX-9 built October 2006 to December 2013); a memory power-seat wiring harness that could short circuit (09V066, 2007–2009); a heated-seat control circuit that could overheat in extreme cold (10V051, 2010); and front strut nuts that could loosen (16V203, 2013–2015). All have a free remedy; check by VIN at nhtsa.gov. - Gen. 22016–2023 · TC
Turbocharged, lighter and more upscale
Photo: MercurySable99 · CC BY-SA 4.0 What changed. It was the last vehicle in Mazda's lineup to get the full redesign with SKYACTIV technology and KODO design. It swapped the V6 for a 2.5-liter turbo with 250 hp on premium fuel or 227 hp on regular, and 310 lb-ft from 2,000 rpm. It weighed about 250 pounds less than its predecessor and improved combined EPA fuel economy by 25%, to 22/28/25 mpg (city/highway/combined) with front-wheel drive. It debuted in Los Angeles on November 18, 2015, local time, and the 2016 model started at $31,520.
The innovation. CX-9 was the first model with Mazda’s direct-injection turbo SKYACTIV-G 2.5T engine, producing 310 lb-ft from 2,000 rpm on regular or premium gasoline. It introduced Mazda’s first Active Driving Display that projects onto the windshield. It also offered i-ACTIV AWD, which Mazda described as using 27 sensors and adjusting power to each wheel more than 200 times per second.
If you buy one usedNHTSA lists these Mazda recalls: a wiring harness that could disable the passenger air bag, turn signals or engine starting (19V403, 2018 CX-9); the low-pressure fuel pump, whose impeller could crack and make it fail (21V875, 2018–2019); Falken ZIEX CT50 A/S tires with date code 1619 whose tread could separate (19V770, 2019); and the left seat of the 60/40 second-row bench, which could slide forward in a crash (21V750, 2020–2021). Exact NHTSA Mazda/CX-9 queries for 2016, 2017, 2022 and 2023 saved on November 3, 2026 returned zero records; confirm by VIN. All recalls have a free remedy; check by VIN at nhtsa.gov. - Gen. 32024–present · KK
CX-90: inline six, plug-in hybrid and a rear-drive foundation
Photo: Ethan Llamas · CC BY-SA 4.0 What changed. It changed name and architecture: the CX-90 uses Mazda's new large platform, with a longitudinal engine and standard rear-biased i-Activ all-wheel drive. It offers a 3.3-liter turbocharged inline six with a 48-volt mild-hybrid system (up to 340 hp and 369 lb-ft) or a plug-in hybrid with a 2.5-liter engine, an electric motor and a 17.8 kWh battery (323 hp and 369 lb-ft). It is wider and longer, seats up to eight, and its price started at $39,595 in February 2023.
The innovation. An in-house eight-speed automatic that replaces the torque converter with a wet clutch, designed for electrified longitudinal powertrains. It is compact enough to let the engine and transmission sit farther back in the chassis, improving weight distribution. Add Kinematic Posture Control, which lightly brakes the inside rear wheel in tight corners to reduce body lift.
If you buy one usedThe exact NHTSA Mazda/CX-90 query for model-year 2024 saved on November 3, 2026 returned 11 campaigns; not every campaign applies to each VIN. The most important: steering and suspension bolts that could be missing or loose (23V429); sudden loss of power steering assist from a worm-gear assembly issue (24V022); automatic emergency braking that could activate for no reason (24V349); loss of drive power from engine and transmission software (24V815) and, on the plug-in hybrid, from software (23V719) or from the inverter in EV mode (24V817). Others fix camera software (23V718), pedestrian-warning sound software on certain 2024 CX-90s (23V553; confirm the affected variant by VIN), restarting after i-stop (24V816), the dash electrical supply unit affecting the defroster and seat belt warning (24V814, 2024–2025) and the mild-hybrid fuel gauge (25V568, 2024–2025). Exact Mazda/CX-90 queries for 2026 and 2027 saved on November 3, 2026 returned zero records; confirm by VIN. All have a free remedy; check by VIN at nhtsa.gov that each one has been done.
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