Mazda CX-90 Problems

What actually breaks on the Mazda CX-90 — 35 owner complaints filed with NHTSA across 2025–2025, sorted by model year and by system, with what owners wrote in their own words.

NHTSA owner complaints · 35 reports · 29 builds · Updated Nov 3, 2026
Quick answer

Owners have filed 35 complaints on the Mazda CX-90, covering 2025–2025. The system named most often is Service Brakes (6 reports). Worst years by volume: 2025; cleanest: 2025. 1 reports describe a crash. On average the car was 0.7 years old when the problem happened.

What breaks on Mazda CX-90

Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 35 CX-90 complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.

Service Brakes 17% 6 Read
2025 Mazda CX-90

I purchased this Mazda new in October 2025. Since purchasing the vehicle, it has unexpectedly applied the brakes on three separate occasions while I was driving under normal conditions. There was no reason for the vehicle to brake, and each incident created a dangerous situation because the vehicle slowed suddenly…

2025 Mazda CX-90

The brakes make noise. I asked Mazda if there were any recall. The service person replied there is on the brakes but they were doing it in groups and it was not my group yet

2025 Mazda CX-90

So, if the car is on electric and I press on break, sometimes breaks feels like it's delayed to response. The car will switch to gas after it and the break will work. This happened to me in the 2024 and 2025 CX90 PHEV version. I had that issue multiple times

Engine 11% 4 Read
2025 Mazda CX-90

Istop engine malfunction Msp66, 2nd time occurring after recall fix

2025 Mazda CX-90

The vehicle repeatedly displays warnings including “Acceleration Limited Due to Low Fuel and/or Battery Condition,” Hybrid System Malfunction, and Engine System warnings. These events result in reduced acceleration and loss of power while driving. The condition occurs despite normal fuel levels and routine driving…

2025 Mazda CX-90

Early December I was driving and attempting to make a left-hand turn across traffic. I press the gas slowly in preparation to cross traffic. Once a car passed I pressed the gas to get across the traffic lanes before other cars got to me and when I pressed the gas, the car completely stopped moving. I sat there,…

Electrical System 11% 4 Read
2025 Mazda CX-90

Hybrid battery recall was replaced and failed a month later for a second time burning other systems and causing a compete failure in the car. It failed in a deserted portion of [XXX] while traveling from [XXX] to [XXX] for important business. This left me stranded in the middle of the [XXX] desert late at night in a…

2025 Mazda CX-90

The vehicle utilizes I-Stop, which comes on when stopping and while traveling down the interstate when the computer isn’t registering throttle input as a way to increase fuel economy. At least a dozen times now, the vehicle has failed to register throttle input, which isn't allowing the vehicle to restart when…

2025 Mazda CX-90

On 3/19/2026, the vehicle ignition was turned on. Immediately, we received a variety of warnings, including: "charging system malfunction", "i-ACTIVESENSE Partially Disabled", "Hybrid System Malfunction", "i-stop Malfunction", "Charging System Malfunction", and "Critical Systems Failure". Vehicle has only 20,040…

Power Train 9% 3 Read
2025 Mazda CX-90

My car is literally stalling out on me. It started by sputtering when I put my foot on the gas a week or so ago. Then today It literally started just losing power while driving. It’s not throwing any codes but that’s super dangerous and this car is only a year old. I am extremely concerned for my safety

2025 Mazda CX-90

I own a 2026 Mazda CX-90 hybrid with approximately 13,000 miles. The vehicle began making a grinding noise while driving, which has progressively worsened over time. It has since developed a hard knocking noise accompanied by noticeable vibration when the vehicle shifts gears. This knocking occurs during normal…

2025 Mazda CX-90

ISSUE 1 – UNINTENDED DECELERATION (Power Train): While driving at highway speeds (60–80 mph) with foot off accelerator for approximately 5+ seconds while coasting, the vehicle unexpectedly executes a sharp, single downshift causing sudden unintended deceleration and an RPM spike. No warning lights illuminate.…

Steering 9% 3 Read
2025 Mazda CX-90

The steering seems to be malfunctioning and is hesitant or sticking when operating the vehicle. The steering wheel seems to hesitate or stick only during left hand turns, even slight ones. If you do not manually pull the steering wheel back after turning, it will stay in the position and not return as it should. This…

2025 Mazda CX-90

Brakes have been really squeaky and seems like a common problem for other CX90 but no fix. Steering tends to feel “sticky” when doing certain turns and locks when you’re at the max radius and won’t return back

2025 Mazda CX-90

Every time I drive the vehicle, it basically snatches me back into the lane aggressively. If I am moving into the next lane, the lane correction is so aggressively, I am afraid it is going to cause a collision. The brakes squeak and squeal constantly. They have oiled the brakes but it didn't work

Fuel/propulsion System 6% 2 Read
2025 Mazda CX-90

Recently, while driving our Mazda CX-90 (2025) we noticed a persistent and constant odor of fuel/gasoline vapors arise from the vehicle. We noticed this after driving the vehicle approximately 120 min from Las Vegas, NV to St. George, UT. The smell was intoxicating and nauseating. I took it into 2 local dealerships to…

2025 Mazda CX-90

I stopped for gas and when I removed the gas cap air came of out of the filler pipe like it was under high pressure. I could not fuel the vehicle because of the force of the air coming out of the tank blew gas out and shut off the pump. I started and shut off the car numerous times without the gas cap on and with it…

Structure 3% 1 Read
2025 Mazda CX-90

My driver door would not open from the inside. Doors are unlocked, but only the driver side door will not open from the inside. Driver side door can only open from the outside

Wheels 3% 1 Read
2025 Mazda CX-90

I purchased a new 2025 Mazda CX-90 Plug-In Hybrid, which currently has approximately 16,500 miles. Despite normal daily driving, proper maintenance, and all scheduled services performed at authorized Mazda dealerships, all four original tires have prematurely worn out and require full replacement. This level of tire…

CX-90 years to avoid — and the clean ones

Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.

FIG.02·Mazda CX-90 complaints by model year
Model yearComplaintsTop systemCrashesFires
202535Electrical System1—
ROWS 1·SOURCE NHTSA owner complaints

The same model year, different builds

Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.

FIG.03·Mazda CX-90 complaints by production series
MeasureValue
Distinct production series29
Average complaints per series1.2
Worst single series2 complaints
Average age at failure0.7 years
ROWS 4·SOURCE NHTSA owner complaints + ForCar

A model average of 1.2 hides a worst series at 2. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.

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How we count

Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,115,966 of them, covering 2,019 models built between 1981 and 2026.

A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.

Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.

Frequently asked questions

What are the worst years for the CX-90?

By complaint volume, 2025 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.

Which CX-90 years are the cleanest?

2025 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.

How many complaints does the Mazda CX-90 have?

35 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2025–2025. Of those, 1 describe a crash and 0 a fire.

Are these complaints verified?

No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.

Can I check complaints for one specific car?

Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.

Owner complaints from NHTSA, published as filed and unverified. Age at failure computed by ForCar from incident date and model year; production series grouped by the first 11 VIN characters. Last updated Nov 2026. — ForCar Reviewed by , founder of ForCar.
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