2009 Mazda CX-9

midsize SUV / 4-door SUV

2009 Mazda CX-9 4-door SUV
2008 Mazda CX-9 shown

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Small overlap front: driver-side
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Head restraints & seats

Other available safety features

  • Optional blind spot detection

Key

  • G
    Good
  • A
    Acceptable
  • M
    Marginal
  • P
    Poor
  • Superior
  • Advanced
  • Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Small overlap front: driver-side

Rating applies to 2007-15 models

Tested vehicle: 2014 Mazda CX-9 Touring 4-door 4wd

The Mazda CX-9 was introduced in the 2007 model year.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
The dummy’s head barely contacted the frontal airbag before sliding off the left side as the steering column moved 33 cm to the right, resulting in little airbag cushioning for the chest. Additionally, the side curtain airbag did not deploy, allowing the head to hit the intruding driver door window frame and window sill.

Action shot taken during the small overlap frontal crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the door frame, steering wheel, and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was not maintained well.

During the crash, the dummy's head and torso barely contacted the airbag before sliding off to the left as the steering column moved far to the right. Extensive intrusion and lack of a side curtain airbag deployment allowed the head to hit the door window frame, as indicated by smeared grease paint.

Door hinge pillar and instrument panel intrusion was extensive and contributed to a moderate risk of injury to the left knee.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CEN1408
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm) 43
Footrest (cm) 19
Left toepan (cm) 15
Brake pedal (cm) 8
Parking brake (cm) 25
Rocker panel lateral average (cm) 6
Upper occupant compartment
Steering column 12
Upper hinge pillar max (cm) 44
Upper dash (cm) 38
Lower instrument panel (cm) 33

Driver injury measures

Test ID CEN1408
Head
HIC-15 137
Peak gs at hard contact 96
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.8
Extension bending moment (Nm) 7
Maximum Nij 0.28
Chest maximum compression (mm) 15
Femur (kN)
Left 4.1
Right 1.5
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 13
Right 5
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 1
Right 0
Maximum tibia index
Left 0.68
Right 0.64
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 1.3
Right 0.0
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 83
Right 35

How the driver-side small overlap front test is conducted

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2007-15 models

Tested vehicle: 2008 Mazda CX-9 Grand Touring 4-door 4wd

The Mazda CX-9 was introduced in the 2007 model year.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Action shot taken during the frontal offset crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the steering wheel and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was maintained very well.

A high head acceleration occurred when the dummy's head hit the steering wheel through the airbag.

Forces on the lower right leg were high enough to indicate the possibility of injuries.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CEF0802
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm) 3
Left (cm) 2
Center (cm) 7
Right (cm) 7
Brake pedal (cm) 5
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm) -1
Right (cm) -1
Steering column movement
Upward (cm) 1
Rearward (cm) -4
A-pillar rearward movement (cm) 0

Driver injury measures

Test ID CEF0802
Head
HIC-15 687
Peak gs at hard contact 98
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.5
Extension bending moment (Nm) 27
Maximum Nij 0.42
Chest maximum compression (mm) 30
Legs
Femur force - left (kN) 0.9
Femur force - right (kN) 2.3
Knee displacement - left (mm) 1
Knee displacement - right (mm) 0
Maximum tibia index - left 0.34
Maximum tibia index - right 0.89
Tibia axial force - left (kN) 1.9
Tibia axial force - right (kN) 4.6
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 92
Right 104

How the moderate overlap front test is conducted

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2007-15 models

Tested vehicle: 2008 Mazda CX-9 Grand Touring 4-door 4wd with standard head curtain airbags for all three rows of seats and standard front seat-mounted torso airbags

The Mazda CX-9 was introduced in the 2007 model year.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection

View of the vehicle and barrier just after the crash test.

View of the vehicle after the crash with doors removed, showing the side airbags and damage to the occupant compartment.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the driver dummy's head was protected from being hit by hard structures by the side curtain airbag.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the rear passenger dummy’s head was protected by the side airbag.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CES0803
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm) -11.0
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Driver injury measures

Test ID CES0803
Head HIC-15 81
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.8
Compression (kN) 0.0
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 30
Lateral force (kN) 1.5
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 23
Average deflection (mm) 21
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 2.09
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.23
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 1.5
Acetabulum force (kN) 2.6
Combined force (kN) 3.7
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 0.8
L-M moment (Nm) 105
A-P moment (Nm) 45

Passenger injury measures

Test ID CES0803
Head HIC-15 117
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.2
Compression (kN) 0.4
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 34
Lateral force (kN) 1.9
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 31
Average deflection (mm) 24
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 3.22
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.36
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 0.8
Acetabulum force (kN) 3.0
Combined force (kN) 3.5
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 0.5
L-M moment (Nm) 81
A-P moment (Nm) -27

How the side crash test is conducted

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Grand Touring seats

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry
Technical measurements for this test
Seat type Grand Touring seats
Geometry
Backset (mm) 60
Distance below top of head (mm) 26
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail Fail
Max T1 acceleration (g) 12.9
Head contact time (ms) 104
Force rating 2
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N) 132
Max neck tension (N) 682

How the head restraint & seat test is conducted
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.