- Vehicles
- 2,779
- Built between
- Not published
- Models
- 2
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 9 April 1999
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
The manufacturer did not publish a build-date range for this recall, so the model and year list below is the only way to tell whether your vehicle is covered.
- 1999 Kawasaki Drifter
- 1999 Kawasaki VN1500
What the defect is
Vehicle description: motorcycles (VN1500-J1/L) equipped with a digital fuel injection system and a vehicle-down sensor. This feature is designed to prevent the fuel injection system from continuing to pump fuel if the motorcycle falls down, by shutting off the ignition and fuel injection pump. During battery maintenance, the vehicle-down sensor can be dislodged from its normal mounted position. If the sensor is out of position, the motorcycle may not start or may stall during certain driving maneuvers.
What could happen
If the sensor is not correctly installed, the engine can crank but not start or the engine could stop during certain riding situations, like leaning over in a turn. Sudden loss of engine power could cause the operator to lose their balance resulting in injury or death.
What gets fixed
DEALERS WILL INSPECT FOR PROPER MOUNTING OF THE SENSOR AND RE-INSTALL IF IT IS NOT IN THE CORRECT POSITION. DEALERS WILL ALSO AFFIX TO THE MOTORCYCLE FRAME, A WARNING LABEL THAT PROVIDES INSTRUCTIONS ON REPOSITIONING THE VEHICLE-DOWN SENSOR AFTER SERVICING THE BATTERY.
Timeline
- Recall reported to NHTSA6 April 1999
- Owners notified9 April 1999
Your rights
A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.
That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 6 April 1999.
To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.
Official source
- Recalling manufacturer
- KAWASAKI MOTORS CORP.
- Recall initiated by
- MFR
Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Additional notes
Owner notification began april 9, 1999. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact kawasaki at 1-949-770-0400.ALSO contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236).
Check your own vehicle
This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.
A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.