RoadVitals

2002 Kawasaki Ninja Owner Complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full

Data refreshed

Complaints on fileComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
3
Latest May 17, 2004
Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
1
Filed in the last 12 monthsReports filed with NHTSA in the trailing 365 days. Recent volume reflects attention and vehicle age as much as anything else.
0
Reports on file since Dec 8, 2003

What this page shows

Our database holds 3 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2002 Kawasaki Ninja. Each one is a report filed by an owner or driver and published by NHTSA without most of them being verified. A complaint is not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. Narratives are shown exactly as filed.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Complaints, most recent first

Showing 1–3 of 3

Body & structure
Filed May 17, 2004
Crash reported1 injury reported

CONSUMER WAS RIDING THE MOTORCYCLE WHEN THE FRONT FORKS DISENGAGED. *LA THIS CAUSED THE CONSUMER TO BE SEPARATED FROM THE VEHICLE AND DESTROYED THE VEHICLE. THE PROBLEM WAS DUE TO A DESIGN DEFECT OF THE MECHANISM WHICH SECURED THE FRONT FORKS TO THE VEHICLE. (MODEL ZX900) *SC *JB

NHTSA ID
10074109
Incident
Sep 27, 2003
Mileage
68 mi
Electrical
Filed Apr 20, 2004

AFTER RECALL WAS PERFORMED, MOTORCYCLE CONTINUED TO LEAK OIL. *PH THE CONSUMER WAS TOLD THAT THE RECALL HAD BEEN PERFORMED, HOWEVER LESS THAN A MONTH LATER, HE CHECKED THE CONNECTOR AND FOUND OIL IN IT. THE CONSUMER TOOK THE MOTORCYCLE BACK TO THE DEALER TO HAVE IT FIXED, HOWEVER TO THIS DAY, THE CONNECTOR IS STILL LEAKING OIL. THE CONSUMER EVEN TRIED TO USE SILICON SEALANT WHICH WAS ADVISED BY ANOTHER DEALER. *JB

NHTSA ID
10068576
Incident
Feb 11, 2003
Engine
Filed Dec 8, 2003

FOR 4600 MILES OT THE 5500 MILES MY KAWASAKI ZX12R HAS SUCKED SAND THROUGH THE ENGINE. I FIRST LEARNED ABOUT IT WHEN I WENT TO DO SOME UPGRADES TO MY BIKE AT 3475 MILES. I WENT AHEAD AND FINSHED MY UPGRADES AND DID NOT RIDE THE BIKE UNTIL I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER. THEY DID A COMPRESSION TEST AND A LEAK DOWN TEST AND DETERMINED FROM THAT THAT THERE WAS NOT A PROBLEM AND NO DAMAGE TO THE ENGINE. IN ALL MY YEARS OF WORKING ON ENGINES, THE ONLY WAY I COULD TELL IF SAND HAD DONE DAMAGE WAS TO LOOK IN SIDE THE ENGINE. THEY ALSO TOLD ME PER THE KAWASAKI FACTORY REP. THAT MY UPGRADES CAN VOID MY WARRANTY. I ROAD THE BIKE FOR ABOUT 800 MILES TO SEE IF THE UPGRADES HELPED AND NO SAND GOT IN. SO I PUT THE BIKE BACK TO STOCK AS I DID NOT WANT TO LOSE MY WARRANTY AND IT STARTED TO SUCK SAND THROUGHT THE ENGINE AGAIN. ON 11/9/03, I CALLED THE DEALER WHO FIRST LOOKED AT IT AND TOLD THEM IT HAD SUCKED SAND THROUGH THE ENGINE AGAIN, THEY TOLD ME THAT THEY ARE REFUSEING TO WORK ON MY BIKE. SO I CALLED KAWASAKI AND THEY TOLD ME TO TAKE IT TO ANOTHER DEALER. I TOLD THEM THE ONLY ONE I TRUSTED, WAS A KAWASAKI DEALER IN RIVERSIDE. BUT EVEN THOUGH I GAVE THEM A LETTER TELLING THEM THE ONLY WORK I WILL ALLOW WAS A NEW TOP END, THEY WENT AHEAD AND ONLY DID ANOTHER COMPRESSION TEST AND LEAK DOWN TEST. THE NEW TOP END WAS DENIED. ALSO THE FIRST TIME I TOOK THE BIKE IN TO BE FIXED, I WAS TOLD SAND GOING THROUGH THE ENGINES WOULD NOT AFFECT THEM. IF THIS IS SO, WHY DO THEY TELL YOU IN THE OWNER MANUAL TO NEVER RUN THEM WITH OUT AND AIR FILTER? I DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO TRY AND CONTROL A 550+ LB BIKE AT ABOUT 70 TO 75MPH BECAUSE IT LOCKED DUE TO A DEFECT IN THE FILTERS ALLOWING IT TO SUCK SAND INTO THE ENGINE. I HAVE MORE DOCUMENTATION AND PICTURES BUT WILL NEED EMAIL ADDRESS TO SEND THEM TOO. I ALSO KNOW OF SEVERAL OTHERS WHO ALSO HAVE OR HAD THIS PROBLEM. I HAVE ALSO LEARNED THAT KAWASAKI KNEW OF THIS PROBLEM WHEN THE FIRST ZX12R'S CAME OUT IN THE YEAR 2000. THANKS FOR YOU HELP. *AK

NHTSA ID
10049387
Incident
Jun 6, 2003
Mileage
3,475 mi

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.

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .