I took my 2011 CX-9 that was only 5-years old with 68,374 miles on it to the Mazda dealership in Elmsford/White Plains, since it was shifting very hard. I shuttered every time I shifted the transmission, since it felt like it was going to drop, although it didn't do it all the time. I later learned from my online research that the hard shifting was prevalent when the transmission got hot. The trained Mazda service technicians at the dealership weren't able to diagnose the problem, but instead they grossly misdiagnosed the problem.

The trained Mazda service technicians and Mazda Corporate Technical Support, who the dealership consulted with, attributed my complaint to a normal operating noise of the anti-lock braking system and even gave me a copy of Mazda's Service Bulletin for this issue, which they noted on my service invoice and attached the copy to my invoice. So my complaint having to do with my transmission was grossly misdiagnosed by Mazda's trained service technicians. I was suspect of this diagnosis and lodged a complaint with the Mazda Customer Experience Center for the record and for future reference.

I found out approximately one year later that the hard shifting is what is referred to as shift-shock. In fact, I found out from a local AAMCO transmission shop that Mazda has a Service Bulletin for the repair of shift-shock that was dated January 2014, which preceded the date of my August 2016 service visit by more than 2 years. I was able to locate a copy of the Service Bulletin online. The shift-shock reportedly affected 2011-2013 CX-9 vehicles. The shift-shock repair procedure consisted of reprogramming the Transmission Control Module (TCM), which was covered under the Federal Emission Control Warranty that is for a term of 8-years or 80,000 miles, whichever comes first. One would think that the trained Mazda service technicians would have identified my complaint of hard shifts with my transmission and would have diagnosed the condition as being shift-shock in light of the Service Bulletin that was issued by Mazda on shift-shock. In fact, had the condition been properly diagnosed, the repair would have been covered under the Federal Emission Control Warranty.

So while my car was in for another unrelated repair, which will be the subject of another one of my complaints, the Mazda dealership reprogrammed the TCM on instruction from Mazda Corporate, who also paid $169 for the labor as a goodwill gesture to reprogram the TCU. Less than one year later, the shift-shock condition reoccurred necessitating that the TCM be replaced. This time, Mazda Corporate paid $971 for the part as a sign of yet another goodwill gesture. Just a couple of months later, the shift-shock reoccurred yet again. This last go around, the transmission needed to be and was replaced, with Mazda Corporate contributing $3,000 as a final goodwill gesture towards the replacement cost of the transmission.

The fact that Mazda extended their goodwill and provided partial assistance for each of these incidents with the car being outside of any warranty is indicative of their admission of culpability and negligence in initially misdiagnosing my complaint with my car's transmission. In retrospect, had the condition been properly diagnosed and repaired by Mazda's trained service technicians at the time of my initial complaint and service visit, the condition would not have festered and worsened to the point where my car needed a new factory rebuilt transmission.