1999 Kawasaki Drifter 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 1999 Kawasaki Drifter, 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
- Exterior lighting1100.0%
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
Exterior lighting
Reports naming headlights, tail lights, turn signals and other exterior lighting.
From owner reports, verbatim
I OWN A 1999 KAWASAKI 1500 DRIFTER MOTORCYCLE THAT I BOUGHT NEW FROM G&G CYCLES, 142 LAFAYETTE ROAD, SALISBURY, MA, 01952. SINCE IT WAS NEW THE TURN SIGNAL WOULD COME ON WHEN I STARTED THE MOTORCYCLE. THE DEALER HAD NO SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM WHEN I POINTED OUT THAT IT CREATED A SAFETY ISSUE BECAUSE, IF I FAILED TO TURN IT OFF BEFORE DRIVING, IT WOULD SIGNAL OTHER DRIVERS THAT I WAS TURNING WHEN I WAS NOT IN FACT GOING TO DO SO, MAKING THEM TAKE DANGEROUS ACTION. IN THE LAST SEASON OF USING THE MOTORCYCLE THE PROBLEM WORSENED. NOW THE TURN SIGNALS WILL WORK FOR ONLY SEVERAL FLASHES AND THEN THEY BLOW THE MAIN FUSE FOR THE TURN SIGNALS RENDERING THEM INOPERATIVE, AGAIN, A SAFETY ISSUE. THE DEALER TELLS ME THAT THERE IS NO WAY THAT THEY CAN FIX IT ASIDE FROM TRYING TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE ELECTRONICS ON THE MOTORCYCLE. THIS ALSO RENDERS THE MOTORCYCLE UNABLE TO PASS A SAFETY INSPECTION AND THEREFORE, INOPERABLE ON PUBLIC ROADS. I WOULD LIKE THE DEALER TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS ORIGINAL DEFECT AND FIX MY MOTORCYCLE. I AM USING AN INCIDENT DATE THAT COINCIDES WITH THE FIRST TIME, AT PURCHASE, THAT I NOTICED THE PROBLEM. THANK YOU FOR HELPING WITH THIS, GARY LOWE 603-431-7484. *NM
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 .