2003 YAMAHA ROAD STAR SILVERADO Complaints

PASSING ON A FREEWAY AND LOST 5TH GEAR. COULD HAVE HAD SERIOUS ACCIDENT. THIS IS A WELL KNOWN ISSUE AND PROBLEM THAT YAMAHA IS AWARE OF AND THEY LEFT CUSTOMERS OUT TO DRY. OR SHOULD I SAY DIE!! THIS WILL COST US AROUND 4,000 TO FIX. SHAME ON YAMAHA FOR NOT FIXING THIS PROBLEM. EVEN THOUGH THEY HAD A RECALL ON THE TRANSMISSION, THIS IS A DIRECT RESULT OF THE ORIGINAL ISSUE. YAMAHA STATES IF THE RECALL IS DONE, THEN THEY'RE DONE.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 YAMAHA ROAD STAR SILVERADO MOTORCYCLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH, HE HEARD A CLUNKING SOUND AS THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO DECELERATE INDEPENDENTLY. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 25,850. *TR

I OWNED A YAMAHA ROAD STAR SILVERADO 1600 YEAR 2003. I HAVE NOW 52000 KLM ONLY. LAST WEEK WILE A WAS RIDING AT 110KLM PER HOUR ON THE FIFTH GEAR AS USUAL TRANSMISSION CAME ON NEUTRAL STATE, WHEN I RELEASED THE TRANSMISSION WAS BROKEN IN FIFTH GEAR. SO I ENDED MY RIDE IN FOURTH GEAR AS THE RESULT AT LEAST 3000.00 DOLLARS IN REPAIRS, OR MORE AT YAMAHA SHOP. *KB

I OWN A 2003 YAMAHA ROAD STAR AND THE RECALL WAS DONE ON TRANS. BUT 3 WEEKS A GO IT LOCKED UP WHILE I WAS RIDING IT. THE SHOP TELLS ME IT WAS SECOND GEAR THAT BROKE, HE SAID THAT HE DIDN'T HAVE ANY IDEA WHY. IT ONLY HAS 18000 MILES AND ITS IN MINT SHAPE. NEVER BEEN TREATED ROUGH, DON'T THINK I COULD EVER RIDE IT AGAIN AND FEEL SAFE. *TR

RE: COMPLAINT # 10290507 TOOK MY 2003 ROADSTAR TO YAMAHA DEALERSHIP FOR TRANSMISSION PROBLEM (5TH GEAR GONE). WAS TOLD THAT IT HAS BEEN AN ISSUE AND YAMAHA WILL REPAIR ON A CASE-BY-CASE SITUATION. ON FRIDAY NOV.6TH I WAS TOLD BY THE DEALER THAT IF THE RECALL HAS BEEN DONE THAT YAMAHA WILL PAY TO FIX IT.THEN TODAY NOV.10TH,THE DEALER SAID THE DISTRICT REP SAID HE WILL NOT AUTHORIZE THE REPAIR BECAUSE THE BIKE IS OUT OF WARRANTY. THIS MOTORCYCLE ONLY HAS 8,700 EASY MILES ON IT AND THIS SEEMS TO BE A YAMAHA PART DEFECT THAT THEY DO NOT WANT TO FIX. I HAVE BEEN READING ONLINE FORUMS FOR THE ROADSTARS AND HAVE FOUND THAT A LOT OF OWNERS HAVE HAD THE EXACT PROBLEM WITH 5TH GEAR. SOME HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GET YAMAHA TO FIX THEIRS AND OTHERS HAVE HAD TO PAY TO FIX IT THEMSELVES. I HAVE ALSO FOUND OUT THAT WHEN 5TH GEAR GOES OUT,THAT IT DAMAGES OTHER TRANSMISSION AND ENGINE PARTS. SOMEBODY IS GOING TO GET KILLED BECAUSE OF THIS PROBLEM AND IT IS A SHAME THAT YAMAHA WON`T BACK UP THEIR PRODUCT. *TR

I WAS RIDING MY 2003 YAMAHA ROADSTAR SILVERADO WITH 8,000 MILES ON IT,WHEN I HEARD A CLINK,CLINK AND THEN 5TH GEAR WAS GONE.JUST LIKE IT WAS IN NEUTRAL. AFTER MUCH RESEARCH I FOUND THAT MANY 2003 ROADSTARS HAVE HAD THE EXACT ISSUE EXCEPT I DID NOT CRASH LIKE SOME OTHERS HAVE DONE. I CONTACTED A LOCAL DEALERSHIP WHO CHECKED THE VIN AND SAID THE RECALL HAD BEEN DONE IN DEC.2004. THERE SHOULD BE A PUNCH MARK AT THE VIN NUMBER.THERE IS NONE ON MY BIKE. YAMAHA SAYS THERE IS NO RECALL FOR THE 5TH GEAR ISSUE EVEN THOUGH THERE ARE A LOT OF OWNERS WITH THE SAME ISSUE. THIS IS A VERY COSTLY REPAIR AND YAMAHA SHOULD BE RECALLING AND FIXING THIS PROBLEM AS THE MOTOR HAS TO BE TORN ALL THE WAY DOWN TO FIX IT AND THIS CAN NOT BE DONE BY THE AVERAGE PERSON. MYSELF AND OTHER YAMAHA ROADSTAR OWNERS ARE NOT,AND WILL NOT LET THIS ISSUE GO AS IT IS A COSTLY REPAIR AND A YAMAHA DEFECT. WE HAVE TOO MUCH MONEY INVESTED IN THESE MOTORCYCLES TO LET THIS BLOW OVER. SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE ABOUT THIS ISSUE SOON BEFORE ANYBODY ELSE IS INJURED OR KILLED. THIS IS AN ISSUE OF LIFE AND DEATH!!! WE ARE COUNTING ON NHTSA TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS. PLEASE. *TR

RIDING A 2003 YAMAHA ROADSTAR, RIDER AND A PASSENGER, ON 57N (SO. CALIFORNIA), CRUISING AT 70 MPH IN FIFTH GEAR, BEGAN LOSING SPEED AND BIKE STARTED TO REV AS IF IN NEUTRAL. DOWNSHIFTED TO 4TH, NORMAL, UP-SHIFT TO 5TH, NO POWER, BIKE ACTING AS IF IN NEUTRAL. PULLED OFF FREEWAY. EXAMINED FOR ANYTHING OBVIOUSLY BROKEN BUT FOUND NOTHING WRONG. DROVE MOTORCYCLE TO REPAIR SHOP WHEN IT HAS BEEN EVER SINCE. REPAIR SHOP HAS DISMANTLED TRANSMISSION FROM ENGINE. PINION GEAR THAT HOLDS 5TH GEAR IN PLACE HAS SHEARED OFF CAUSING SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO OTHER ENGINE/TRANNY PARTS. BROKEN PARTS COULD HAVE CAUSED ENGINE TO LOCK-UP CAUSING A POTENTIALLY LIFE THREATENING ACCIDENT. YAMAHA CONTACTED ON TWO OCCASIONS AND WAS TOLD THAT THE MOTORCYCLE WAS OUT OF WARRANTY, RECALL HAD BEEN PERFORMED AND THIS WAS NOT THEIR PROBLEM. MAJOR GEAR THAT FAILED HAS BEEN SUPERSEDED AND REPLACED WITH A NEW PART NUMBER! COST TO REPAIR THE DAMAGE WILL BE IN EXCESS OF $4000.00 ANOTHER LOCAL 2003 ROADSTAR OWNER/RIDER HAD THE SAME EXACT EXPERIENCE ONE WEEK LATER, ALSO AT 70 MPH ALSO ON A LOCAL SOCIAL FREEWAY- NHTSA COMPLAINT FILED AS WELL. ONE INTERNET FORUM INDICATE AT LEAST 7 ADDITIONAL INSTANCES WHERE 5TH GEAR HAS FAILED. *TR

FUEL TANK ON A FIVE YEAR OLD MOTORCYCLE HAS RUSTED THROUGH AND MULTIPLE PIN HOLES HAVE FORMED. GAS LEAKED ON HOT MOTOR CREATING SAFETY ISSUE. MANUFACTURER WILL NOT FIX OR REPLACE TANK. PER MANUFACTURER THERE IS NO COATING ON THE INSIDE OF THE FUEL TANK TO PROTECT THE BARE METAL FROM RUSTING. MOTORCYCLE HAS BEEN GARAGE KEPT SINCE PURCHASED NEW IN 2003. *TR

THE FORWARD HORN BRACKET ON MY 2003 YAMAHA ROAD STAR HAS REGULARLY BROKEN AT 5000 MILE INTERVALS. I TOOK ONE AND BEEFED IT UP WITH WELDED-IN ROD AND ANGLED BRACKETS BUT IT STILL ONLY LASTED 15000 MILES. MY DEALER SAYS THEY HAVE REPORTED THIS PROBLEM TO YAMAHA, BUT WHEN I CALL THE CUSTOMER SERVICE LINE, THEY CLAIM TO HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE OF THIS PROBLEM. I ALSO INSTALLED AN EXTERNAL OIL COOLER ON THE BIKE AND HAD THAT BRACKET BREAK (I FEEL DUE TO THE EXTREME VIBRATIONS INHERENT IN THE BIKE)! NOW, ON THE NEW ROADLINER, THEY HAVE ADDRESSED THESE PROBLEMS, BUT WITHOUT CONFIRMING THAT THEY EXIST. *JB

ON JANUARY 22, 2004 CONSUMER RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE REGARDING TRANSMISSION. DEALERSHIP DID NOT HAVE THE PARTS AVAILABLE TO CONDUCT RECALL REPAIRS. *AK *MR