This is a sticky for the US market about issues that cross the line from a maintenance to one of safety. Leaking fuel onto a hot engine or loosing wheel spokes could be examples of potential safety issues, as opposed to simply burning out a headlight wire. This thread is how about what WE OWNERS need to do to initiate action such as recalls.
We learned on the FJRForum that the NHTSA motorcycle defects investigation staff is extremely limited and as passionate a group of owners as anybody here. But they need data. We saw over and over that most owners will just bitch and not provide the defects investigators with basic data. Once we successfully worked together, we got several issues turned into recalls. (Some did take painfully long, due to competing priorities in other motorcycles.) In short, the NHTSA staffers absolutely must have basic raw data to perceive issues, prioritize the problems they are working on, and for raw material to research whether a recall is needed.
Further, what gets reported as complaints filed on the NHTSA site get attention from the manufacturers. It goes far beyond simply telling the service manager at your local dealer, and him/her relating hear-say to Yamaha. This makes sense, since the NHTSA complaints get posted online and can be found with a fairly simple search. (Personal identification is stripped before posting.) We had manufacturer people tell owners that "there is no problem" with their public relations face, but we found that once complaints get filed the manufacturers DID work those issues and service bulletins would suddenly be issued.
Remember that whether you as an owner WANT to comply with a recall remains totally up to you. There may not be enough reports to do something, and what you perceive as an issue may not become a recall if it is deemd to be a maintenance/cost/reliability issue. But to initiate ANY action from either the manufacturers and/or NHTSA takes YOU to input your problems. Bitching and whining won't cut it!
It takes up to 3 days for a new complaint to show and mine will show in a couple of days. But there is so far not a single entry for the XTZ12 so far. Not one.
So here's YOUR part: If you have a safety issue with ANY vehicle, go to:
www.safercar.gov
Click on the Owners tab
Look on the upper left side of the next page for the "File a complaint" clicky.
(The direct URL is https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/index.xhtml)
You will need your VIN and approximate mileage, which prevents people from "stuffing the ballot box."
Filling out their form is quick and it really is important.
Checkswrecks
We learned on the FJRForum that the NHTSA motorcycle defects investigation staff is extremely limited and as passionate a group of owners as anybody here. But they need data. We saw over and over that most owners will just bitch and not provide the defects investigators with basic data. Once we successfully worked together, we got several issues turned into recalls. (Some did take painfully long, due to competing priorities in other motorcycles.) In short, the NHTSA staffers absolutely must have basic raw data to perceive issues, prioritize the problems they are working on, and for raw material to research whether a recall is needed.
Further, what gets reported as complaints filed on the NHTSA site get attention from the manufacturers. It goes far beyond simply telling the service manager at your local dealer, and him/her relating hear-say to Yamaha. This makes sense, since the NHTSA complaints get posted online and can be found with a fairly simple search. (Personal identification is stripped before posting.) We had manufacturer people tell owners that "there is no problem" with their public relations face, but we found that once complaints get filed the manufacturers DID work those issues and service bulletins would suddenly be issued.
Remember that whether you as an owner WANT to comply with a recall remains totally up to you. There may not be enough reports to do something, and what you perceive as an issue may not become a recall if it is deemd to be a maintenance/cost/reliability issue. But to initiate ANY action from either the manufacturers and/or NHTSA takes YOU to input your problems. Bitching and whining won't cut it!
It takes up to 3 days for a new complaint to show and mine will show in a couple of days. But there is so far not a single entry for the XTZ12 so far. Not one.
So here's YOUR part: If you have a safety issue with ANY vehicle, go to:
www.safercar.gov
Click on the Owners tab
Look on the upper left side of the next page for the "File a complaint" clicky.
(The direct URL is https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/index.xhtml)
You will need your VIN and approximate mileage, which prevents people from "stuffing the ballot box."
Filling out their form is quick and it really is important.
Checkswrecks
