2005 Honda CRF450X Problems
Owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA, grouped by component
Data refreshed
What this page shows
Everything below is an owner-reported complaint submitted to NHTSA about the 2005 Honda CRF450X, grouped by the component NHTSA recorded on the report. These are not confirmed defects, and they are not recalls. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a category with more reports in it is not evidence that a part is defective.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Reports by component
Ranked by how many owner reports name each component category
- Transmission3100.0%
Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.
Each component in detail
What the reports in each category say, in the owners' own words
Transmission
Reports naming the automatic or manual transmission, including shifting behaviour, shudder, slipping and transmission control modules.
From owner reports, verbatim
I MAINLY USE MY BIKE ON THE OFF-ROAD SETTING, BUT OCCASIONALLY ROAD IT DOWN THE HIGHWAY. IT SO HAPPEN THAT ON THE EVENING OF THE 27TH OF AUGUST I WAS TRAVELING DOWN THE HIGHWAY FOR ABOUT SIX MILES WHEN MY MOTORCYCLES STARTED TO MAKE A CLICKING NOISE SOMEWHERE IN THE ENGINE AREA. I SLOWED FROM 65 MPH TO ABOUT 55 MPH WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN MY REAR WHEEL LOCKED SKIDDING MY BIKE OUT OF CONTROL. LUCKILY I BROUGHT THE BIKE TO A STOP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY WITH NO INJURY TO MYSELF OR ANYONE ELSE. I TRIED TO SHIFT MY TRANSMISSION THROUGH THE GEARS, BUT WAS ONLY ABLE TO GET TO SHIFT TO THIRD. I MANAGED TO ROAD MY BIKE HOME IN THIRD GEAR. I WAS VERY CURIOUS OF WHY MY BIKES TRANSMISSION HAD SEIZED SO I CHECKED SOME SITES OUT ON THE INTERNET. TO MY SHOCK I WAS NOT THE ONLY PERSON THAT THIS HAD HAPPENED TOO. ON THE SITES THAT I FOUND MANY OF THE PEOPLE THAT HAD THEIR TRANSMISSIONS FAIL SAID THAT THE THIRD OR FIFTH GEAR SEIZED TO THEIR SHAFTS AND THE PRICE TO GET IT FIXED FROM THE DEALER WAS ANYWHERE FROM 1000 TO 1500 DOLLARS. THE NEXT DAY I DECIDED THAT I WOULD TAKE THE ENGINE OUT OF MY BIKE, WHICH ENDED UP DISASSEMBLING MOST OF THE BIKE. WITH THE ENGINE OUT I TOOK IT TO MY LOCAL HONDA DEALER TO GET THE ENGINE CASE SPLIT IN HALF SO I COULD FIGURE OUT ALL THAT HAD FAILED INSIDE OF THE TRANSMISSION. I AM STILL WAITING TO HEAR BACK FROM THE HONDA DEALER OF HOW MUCH ITS GOING TO COST, BUT I'M PRETTY SURE ITS NOT GOING TO BE CHEAP. *NM
MY '05 HONDA CRF450X IS A GREEN STICKER MOTORCYCLE WHICH IN CALIFORNIA IS STREET LICENSABLE WITH ADDITIONS TO MEET THE LIGHTING STATUES AND DOT LEGAL TIRES. MY BIKE WAS INSPECTED BY DMV AND ISSUED A STREET LICENSE. THE OWNER'S MANUAL RECOMMENDS THAT YOU SHOULD PUT .69 OF A US QUART IN THE TRANSMISSION SIDE OF THE BIKE. WITH 20 HOURS OF OPERATION, AND THREE CHANGES OF BOTH THE MOTOR OIL AND THE TRANSMISSION OIL, MY BIKE SUFFERED A MAJOR TRANSMISSION LOCKUP AT 55 MPH, CAUSING ME TO GO INTO ON-COMING TRAFFIC IN A RIGHT HAND TURN, AS EVEN PULLING THE CLUTCH LEVER WOULD NOT LET THE REAR WHEEL FREE SPIN. HAD THERE BEEN AN ON-COMING CAR, I WOULD HAVE BEEN SERIOUSLY INJURED OR POSSIBLY KILLED. UPON INSPECTION BY A HONDA MOTORCYCLE DEALER IT WAS FOUND THAT THE TRANSMISSION'S UPPER STACK OF GEARS HAD THIRD GEAR WELDED TO THE UPPER COUNTER SHAFT DUE TO LACK OF LUBRICATION. HONDA FAILED TO WARRANTY THE REPAIR EVEN THOUGH I STILL HAD THE STOCK TIRES ON THE BIKE. INTERNET FORUMS SUCH AS THUMPERTALK HAVE PAGES OF DOCUMENTED OTHER FAILURES OF THE EXACT SAME DESCRIPTION UNDER THE 450X "TRANSMISSION FAILURE" THREAD. THE CONCLUSION OF THOSE WHO ARE MECHANICALLY KNOWLEDGEABLE AND THE OWNER'S IN AUSTRALIA IS THAT YOU HAVE TO RUN A QUART OF TRANSMISSION OIL TO LUBRICATE THESE GEARS. THOSE IN AUSTRALIA, WHERE THE BIKE IS STREET LICENSABLE, LIKE IN CALIFORNIA, STATE THAT THEIR MANUAL REQUIRES MORE OIL THAN MY MANUAL. HONDA DID PROVIDE "GOOD WILL" WARRANTY OF TWO KNOWN UNITS IN COLORADO BEFORE THEY REALIZED THAT THE PROBLEM WAS SYSTEMIC. SOMEONE WHO IS UNKNOWING OF THIS FACT WILL BE SERIOUSLY HURT ON THIS BIKE BECAUSE HONDA DOESN'T WANT TO TELL IT'S OWNER'S THAT THEIR SPECIFICATION IN THE OWNER'S MANUAL IS INSUFFICIENT TO LUBRICATE THE TRANSMISSION WITHIN THE EXPECTED USAGE OF A "CROSS-COUNTRY" MOTORCYCLE (450"X"), ONLY BECAUSE THEY DON'T WANT TO PAY FOR THE REPAIRS OR FACE A LAWSUIT FOR SOMEONE WHO HAS ALREADY BEEN INJURED. I DO HAVE THE FAILED PARTS. *JB
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Elsewhere on this vehicle
Data sources
- NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation — owner-reported complaints and the components recorded on them
Data on this page last refreshed .