The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a preliminary investigation into potential suspension problems with the 2007-2008 Mazda CX-9.
The agency has received at least six complaints alleging separation of the lower ball joint on the front suspension. The first was received in October 2013, while three have been logged in the first five months of 2015, suggesting an increasing trend of failures.
“The passenger front wheel disconnected from the lower control arm, resulting in immediate loss of control of the vehicle,” one owner alleges. “Fortunately the vehicle was being driven through a residential area at a low speed.”
Luckily all of the other incidents happened at low speeds, without leading to any injuries or deaths, though it is unclear if any more serious accidents have occurred outside of the few failures reported to the NHTSA.
The agency notes that four of the failures were in states that use high volumes of road salt, suggesting investigators are looking in to corrosion as a contributing factor.
Officials are still scrutinizing the data to determine if a formal recall is warranted.
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