2001 Yamaha Road Star

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

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 YAMAHA ROAD STAR MOTORCYCLE. THE CONTACT RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE FOR NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 03V309000 (POWER TRAIN:MANUAL TRANSMISSION). THE DEALER WILL NOT PERFORM THE RECALL REPAIR AFTER MULTIPLE CALLS AND PROMISES. THE CONTACT MUST CALL THE DEALER SO THEY CAN ORDER THE PARTS FOR THE REPAIR. HE HAS BEEN CALLING THEM FOR EIGHT MONTHS WITHOUT ANY RESOLUTION. HE CALLED YAMAHA CUSTOMER RELATIONS FOR A REMEDY AND WAS INFORMED THAT THEY WOULD CALL THE DEALER SO THEY COULD PERFORM THE REPAIR; HOWEVER, HE HAS NOT RECEIVED A RESPONSE TO RESOLVE THIS MATTER. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 5,000.

NHTSA ID

10265496

Incident

Nov 10, 2008

Mileage

5,000 mi

FUEL (GASOLINE) IS SPRAYED FROM REAR PORT OF CARBURETOR. AS MUCH AS 2 OZ MAY BE EMITTED AND SPRAYED ON HOT EXHAUST PIPES AND ENGINE. THE FUEL IMMEDIATELY VAPORIZES. THIS ONLY SEEMS TO OCCUR WHEN THE MOTORCYCLE IS HOT, THEN SHUT OFF AND ALLOWED TO SIT FOR APPROXIMATELY 15 MINUTES. IT DOES NOT SPRAY LIQUID GAS IF IMMEDIATELY STARTED OR IF ALLOWED TO COOL. HOWEVER, THERE IS STILL A FREQUENT SMELL OF GAS. FIRST REPORTED IN AUGUST 2008. PROBLEM IS FREQUENT. *TR

NHTSA ID

10265245

Incident

Aug 23, 2008

Mileage

17,000 mi

THERE WERE NO "EVENTS" LEADING UP TO THE FAILURE OF MY FUEL SYSTEM. WHILE RIDING IN TRAFFIC I NOTICED AN ODOR OF RAW FUEL. WHEN I PULLED OVER TO INVESTIGATE,I DISCOVERED GASOLINE POURING OUT FROM UNDER MY MOTORCYCLE! SHUTTING OFF THE FUEL PETCOCK AND RUNNING THE ENGINE @ AN ELEVATED RPM CAUSED THE SYMPTOM TO SUBSIDE AND LED TO THE CONCLUSION THAT A FAILURE IN 1 OR MORE CARBURETOR(S) HAD OCCURED. I CONTACTED MY DEALER AND WAS ADVISED THAT YAMAHA USA WOULD NOT WARRANTY A FAILURE OF THE CARBURETOR(S) CLAIMING THAT "POOR FUEL QUALITY" WAS THE FAULT,NOT A MANUFACTURING DEFECT. UPON QUESTIONING,I WAS FURTHER ADVISED THAT CORROSION OF THE NEEDLE AND SEAT ASSEMBLIES WAS A KNOWN FAILURE IN THIS PRODUCT AND THAT WARRANTY COVERAGE WAS CONSISTENTLY DENIED BY THE MANUFACTURER DESPITE THE OBVIOUS SAFETY ISSUE OF POTENTIAL FIRE HAZARD. I ALSO ASKED IF YAMAHA HAD RELEASED ANY UPDATED COMPONENTS TO AVOID A REPEAT OF THE SAME FAILURE AND WAS ADVISED THAT CHROME PLATED COMPONENTS IMPERVIOUS TO THIS KIND OF FAILURE WERE AVAILABLE,BUT,NOT FROM THE MANUFACTURER. FOR OBVIOUS REASONS,I HAD THE DEALER REPAIR THE CONDITION WITH UPGRADED PARTS AND PAID FOR THE REPAIR SINCE THE DEALER WAS NOT AT FAULT. I THEN CONTACTED YAMAHA USA AND SPOKE TO MATTHEW WHO LISTENED ATTENTIVELY BUT,COULD ONLY TELL ME HE WAS SORRY THAT MY YAMAHA HAD NOT LIVED UP TO MY EXPECTATIONS! MATTHEW ALSO ADVISED ME HIS DATA BASE SHOWED NO OTHER COMPLAINTS OF THIS NATURE DESPITE THE FACT THAT THERE ARE SIMILAR REPORTS IN THE N.H.T.S.A. DATA BASE ON THE WEB. THE POSITION THAT FUEL QUALITY IS AT ISSUE IS BELIED BY THE FACT THAT IN THIS HOUSEHOLD ALONE 3 CARS,A SNOWBLOWER,2 LAWNMOWERS,A POWER EDGER,AND A CHAIN SAW WERE ALL OPERATED ON THE SAME FUEL WITHOUT INCIDENT. I FEEL THAT THE MOTORCYCLE PRODUCTS OF YAMAHA USA SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED FOR POTENTIALLY LETHAL DESIGN FLAWS IN IT'S FUEL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AND HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE COST OF CORRECTING A CONDITION THAT COULD COST SOMEONE THEIR LIFE.

NHTSA ID

10127332

Incident

Aug 1, 2004

Mileage

2,360 mi

MANUAL TRANSMISSION AND REAR WHEEL LOCKED WHILE DRIVING AT 35 MPH. WHEN THIS OCCURRED CONSUMER WAS ABLE TO MAINTAIN CONTROL OF THE MOTORCYCLE ,AND COASTED IT TO A COMPLETE STOP WITHOUT THE MOTORCYCLE TIPPING OVER. THIS OCCURRED DUE TO THE DEFECT DESCRIBED IN THE REAR WHEEL LOCK RECALL 03V309000. BUT THIS VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL DUE TO VIN. *AK

NHTSA ID

10094938

Incident

Oct 2, 2004

CONSUMER RECEIVED NHTSA RECALL 03V 309 000 CONCERNING TRANSMISSION FAILURE IN JANUARY, 2004. LATER, CONSUMER CONTACTED THE DEALER, WHO STATED PARTS NEEDED TO REPAIR THE MOTORCYCLE WERE NOT AVAILABLE, AND WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE UNTIL MID APRIL, AT THE EARLIEST.*AK THE MOTORCYCLE WAS FINALLY REPAIRED THREE MONTHS AFTER THE RECALL WAS INITIATED. THE MOTORCYCLE WAS PICKED UP APRIL 3, 2004. *NM

NHTSA ID

10065025

Incident

Jan 1, 1901

Mileage

13,000 mi

ON JANUARY 14 2003 CONSUMER RECEIVED A RECALL LETTER REGARDING TRANSMISSION. DEALERSHIP DID NOT HAVE THE PARTS AVAILABLE TO CONDUCT RECALL REPAIRS. DEALER WAS CONTACTED, AND DEALER INDICATED THAT THE CONSUMER SHOULD WAIT A LITTLE LONGER. *AK *NM

NHTSA ID

10063169

Incident

Mar 15, 2004

Mileage

3,300 mi

NHTSA RECALL 03V309000. THE DRIVER CONTACTED THE DEALER ON JANUARY 09, 2004. THE MECHANIC INFORMED THE CONSUMER THAT THE PARTS WERE NOT AVAILABLE. THE MECHANIC COULDN'T INFORM THE CONSUMER WHEN THE PARTS WOULD BE AVAILABLE. *LA

NHTSA ID

10071954

CONSUMER RECEIVED NHTSA RECALL 03V309000 CONCERNING TRANSMISSION FAILURE ON JANUARY 28,2004. CONSUMER CONTACTED THE DEALER, WHO INFORMED THE CONSUMER THAT PARTS WOULD BE AVAILABLE IN FEBRUARY. CONSUMER CONTACTED THE DEALER IN FEBRUARY, AND THE DEALER INFORMED THE CONSUMER THE PARTS WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE UNTIL THE END OF APRIL. *AK *NM

NHTSA ID

10063146