2018 Mazda CX-9 Electrical System

Passenger seat heater either had a grounding issue or shorted out, causing to seat to start smoldering and catching fire, destroying the seat. There has been recalls and lawsuits for this specific issue on this model in other years, but not for this model year.

The infotainment system screen has developed several cracks in the upper left-hand corner of the screen. Often time these cracks look like spiderwebs or frost --it's commonly referred to as "spider cracking." This is the second time my vehicle has had this issue. At the present time, the cracks are contained to the upper left-hand corner of the screen, but they are getting larger. The vehicle has been inspected by my local MAZDA dealership and I'm awaiting a resolution. As I understand, this is a known issue with 2016-2017 model years and a TSB has been issued for these years. MAZDA should extend the TSB to 2018 and beyond.

There is a recall for Mazda 2016-2017 infotainment screens where they will show signs of cracking under the plastic and the screen will reboot. I have a 2018 CX-9 and Mazda corporate acknowledged the issue but only offered 15% of the price of a replacement part instead of replacing it. They said my VIN was not part of the original recall. I informed them this was a safety concern and then did not care. Case number - [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The main infotainment display randomly exhibited "spider cracking" which obstructs the view of the material being displayed within the screen. It is unsafe because the operator is unable to see maps, time, locations, controls, reverse cameras, etc. All of these are displayed in the screen and, due to the manufacturing defect, the operator is distracted by straining to see what is displayed behind the cracking. This is a well documented issue plaguing Mazda vehicles. Mazda has admitted it as defective, and are fixing the problem in the 2016-17 models. However, the 2018 model (which has the same screen as the 2016-17) is being refused. The fix needs to be extended to the 2018 model and beyond since it iw clear this it is still a widespread issue. It is well documented that once the cracking starts, it quickly spreads to the entire screen if not repaired, causing even more danger to the operator who will be distracted while attempting to see the display behind the screen.

WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE THE CAR TO AN ABRUPT STOP AND I HAD NO CONTROL. THE DASHBOARD LIT UP WITH ALL TYPES OF WARNINGS AND HEAT WAS COMING FROM THE FRONT OF THE CAR.