RoadVitals

2020 Vespa GTS 300

Recalls, owner-reported complaints, investigations and safety data

Data refreshed

Owner complaintsComplaints 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.
8
Latest Jan 30, 2025
Safety recallsA safety recall is issued when a manufacturer or NHTSA determines that a vehicle has a safety-related defect or does not comply with a federal motor vehicle safety standard. Recall repairs are free. Whether a specific vehicle is covered depends on its VIN — a recall listed for a model year does not necessarily apply to every vehicle of that year.
1
Latest Oct 6, 2020
InvestigationsNHTSA opens an investigation to examine whether a safety defect may exist. An open investigation is not a determination that a defect exists, and many investigations close without a recall. Investigations can, however, lead to one.
0
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.
0

Overview

Our database contains 8 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2020 Vespa GTS 300, most frequently naming the brakes and engine categories. 1 safety recall has been issued covering this model year; and 2 manufacturer communications are on file.

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

What owners report

Complaints grouped by the component NHTSA recorded

  • Brakes787.5%
  • Engine112.5%

Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.

Safety recalls

1 campaign cover this model year

Recalls apply to specific vehicles, not to every vehicle of a model year. Check your VIN with NHTSA or your manufacturer's dealer to confirm whether a recall affects your vehicle.

Check a VIN on NHTSA.gov

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

Oct 6, 2020
483 units potentially affected
The defect: Piaggio Group Americas. Inc. (Piaggio) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Vespa GTS 300 and GTV 300 scooters. Improperly galvanized brake pipe terminals can result in excessive front and/or rear brake levers travel during braking.
The risk: Reduced braking efficiency can lengthen the distance needed to stop the scooter, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy: Piaggio will notify owners, and dealers will test the O-Ring, replace the brake fluid and bleed the brake system, or replace the brake pipes based on the vehicle's age, free of charge. The recall began October 21, 2020. Owners may contact Piaggio customer service at 1-212-380-4433. Piaggio's number for this recall is PP2ZZQ2003_GTS/GTV.
Piaggio Group Americas. Inc.Manufacturer number PP2ZZQ2003_GTS/GTVView on NHTSA.gov

Recent owner complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA, shown in the owner's own words

Brakes
Filed Jan 30, 2025

Front brake handle frozen, cannot squeeze . This will not allow me to operate mt front brakes.

NHTSA ID
11639580
Incident
Oct 16, 2024
Brakes
Filed Dec 13, 2024

While I was driving the rear brakes started to a bite stiff .. when I went to stop I had to apply more pressure then usually.. i felt like the abs started and all of of sudden the brake lever stiffened up and i couldn't press the brakes any longer . I lost my rear brakes .. I'm glad I had my front brakes and I was able to get home driving slowly. But the rear brakes are locked up . I looked up my year 2020 gts 300 model it shows that there is a recall for that situation but when I type in my vin it says it's not a recall on the vin but it's the same issue and year that it's affected ?

NHTSA ID
11630614
Incident
Dec 12, 2024
Brakes
Filed Jul 12, 2024

- During one of my rides my rear brake malfunctioned. - If needed, yes it is available for inspection. - Due to the malfunction of the brake I almost crashed. Luckily I was able to stop my scooter (Vespa) using only front brake. - Yes the problem was confirmed by independent service. - Problem was inspected and confirmed by official service. - No warning lamps or any sort of messages were displayed on my speedometer. ABS and ASR light stitched off as it should after 5kph (3.1mph). My Vespa has only approx. 900 mi and it is strange to have that kind of issues this "early".

NHTSA ID
11601567
Incident
May 7, 2024
Brakes
Filed Jul 30, 2023

While driving scooter, rear brake lever became immovable. First time it happened, I used both hands and squeezed it very hard and hear an audible pop/crack and the lever released. Checked over scoot and had no leaks, and lever felt normal, so continued to ride. Approx a month later after sitting for 18 days, went to ride it and it was locked up again. Squeezed lever hard and broke free again, no signs of leaking. Drove to work that afternoon, and by the time I left to come home 5 hours later, it was locked up again. Broke free again and drove home. At that point I started looking online on the Vespa groups to see if anybody else has had this issue and came across this thread describing the same problem going back to 2018 https: [XXX] . At this point I quit riding it and waited until the handle locked up again and then took to the Vespa dealer who confirmed an ABS module failure and replaced it. Although my local dealer said he had never seen this issue before, when he spoke to his rep on my behalf (I was out of warranty, but only 1600 miles on the scoot) it was relayed to me that he was familiar with the issue. Vespa ultimately warrantied the part at no charge, I just had to pay labor. I have worked in vehicle repair for almost 15 years, and have never seen an ABS unit fail and prevent the brakes from being engaged. I believe this to be a large design flaw that should be addressed. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID
11535371
Incident
May 22, 2023
Brakes
Filed Dec 3, 2022

After the Vespa has sat for a couple days, the rear (right) brake lever locks up and is unable to be pulled after the ABS light goes out. Usually, I can pull pressure to the lever and it will free up. This started happening around the end of August 2022. Today, 12-3-2022, I tried to ride the Vespa after sitting for a few days and the lever is totally locked up and will not free itself. The Vespa is totally unridable now that the brakes do not work. I have spoken to my dealer and Piaggio USA on the phone and they verified that it may be the ABS unit that has failed but the dealer is pretty far away and I am unable to ride the Vespa. This is a serious safety issue. The Vespa only has about 900 miles on it and it is out of warranty.

NHTSA ID
11495907
Incident
Aug 25, 2022
Engine
Filed Apr 19, 2022

The contact owns a 2020 Piaggio Vespa GTS 300. The contact stated while driving at 5-10 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated he was able to restart the vehicle; however, the failure reoccurred several times while driving on that same day. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with an unknown sensor failure. The dealer reinstalled the sensors software; however, the failure reoccurred while driving. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer several times and each time the sensor software was reinstalled; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure through email. The failure mileage was approximately 500.

NHTSA ID
11461310
Incident
Nov 19, 2020
Mileage
500 mi
Brakes
Filed Aug 17, 2020

2020 VESPA GTS 300. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO BRAKE ISSUES. *LD THE CONSUMER STATED AFTER HAVING THE VEHICLE REPAIR UNDER RECALL, THE BRAKES STILL FELT DANGEROUS. *JS

NHTSA ID
11349489
Incident
Aug 17, 2020
Brakes
Filed Jun 15, 2020

OUT OF SEEMINGLY NOWHERE, FRONT BRAKES REDUCED TO 10% AND REAR BRAKES TO 50%. IMMEDIATELY RETURNED TO DEALER. RECALL PART IS IN IT'S 3RD WEEK OF WAITING. *TR

NHTSA ID
11328860
Incident
May 28, 2020
Mileage
321 mi

Manufacturer communications

A bulletin sent by a manufacturer to its dealers. Not a recall, and repairs are not necessarily free.

P_200617_TC_EN

SERVICE BRAKES

New video tutorials - Brake system replacement and bleeding. We hereby inform you that a series of video tutorials are available on the Service Portal in the Video Box section, relating to the replacement of the brake system lines for the vehicles in question. The videos are intended to aid the workshop operations, reproposing operations in an intuitive and easily usable form to supplement those described in the Service Station Manual.

P_190894_TC_EN

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

Improvement of the brake bleeding proceedure

Manufacturers file copies of the bulletins they send to dealers with NHTSA. These often describe diagnostic or repair procedures for a known condition. They are not recalls: repairs described in a bulletin are usually only free if the vehicle is still under warranty or the manufacturer has extended coverage.

Compare model years

Complaint and recall counts across every year of this model

Vespa GTS 300 by model year
YearComplaintsRecallsInvestigationsIssue Index
2023000
2022000
2021110
2020Viewing810
2019010
2018000
2017000
2016000
2015100
2011010
2010310

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. Older model years have had longer for reports to accumulate.