Total Complaints
199 filings
MAZDA CX-7 · model year
199 NHTSA complaints, 10 crash reports, and 4 active recalls for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 2011MAZDACX-7 carries 199 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 10 crashes, 0 fires, 4 injuries, and 0 fatalities. For crash performance, NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program gave this cohort an overall Not Rated/5 rating, with Not Rated/5 front crash, Not Rated/5 side crash, and 4/5 rollover scores derived from standardized barrier and dynamic tests.
Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2011 CX-7 is suspension with 50 filings, followed by air bags (41) and exterior lighting (37). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability. This model year has 4 active recall campaigns, which means the manufacturer is obligated to remedy the covered defect at no charge for the life of the vehicle — the full NHTSA campaign numbers are listed below.
NHTSA currently has 21 investigation files overlapping the 2011 CX-7, and 1 remain open. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.
Total Complaints
199 filings
Crashes Reported
10 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| SUSPENSION | 50 |
| AIR BAGS | 41 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 37 |
| STEERING | 16 |
| POWER TRAIN | 7 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 6 |
| ENGINE | 5 |
| SERVICE BRAKES | 5 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 5 |
| VISIBILITY/WIPER | 4 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 3 |
| STRUCTURE:BODY | 3 |
| WHEELS | 3 |
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | 2 |
| FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 2 |
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2007-2012 CX-7, CX-9, and 2009-2012 Maza6 vehicles. These vehicles had their passenger frontal air bag inflators previously replaced under a prior recall using inflators of the same design. The inflators may explode due to propellant deg
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
Mazda North America Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2009-2011 Mazda6, and 2007-2011 CX-7 and CX-9 vehicles. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, and used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2014-2015 Mazda CX-9 vehicles sold, or ever registered in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan),
SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:LOWER BALL JOINT
Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain model year 2007-2012 Mazda CX-7 vehicles manufactured February 14, 2006, to May 9, 2012. In the affected vehicles, water may enter the front suspension ball joint fittings. If the water is contaminated with salt, such as from driving on
Mazda has messed up headlights and it is very dangerous. I have to drive with high beams on continuously! The low beams point straight down to the road, looks like even with the bumper, you cannot see anything. It looks like you donât have lights on. Took it to dealer and they say itâs the housing and itâs a Mazda thing and donât do anything to fix it. I have tried every bulb available for Mazda and nothing helps. They need to fix this. I see SEVERAL owners with the same complaints! Please donât overlook this as it is very dangerous and may cause deaths.
My mechanic told me to check with Mazda as there might be a recall that has not been taken care of yet. I called Mazda and they told me there were 3 recalls (2 of which my mechanic already fixed) and the airbag recall. Told me not to drive, but would not provide any vehicle to use and would not set an appointment until December 8th, 2025.
The contact owns a 2011 Mazda CX-7. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V429000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact called an independent mechanic, but no assistance was provided. The local dealer was contacted. The dealer declined to tow the vehicle. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
I can not see at night. I have replaced the bulbs several times, and tried the most expensive bulbs. Nothing helps. You can only see with the high beams on, and thatâs not safe for other drivers
Recall on air bag throwing metal
I called Mazda to report that my air bag warning light came on and they told me it had been replaced on Jan 8, 2019 and was not under recall. Not sure what to do as light stays on all the time while driving.
The headlights are UNSAFE! Extremely dim. We have replaced the bulbs and gotten great LED lights but the issue is still there. Sometimes I feel like my lights arenât even on but they are, I cannot see. Please can you fix this. They just keep getting worse. I would have to drive with high beams on just to be safe. I donât drive at night in my car if I donât absolutely need to because of this issue.
During a rainy evening I could not see with the wipers on max speed and the headlights on low beam. I couldn't see the road unless a car was in front of me or I turn on my high beams. My son was in the car with me and several times I had to go at a crawling speed and still barely stayed on the road because of low visibilty. This has happened more than once and I feel unsafe driving now because I feel like I'm driving with no lights on at all these days without rain and rain makes it 10x worse.
During a rainy evening I could not see with the wipers on max speed and the headlights on low beam. I couldn't see the road unless a car was in front of me or I turn on my high beams. My son was in the car with me and several times I had to go at a crawling speed and still barely stayed on the road because of low visibilty. This has happened more than once and I feel unsafe driving now because I feel like I'm driving with no lights on at all these days without rain and rain makes it 10x worse.
Just bought this car used and the very first night I realized that the headlights are very very very dim. After online research, it seems this is a common issue with make model&year.
Low beam headlights are so poor that they barely illuminate the roadway when driving at night. I've replaced them with Sylvania Silverstar Max bulbs as well as tried LED bulbs and neither help. Makes the car almost worthless to drive at night due to the limited visibility. It has slowly gotten worse since my purchase of the vehicle in 2016.
Low beam headlights are so poor that they barely illuminate the roadway when driving at night. I've replaced them with Sylvania Silverstar Max bulbs as well as tried LED bulbs and neither help. Makes the car almost worthless to drive at night due to the limited visibility. It has slowly gotten worse since my purchase of the vehicle in 2016.
Transmission went out at 150,232 Also car has a lot blond spots
Transmission went out at 150,232 Also car has a lot blond spots
Transmission went out at 150,232 Also car has a lot blond spots
We purchased a set of headlights and taillights via Amazon from Perde on 12/8/20 after verifying they would fit the vehicle-confirmed with the description provided online. The product that was delivered is defective and presents a fire/electrical safety concern. We installed them, which we had issues initially with the turn signals. While we worked to figure that piece out, we left in the new ones as the ones we had to replace were in worse shape. About a month after they were installed we noticed the headlights weren't working so replaced the bulbs-one of which appeared to be burned/melted. We thought this was a fluke, replaced the bulbs and this worked for a little while. Then about another month passes, my son was pulled over by the police due to both taillights being out. This also presents a safety issue with other drivers on the road not being able to see the vehicle at night. When we inspected the taillights, we found that both taillights bulbs had also burned/melted and
Low beam headlights burn out every 6 months, no matter the quality of bulb. Casings are discolored on the inside and light doesn't project beyond about 4 feet, doesn't reach the car bumper in front of me. Cannot be corrected with lens cleaning kits or improved with brighter bulbs. Very dangerous. I cannot see in low light or dark at all. I've had this car since 2013 and it gets progressively worse. Many forums online with same issue reported.
THIRD OWNER OF VEHICLE. GOT A NOTICE FROM NHTSA AND MAZDA DUE TO REGISTRATION OF NEW TO US VEHICLE ON FEBRUARY 25, 2021. SET UP APPOINTMENT ON FEBRUARY 26, 2021 WITH NELSON MAZDA OF COOL SPRINGS FOR 10:15 A.M. ON MARCH 3, 2021. I INFORMED THE PERSON THAT THERE WERE TWO RECALLS, BUT I ONLY WANTED THE TAKATA AIRBAG RECALL DONE BECAUSE I HAD ALREADY REPLACED THE BAD PARTS ON THE OTHER RECALL WITH FAR SUPERIOR AFTERMARKET PARTS AND THEREFORE DIDN'T NEED/WANT THE OTHER RECALL WHICH WAS FOR DEFECTIVE BALL JOINTS. MY WIFE DROPPED OFF THE VEHICLE FOR THE AIRBAG RECALL. THEY INFORMED US A LITTLE WHILE LATER THAT WE HAD TO GET BOTH RECALLS DONE OR THEY COULDN'T DO EITHER BECAUSE THEY WOULD GET FINED BY MAZDA. I TOLD THE SERVICE MANAGER THAT I ALREADY REPAIRED THE BALL JOINT ISSUE TO MY LIKING AND THAT THE BAD PARTS WERE NO LONGER ON THE VEHICLE. I WOULD SIGN OFF ON IT. HE SAID THEY COULDN'T DO EITHER. I ASKED HIM IF WAS THE REFUSING TO DO THE AIRBAG RECALL THAT HAS PROVEN TO BE DEADLY AND SEND M
Mileage: 241,000
TOOK MY CAR TO GET A ALIGNMENT DUE TO THE SHAKING OF THE WHEEL WHEN COMING TO A STOP, WHEN TAKING MY CAR TO BE LOOK AT, I WAS ADVISED THAT THE CONTROL ARM OF MY CAR WAS BAD, IN WHICH I WASN'T AWARE OF. ON MAY 1ST I HAD THE CONTROL ARM REPLACED. NOW I RECEIVED LETTERS AN CALLS ABOUT THE AIRBAG RECALL. ON JUNE 15TH TOOK MY CAR TO JAKE SWEENEY MAZDA AFTER RECEIVING A CALL ABOUT THE RECALL. WHILE IN THE WAITING ROOM WAITING FOR THE AIRBAG TO BE REPAIRED, THE SERVICE PERSON [XXX] CAME BACK OUT AND TOLD ME THAT I HAD ANOTHER RECALL FOR THE LOWER CONTROL ARM OF THE CAR, IN WHICH I JUST HAD REPAIRED ON MAY 1ST, UNAWARE OF THE RECALL, WHICH I FOUND OUT ON JUNE 15TH. AFTER EXPLAINING TO THEM WHAT HAD HAPPENED, HE TOLD ME THAT HE NEEDED TO STILL FIX WHAT HAD ALREADY BEEN DONE, WITH THE UPDATED PARTS. ON JUNE 16TH, I SUBMITTED MY REIMBURSEMENT REQUEST ON JUNE 18TH I RECEIVED AN E-MAIL BACK STATING THAT ALL REPAIRS DONE BY THIRD PARTY WOULD BE MY RESPONSIBILITY. I TRIED CALLING AND SPEAKING WITH AN
TOOK MY CAR TO GET A ALIGNMENT DUE TO THE SHAKING OF THE WHEEL WHEN COMING TO A STOP, WHEN TAKING MY CAR TO BE LOOK AT, I WAS ADVISED THAT THE CONTROL ARM OF MY CAR WAS BAD, IN WHICH I WASN'T AWARE OF. ON MAY 1ST I HAD THE CONTROL ARM REPLACED. NOW I RECEIVED LETTERS AN CALLS ABOUT THE AIRBAG RECALL. ON JUNE 15TH TOOK MY CAR TO JAKE SWEENEY MAZDA AFTER RECEIVING A CALL ABOUT THE RECALL. WHILE IN THE WAITING ROOM WAITING FOR THE AIRBAG TO BE REPAIRED, THE SERVICE PERSON [XXX] CAME BACK OUT AND TOLD ME THAT I HAD ANOTHER RECALL FOR THE LOWER CONTROL ARM OF THE CAR, IN WHICH I JUST HAD REPAIRED ON MAY 1ST, UNAWARE OF THE RECALL, WHICH I FOUND OUT ON JUNE 15TH. AFTER EXPLAINING TO THEM WHAT HAD HAPPENED, HE TOLD ME THAT HE NEEDED TO STILL FIX WHAT HAD ALREADY BEEN DONE, WITH THE UPDATED PARTS. ON JUNE 16TH, I SUBMITTED MY REIMBURSEMENT REQUEST ON JUNE 18TH I RECEIVED AN E-MAIL BACK STATING THAT ALL REPAIRS DONE BY THIRD PARTY WOULD BE MY RESPONSIBILITY. I TRIED CALLING AND SPEAKING WITH AN
Momentary increase in steering effort after recall remedy
Inadvertent Curtain Air Bag Deployment
Front Subframe Corrosion
Lower ball joint separation
Brake Booster Failure
Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.