2003 Yamaha ROAD STAR LIMITED EDITION problems and owner complaints
Explore the records behind recurring owner reports.
Key facts
14 owner complaints analyzed
1 distinct recall campaigns
6,000 mi median reported failure mileage
Scope: 2003 model year. Data updated: . 7 complaints include usable failure mileage. View data status.
Owner-reported patterns
Most common problems
Power Train:Manual Transmission is the most frequently named component, appearing in 11 of 14 complaints (78.6%). A complaint can name multiple components.
Recurring terms in complaint narratives
Topic
Matching reports
Share of complaints
Transmission and shifting
9
64.3%
Braking behavior
1
7.1%
Topic matches use published keyword rules. They describe mentions, including negations or comparisons, and do not confirm a diagnosis. Read the matching rules.
Component breakdown
Number of unique complaints naming each component. Top eight shown.
Power Train:Manual Transmission
11
Power Train:Automatic Transmission
2
Power Train
1
Service Brakes, Hydraulic
1
Component breakdown data
Category
Count
Power Train:Manual Transmission
11
Power Train:Automatic Transmission
2
Power Train
1
Service Brakes, Hydraulic
1
Power Train:Manual Transmission: 11; Power Train:Automatic Transmission: 2; Power Train: 1; Service Brakes, Hydraulic: 1
Reported problems by failure mileage
Complaint counts in mileage bands. These are not failure rates per vehicle or mile.
Under 25,000
7
25,000 to 49,999
0
50,000 to 74,999
0
75,000 to 99,999
0
100,000 to 149,999
0
150,000 and above
0
Reported problems by failure mileage data
Category
Count
Under 25,000
7
25,000 to 49,999
0
50,000 to 74,999
0
75,000 to 99,999
0
100,000 to 149,999
0
150,000 and above
0
Under 25,000: 7; 25,000 to 49,999: 0; 50,000 to 74,999: 0; 75,000 to 99,999: 0; 100,000 to 149,999: 0; 150,000 and above: 0
Under 25,000 miles has the most reports with usable mileage (7). 7 complaints have missing, zero or invalid mileage.
Complaints over time
Year the complaint was filed, not the vehicle model year or incident year. The snapshot year is partial.
2004
12
2009
1
2010
1
Complaints over time data
Category
Count
2004
12
2009
1
2010
1
2004: 12; 2009: 1; 2010: 1
Pattern summary
Power Train:Manual Transmission leads the component reports. Transmission and shifting appears in 9 complaint narratives. Braking behavior appears in 1 complaint narratives. Use these patterns to inspect individual reports and prepare questions for a mechanic.
Calculated from recorded counts. An AI narrative has not been published for this selection.
Complaint evidence
Examples provide context, not a representative sample or a verified diagnosis.
RECALL ON MY 2003 YAMAHA ROAD STAR SE. RECEIVED RECALL LETTER FROM YAMAHA IN JANUARY, DEALER HAS NO PARTS TO REPAIR WITH NO DATES AS TO WHEN TO EXPECT THEM. WROTE AND CALLED YAMAHA HEAD QUARTERS IN CALIFORNIA, THEY WOULD NOT PROVIDE LOANER, BUY BACK THE BIKE, OR EXTEND WARRANTY. MY BIKE HAS 4700 MILES ON IT AND THEY WANT TO TEAR DOWN THE ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION TO REPAIR IT, ONCE THE PARTS ARE AVAILABLE. THIS WOULD MAKE THE BIKE A REBUILD, I PAID FOR A NEW BIKE, NOT A REBUILD. I AM ALSO MAKING MONTHLY PAYMENTS ON A BIKE YAMAHA SAYS NOT TO R…
CONSUMER RECEIVED A RECALL LETTER ON JANUARY 20, 2004 REGARDING TRANSMISSION. FAILURE. DEALERSHIP DID NOT HAVE THE PARTS AVAILABLE TO CONDUCT RECALL REPAIRS. DEALER INDICATED THAT THE CONSUMER SHOULD WAIT AT LEAST FIVE MONTHS. *AK
I HAVE A 2003 YAMAHA ROAD STAR LIMITED SILVER EDITION MOTORCYCLE, WHICH I PURCHASED FROM MALCOLM SMITH MOTORSPORTS, RIVERSIDE. IN JANUARY 2004, WITH 2,500 MILES ON THE MOTORCYCLE, I HAD A VERY DANGEROUS MALFUNCTION WITH THE REAR BRAKE, CAUSING THE REAR BRAKE TO BE APPLIED WITHOUT APPLYING FORCE TO THE PEDAL. DURING THAT SAME WEEK, I RECEIVED A NOTICE BY MAIL OF A RECALL ON THE MOTORCYCLE INVOLVING THE TRANSMITION (UNRELATED TO THE BRAKE). UPON CALLING THE DEALER, I WAS TOLD THE BRAKE WOULD NOT BE LOOKED AT UNTIL THE RECALL WORK WAS ALSO PERFORM…
Inspect model-year patterns, reported mileage, monthly activity and the evidence behind each signal.
Data completeness
14 unique complaints in this selection. Analysis snapshot: 2026-10-01.
50.0%Usable mileage7 / 14 records
85.7%Valid incident date12 / 14 records
100.0%Valid filing date14 / 14 records
85.7%Ordered incident and filing dates12 / 14 records
Missing, zero and invalid mileage is excluded. Dates after the snapshot are excluded. Examples are limited selections, not a representative sample.
Problems by model year
Model-wide comparison of the eight most reported components across the model. Cells show counts and shares within each model year. Open a cell for source examples.
Component complaint heatmap
Component
2002
2003
Power Train:Manual Transmission
0Unavailable
No examples available for this selection.
1178.6%ODI 10058861
RECALL ON MY 2003 YAMAHA ROAD STAR SE. RECEIVED RECALL LETTER FROM YAMAHA IN JANUARY, DEALER HAS NO PARTS TO REPAIR WITH NO DATES AS TO WHEN TO EXPECT THEM. WROTE AND CALLED YAMAHA HEAD QUARTERS IN CALIFORNIA, THEY WOULD NOT PROVIDE LOANER, BUY BACK THE BIKE, OR EXTEND WARRANTY. MY BIKE HAS 4700 MILES ON IT AND THEY WANT TO TEAR DOWN THE ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION TO REPAIR IT, ONCE THE PARTS ARE AVAILABLE. THIS WOULD MAKE THE BIKE A REBUILD, I PAID FOR A NEW BIKE, NOT A REBUILD. I AM ALSO MAKING MONTHLY PAYMENTS ON A BIKE YAMAHA SAYS NOT TO R…
CONSUMER RECEIVED A RECALL LETTER ON JANUARY 20, 2004 REGARDING TRANSMISSION. FAILURE. DEALERSHIP DID NOT HAVE THE PARTS AVAILABLE TO CONDUCT RECALL REPAIRS. DEALER INDICATED THAT THE CONSUMER SHOULD WAIT AT LEAST FIVE MONTHS. *AK
I HAVE A YAMAHA ROAD STAR THAT HAS BEEN RECALLED. I HAVE GOTTEN HORRIBLE SERVIE AND THE MOTORCYCLE HAS BEEN IN THE SHOP FOR THREE MONTHS AND SCHEDULED TO BE THERE ANOTHER TWO. YAMAHA IS PROVIDING NO SERVICE AND NO COMPENSATION. THE BIKE WILL BE IN THE SHOP FOR FOUR OR FIVE MONTHS AND YAMAHA DOESN'T SEEM TO CARE. IS THERE ANYTHING ESLE I CAN DO??*AK
I HAVE A 2003 YAMAHA ROAD STAR LIMITED SILVER EDITION MOTORCYCLE, WHICH I PURCHASED FROM MALCOLM SMITH MOTORSPORTS, RIVERSIDE. IN JANUARY 2004, WITH 2,500 MILES ON THE MOTORCYCLE, I HAD A VERY DANGEROUS MALFUNCTION WITH THE REAR BRAKE, CAUSING THE REAR BRAKE TO BE APPLIED WITHOUT APPLYING FORCE TO THE PEDAL. DURING THAT SAME WEEK, I RECEIVED A NOTICE BY MAIL OF A RECALL ON THE MOTORCYCLE INVOLVING THE TRANSMITION (UNRELATED TO THE BRAKE). UPON CALLING THE DEALER, I WAS TOLD THE BRAKE WOULD NOT BE LOOKED AT UNTIL THE RECALL WORK WAS ALSO PERFORM…
Darker cells indicate a larger share of submitted complaints. Components overlap. This measures complaint composition, not failure probability.
Failure mileage by component
Median and middle 50% of usable owner-reported mileages. Ranges require at least five records.
Component failure mileage distribution
Component
Mileage range (25th–75th percentile)
Median
Usable records
Examples
Power Train:Manual Transmission
Too few reports for a range
7,827 mi
4 (sparse)
ODI 10065762 · 1,400 mi
SAFETY RECALL ON TRANSMISSION.RECEIVED RECALL ON JAN. 9TH TO HAVE BIKE REPAIRED BUT WHEN I CALLED THE DEALER I WAS INFORMED THERE WAS NO PARTS TO REPAIR IT.I WAS TOLD THAT THE PARTS WOULD NOT BE HERE FOR AT LEAST 2 MONTHS.NOW IT IS THS MIDDLE OF APRIL AND THE PARTS ARE STILL NOT AVAILABLE.THE LETTER STATED DO NOT RIDE BECAUSE THE TRANMISSION COULD LOCK UP AND CAUSE THE REAR WHEEL TO START SLIDING.I TAKED TO BRAD FRANKLIN IN GOVERMENT RELATIONS AT YAMAHA [phone removed] NO HELP IN THIS DEPARTMENT.WAS TOLD BY HIM THE PARTS SHOULD BE HERE BY THE …
I HAVE A 2003 YAMAHA ROAD STAR LIMITED SILVER EDITION MOTORCYCLE, WHICH I PURCHASED FROM MALCOLM SMITH MOTORSPORTS, RIVERSIDE. IN JANUARY 2004, WITH 2,500 MILES ON THE MOTORCYCLE, I HAD A VERY DANGEROUS MALFUNCTION WITH THE REAR BRAKE, CAUSING THE REAR BRAKE TO BE APPLIED WITHOUT APPLYING FORCE TO THE PEDAL. DURING THAT SAME WEEK, I RECEIVED A NOTICE BY MAIL OF A RECALL ON THE MOTORCYCLE INVOLVING THE TRANSMITION (UNRELATED TO THE BRAKE). UPON CALLING THE DEALER, I WAS TOLD THE BRAKE WOULD NOT BE LOOKED AT UNTIL THE RECALL WORK WAS ALSO PERFORM…
I WAS TRAVELING DOWN THE FREEWAY WHEN SUDDENLY 5TH GEAR WAS GONE CAUSING ME TO SUDDENLY LOOSE SPEED IN HEAVY TRAFFIC. I WAS ABLE TO DOWNSHIFT INTO 4TH GEAR AND CONTINUE MOVING AT A SLOWER SPEED, BUT 5TH GEAR IS COMPLETELY GONE. THIS IS THE ONLY TIME IT HAS OCCURRED TO ME, BUT THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO 5TH GEAR. APPARENTLY IT HAS HAPPENED TO NUMBERS OF OTHER YAMAHA ROAD STAR OWNERS. THIS TRANSMISSION HAD A RECALL ISSUED ON IT A FEW YEARS AGO THAT WAS DIFFERENT THAN THIS ISSUE, SO THIS IS A SECOND PROBLEM WITH THE SAME TRANSMISSION. *TR
CONSUMER RECEIVED A RECALL LETTER ON JANUARY 20, 2004 REGARDING TRANSMISSION. FAILURE. DEALERSHIP DID NOT HAVE THE PARTS AVAILABLE TO CONDUCT RECALL REPAIRS. DEALER INDICATED THAT THE CONSUMER SHOULD WAIT AT LEAST FIVE MONTHS. *AK
THREE MONTHS AGO CONSUMER RECEIVED A RECALL LETTER REGARDING AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FAILURE. DEALERSHIP STILL DID NOT HAVE THE PARTS AVAILABLE TO CONDUCT RECALL REPAIRS. CONSUMER WAS ANGRY THAT YAMAHA HAD NOT ISSUED ANY STATEMENT ON HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE TO OBTAIN THE COMPONENT ITEMS ON RECALL. *AK
I HAVE A YAMAHA ROAD STAR THAT HAS BEEN RECALLED. I HAVE GOTTEN HORRIBLE SERVIE AND THE MOTORCYCLE HAS BEEN IN THE SHOP FOR THREE MONTHS AND SCHEDULED TO BE THERE ANOTHER TWO. YAMAHA IS PROVIDING NO SERVICE AND NO COMPENSATION. THE BIKE WILL BE IN THE SHOP FOR FOUR OR FIVE MONTHS AND YAMAHA DOESN'T SEEM TO CARE. IS THERE ANYTHING ESLE I CAN DO??*AK
I HAVE A 2003 YAMAHA ROAD STAR LIMITED SILVER EDITION MOTORCYCLE, WHICH I PURCHASED FROM MALCOLM SMITH MOTORSPORTS, RIVERSIDE. IN JANUARY 2004, WITH 2,500 MILES ON THE MOTORCYCLE, I HAD A VERY DANGEROUS MALFUNCTION WITH THE REAR BRAKE, CAUSING THE REAR BRAKE TO BE APPLIED WITHOUT APPLYING FORCE TO THE PEDAL. DURING THAT SAME WEEK, I RECEIVED A NOTICE BY MAIL OF A RECALL ON THE MOTORCYCLE INVOLVING THE TRANSMITION (UNRELATED TO THE BRAKE). UPON CALLING THE DEALER, I WAS TOLD THE BRAKE WOULD NOT BE LOOKED AT UNTIL THE RECALL WORK WAS ALSO PERFORM…
Explore monthly filing activity alongside recall announcements. Up to ten years of monthly history is available.
Solid line: filed complaints. Dashed amber lines: recall announcement dates for this vehicle selection; markers include all recall components. The latest month is partial. Temporal proximity does not establish causation.
Monthly counts, recall campaigns and complaint examples
Monthly complaint and recall timeline
Month
Complaints
Campaigns announced
Examples
2024-11
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2024-12
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2025-01
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2025-02
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2025-03
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2025-04
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2025-05
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2025-06
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2025-07
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2025-08
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2025-09
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2025-10
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2025-11
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2025-12
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2026-01
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2026-02
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2026-03
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2026-04
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2026-05
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2026-06
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2026-07
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2026-08
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2026-09
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
2026-10 (partial)
0
None
No examples available for this selection.
Emerging complaint spikes
Complete months in the latest six months with at least 10 complaints, at least twice the preceding 12-month average, and at least three square-root deviations above that average.
This is a descriptive screening rule, not a statistical defect finding. Publicity and reporting changes can increase submissions.
No complete months meet the spike thresholds for this selection.
Equal-age model-year comparison
Model-wide cumulative reports during the first three or five calendar years, starting with the model year (age 0). Only fully elapsed windows are compared.
2002: 0 complaints · 2003: 12 complaints
Equal observation windows
Model year
Through age 0
Through age 1
Through age 2
2002
0
0
0
2003
0
12
12
Date coverage across each selected cohort
Date basis for all complaints in selected model years
Year
Incident dates used
Filing date fallbacks
Excluded dates
2002
0
0
0
2003
12
2
0
Incident date is preferred when valid and no later than filing; otherwise filing date is used. Model year approximates age. Equal observation time does not adjust for sales, distance driven or reporting delays. One complaint linked to multiple model years can appear in each cohort.
Components reported together
Each cell counts unique complaints naming both components. Open a nonzero cell for examples.
Component co-occurrence matrix
Component
Power Train:Manual Transmission
Power Train:Automatic Transmission
Power Train
Service Brakes, Hydraulic
Power Train:Manual Transmission
—
0
0
1ODI 10068512 · 2,575 mi
I HAVE A 2003 YAMAHA ROAD STAR LIMITED SILVER EDITION MOTORCYCLE, WHICH I PURCHASED FROM MALCOLM SMITH MOTORSPORTS, RIVERSIDE. IN JANUARY 2004, WITH 2,500 MILES ON THE MOTORCYCLE, I HAD A VERY DANGEROUS MALFUNCTION WITH THE REAR BRAKE, CAUSING THE REAR BRAKE TO BE APPLIED WITHOUT APPLYING FORCE TO THE PEDAL. DURING THAT SAME WEEK, I RECEIVED A NOTICE BY MAIL OF A RECALL ON THE MOTORCYCLE INVOLVING THE TRANSMITION (UNRELATED TO THE BRAKE). UPON CALLING THE DEALER, I WAS TOLD THE BRAKE WOULD NOT BE LOOKED AT UNTIL THE RECALL WORK WAS ALSO PERFORM…
I HAVE A 2003 YAMAHA ROAD STAR LIMITED SILVER EDITION MOTORCYCLE, WHICH I PURCHASED FROM MALCOLM SMITH MOTORSPORTS, RIVERSIDE. IN JANUARY 2004, WITH 2,500 MILES ON THE MOTORCYCLE, I HAD A VERY DANGEROUS MALFUNCTION WITH THE REAR BRAKE, CAUSING THE REAR BRAKE TO BE APPLIED WITHOUT APPLYING FORCE TO THE PEDAL. DURING THAT SAME WEEK, I RECEIVED A NOTICE BY MAIL OF A RECALL ON THE MOTORCYCLE INVOLVING THE TRANSMITION (UNRELATED TO THE BRAKE). UPON CALLING THE DEALER, I WAS TOLD THE BRAKE WOULD NOT BE LOOKED AT UNTIL THE RECALL WORK WAS ALSO PERFORM…
Co-reporting does not establish that one component caused another concern.
Recurring narrative patterns
Specific keyword mentions beyond broad component labels. Matching includes negations and comparisons and does not confirm a diagnosis.
1 patterns with matching reports.
Hard or delayed shifting
1 mentions · 7.1% of complaints
Median mileage: 14,000 mi (1 usable records).
ODI 10353965 · 14,000 mi
I WAS RIDING SOUTH BOUND INTERSTATE 95 ABOUT 65 MPH WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN MY YAMAHA SILVERADO LOST SPEED AND STARTED JERKING. I PULLED THE CLUTCH IN AND LET THE BIKE SLOW DOWN. I THEN TRIED TO DOWNSHIFT BUT THE SHIFTER WAS FROZEN, FINALLY I GOT IT TO GO INTO GEAR. AS I STARTED TO PICK UP SPEED IT DIDN'T WANT TO GO INTO 4TH GEAR. I CRAWLED HOME ABOUT 2 MILES AND ATTEMPTED TO HIT ALL GEARS AFTER I WAS PARKED IN MY DRIVEWAY, IT WOULD NOT MOVE. I THANK GOD IT DIDN'T LOCK UP THE WHEEL ON I95 AT 65 MPH. I HAVE OWNED YAMAHA BIKES FOR 30 YEARS AND THIS …