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Safety Recall


Guest ROUSE

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  • Member Contributer

OK; need some advice here.

Booked my VFR for the harness recall and dropped it off at the dealer. I had researched earlier and knew they kept harnesses in stock and had done several recall already.

Ran into a potential roadblock here: the service guy tells me that the dealership may not do the work on my bike after I explain my interim "fixes" that were done prior to the wiring recall. Says they have to return the old harness to Honda and that they don't want to be left holding the bag if mother Honda decides not to pay for recall work on the "molested" harness.

How can they even do this?

To me, a safety recall is just that. An involuntary recall of products to remedy a potentially unsafe condition. My VIN# is affected, so how can they choose not to do the work?

I may be getting ahead of myself here; he did say that the tech would look at it (my bike's appointment is tomorrow) and make a decision if I am to be covered or not based on how molested the harness is.

I tired to explain what was done to the harness and that it should have no bearing on the outcome one way or another.

I am anxiously awaiting tomorrow and hope they see the voice of reason and do the work.

But if not, I thought I would ask you guys what you thought and see what advice you have to offer. Not sure how Canadian law varies from USA on this sort of stuff (I'm north of the border), but I thought they had to prove harm from modifications in order to nix warranty? And this isn't even warranty it is a RECALL!

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  • Member Contributer

You're exactly right. If it were warranty, then itd be a different story. But, a recall says that they are to replace the harness, period. They're fixing a known issue that could or likely will exist, at some point in the bike's life. In doing this, they are obligated to replace the suspect parts with their updated version and thats it. If you were to tamper with the wiring AFTER that, then they could refuse covering any costs if the known problem came up.

People have a hard time understanding this, even with warrantys. If the owner tampers with the manufacturer's original design and theres a failure, then you cant hold the manufacturer responsible. But in a recall, they are to service the bike irregardless, and install their updated part. Period.

Sounds like more of a dealer issue than a Honda issue to me.....

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I was fully prepared to deal with a bunch of dealer malarky after my blue connector caught on fire on the way to the Canada Meet this summer. I was stranded in the mountains outside Yakima, had to get a tow into town (thank God for AAA) after a 4 hour wait, cooled my heels at a Holiday Inn Express for the evening, and finally fixed the issue the next morning with hardware from ACE Hardware Store and continued on to the meet.

I was told the same thing by my dealer when I enquired about making the trip knowing that I could end up stranded and having to fix the issue myself prior to the recall work being done. They said that Honda Techline would debit their warranty claim if the harness was found to be tampered with. I, personally, find it pretty hard to believe that Honda has hired a lackey to sit in some back room and tear apart every harness that comes in to see if it has been altered. I'm sure that the expense of this recall has been great enough. I was, however, very careful to solder the wires back in place and make it look as though I hadn't repaired a thing. I had the recall work done about two weeks ago and with a little additional wiring work to the new harness everything is fine.

If they had caught on I would have read them the riot-act and immediately contacted someone at the NTSB. It is, after-all, a NTSB SAFETY Recall. If I were you I would remind your dealer of that and ask them how they will respond to your attorney and any appropriate consumer protection agencies should something drastic happen to you and the motorcycle upon failure of Honda's junk wiring and them not pursuing the recall on your behalf.

I would be polite and professional but incredibly unrelenting in the pursuit of what is due you. Accept no other answer except "we'll take care of it for you".

Rant off,

-T

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tim is right.

we had a transport canada related recall. they have to fix it.

qdawg, i had a dealer here say they wouldn't do my recall work since my alarm system tapped into the wiring harness. crazy!

went to another - GW Cycle and they had no problem and even connected the wiring for the alarm again, and, replaced a couple of those crappy plastic fairing clips that i'd broken.

if you're stuck try another dealer - you're close enough to use GW Cycle. see what they say.

the alternative is i'll get Tim to come up from oregon and start wielding a 2x4 in their dealership. :unsure:

It is, after-all, a NTSB SAFETY Recall.
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  • Member Contributer

Good news, they gave me no further grief on this subject of doing the recall.

I was prepared to unleash fury of biblical proportions if I encountered any more resistance, but thankfully someone there saw the voice of reason and they fixed my bike with no further fuss. Just need to get back to the city to pick it up.

All is well. Thanks for the responses, guys. You pretty much echoed what my thoughts on the subject were.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Guest 12 volt terry

I'm looking to collect some names and possibly some details from those people who received a new RR or stator from Honda that failed due to their poorly designed sub & main wiring harness which has now been recalled.

Of course, Honda has been forced to throw our way some relatively inexpensive wires and connectors to correct their poor design. In the meantime, we've been in a vicious loop of repeatedly frying our battery's, RR & stator and often replacing them with factory Honda parts. I know there are people who have been granted this.

This info would benefit the whole VFR community!

Anyone?

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • Member Contributer

OK, remember when I said all was well on this recall issue?

I lied, apparently.

I had done a short ride when I posted the above, but Friday after a longer ride (over 1 hour on the highway) I had some problems.

Stopped the bike and heard a funny noise. Thought it might be fuel vapors coming from tank cap, so I opened the gas tank to see. Nope. Lifted off the seat and hear a loud whistling whining sound. Touch the battery and holy cow was is hot! Used my gloved to lift it out. Steam / acid vapors were blowing from a vent on battery case, making the noise. Left it on concrete to cool down. An hour later it was still pretty hot to touch.

Phoned the Edmonton dealership where the work was done (I had specifically told them about relocating my voltage regulator sensing wire; I had a suspicion this was the problem.) They told me to phone Honda Canada. I did and Honda rep said no the problem was between me and dealership. So I open the fairing to see and sure as hell, they left the wire disconnected, hence the fried battery.

Repaired the wire and hooked up again and bike made it back on 3 hour trip back to Olds, but I am unsure how much to trust this battery now.

I had asked dealership general manager what they intend to do about the screw up. He basically makes it out to be MY fault as I had modified the wiring. I explained about VFRD and the fact that several of us were unwilling to wait for the recall to happen (if it ever did happen) because we did not want to have our bikes burn to the ground. I explained that my fixes (THanks VFRD experts!) were probably better than Honda's and that there was nothing I did wrong to the bike; they were still obligated to fix it as I had an affected VIN # and that the only reason I took it to them in first place was in case I ever wanted to sell the bike later. Anyhow, he stuck to his guns that honda service guys had to do the fix by the book and that hooking up the one wire was beyond their scope. I said I TOLD YOU GUYS that the wire was moved and that it might need to be moved back so it would not be overlooked. Not their scope he says; if I wanted it done, I shoulda paid for it out of my own pocket. No problem i said, but you should have told me; when I dropped it off I said if there was any problems due to my modifications to give me a call so we could work it out. The only call I got was to tell me the work was on track and recall was being done as Honda intended. I said who pays for my battery if it is toast? He said best he could do was to give me one at his cost. I said thanks, better than nothing I suppose.

To add insult to injury, the buggers re-connected my heated grips. I did not ask them to, the wire was near the battery for when I used it again, but a wire had been damaged due to chafing and I had not re-wired the grips yet so it was tucked out of the way and not hooked up so as to not risk a short.

But they could not hook up the wire I asked; it was outside their scope..... Go figure.

What do you guys think of that??

Sadly, the two dealerships nearest to me are even more incompetent than the one mentioned in the story above, so I don't know if I will return again or if I should search for yet another Honda dealer to deal with.

I suppose it coulda been worse. Bike seems to run OK considering, but my faith in this battery is pretty weak, and I think I will replace it prior to any long trips next season.

What would you do?

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  • 4 weeks later...
Guest Nailer45

2002 Honda Vfr800 Recalls

Recall ID #26601 - ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING

Recall Date: AUG 15, 2007

Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING

Model Affected: HONDA VFR800

Units Affected: 6952 Recall Details

Recall Date:

AUG 15, 2007

Model Affected:

2002 HONDA HONDA VFR800

Summary

ON CERTAIN MOTORCYCLES, THE FRONT FAIRING SUB-HARNESS (SECTION OF THE WIRING HARNESS) TRANSFERS THE ELECTRICAL GROUNDING LOAD OF THE HEADLIGHTS, FRONT TURN SIGNALS, INSTRUMENT PANEL, AND VARIOUS RELAYS TO THE MAIN WIRING HARNESS VIA AN 18-PIN CONNECTOR. UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS, THE GROUND WIRE TERMINALS INSIDE THE CONNECTOR CAN OVERHEAT, RESULTING IN MELTING OF THE CONNECTOR AND A LOSS OF POWER TO VARIOUS CIRCUITS.

Consequence

AS A RESULT, A LOSS OF CRITICAL LIGHTING OR ENGINE POWER COULD OCCUR WITHOUT WARNING, WHICH COULD CAUSE A CRASH.

Remedy

DEALERS WILL INSTALL A RE-DESIGNED SUB-HARNESS. IF DAMAGE IS FOUND, THE MAIN WIRING HARNESS WILL ALSO BE REPLACED FREE OF CHARGE. AN INTERIM LETTER WAS MAILED TO OWNERS ON SEPTEMBER 26, 2007. OWNERS WERE RE-NOTIFIED ON NOVEMBER 10, 2007, TO TAKE THEIR MOTORCYCLES TO DEALERS TO HAVE THE PARTS INSTALLED. OWNERS MAY CONTACT HONDA AT 1-866-784-1870.

Units Affected:

6952

Notes

HONDA (AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO.)

Recall ID #42536 - SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

Recall Date: JAN 24, 2005

Component: SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

Model Affected: HONDA VFR800

Units Affected: 36046 Recall Details

http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/motorcyc...r800/index.html

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  • 8 months later...
Guest bteiger

here I thought that replacing the subharness myself would have avoided the complete loss of all 4 headlights and front turn signals. Made for an interesting ride out of Laguna Seca on friday night.

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  • 6 months later...
Guest danmurphymn

I looked through the thread, but either couldn't find or am too tired to find it, but is the recal on ABS models also? Where do I go to check if the recall work has been done and can I still have it done? Sorry if this has been asked, it's Thursday night and I'm well into a 50+hr week with more to go and my brian duzznt seem 2 b werking right....

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  • Member Contributer

I looked through the thread, but either couldn't find or am too tired to find it, but is the recal on ABS models also? Where do I go to check if the recall work has been done and can I still have it done? Sorry if this has been asked, it's Thursday night and I'm well into a 50+hr week with more to go and my brian duzznt seem 2 b werking right....

Yes, it applies to ABS models as well.

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  • 7 months later...
Guest 04viffer

Hello everyone, this is my first post here...anyway I just picked up a '04 VFR and was wondering what to look for and is there a website to see if my new ride has had the recall done??

Edited by 04viffer
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  • Member Contributer

Hello everyone, this is my first post here...anyway I just picked up a '04 VFR and was wondering what to look for and is there a website to see if my new ride has had the recall done??

If the recall has been done, there should be a punch mark on the VIN label on the steering head. Look for the identification section of this bulletin for detail. You can also register your VIN at the Honda Owner Link and you should be able to tell from there if the recall has been done.

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Guest 04viffer

Hello everyone, this is my first post here...anyway I just picked up a '04 VFR and was wondering what to look for and is there a website to see if my new ride has had the recall done??

If the recall has been done, there should be a punch mark on the VIN label on the steering head. Look for the identification section of this bulletin for detail. You can also register your VIN at the Honda Owner Link and you should be able to tell from there if the recall has been done.

Thanks a bunch, I logged on and did the registering thing and it states there were no recalls issued for my bike, probably never been updated. I'll swing it by the dealer anyway, do you know if this would affect the Vtec solenoid in any way?

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  • Member Contributer

[Thanks a bunch, I logged on and did the registering thing and it states there were no recalls issued for my bike, probably never been updated. I'll swing it by the dealer anyway, do you know if this would affect the Vtec solenoid in any way?

The dealer should be able to look up the recalls by the VIN and tell you if they have been done. There was another recall dealing with the brakes on my '04 and the dealer was able to show me in the database that it had been performed by the original dealer before the bike was sold.

I would think the only affect the recall would have on the Vtec solenoid is whether it works or not. (If a connector didn't get reconnected or seated properly during the harness replacement.)

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  • 3 months later...
Guest gabocseri

Was there a recall for the European versions too? I can not find any information about that... I`m a new owner, bought a used '03, very nice red VFR 800 vtec, but I don't know if there was a recall and if I have to look after the replacement... thank you in advance!

Honda forever!

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  • Member Contributer

As Conedodger already mentioned:

The dealer should be able to look up the recalls by the VIN and tell you if they have been done. There was another recall dealing with the brakes on my '04 and the dealer was able to show me in the database that it had been performed by the original dealer before the bike was sold
.

I did the same with my 2002 VFR in the Netherlands. Only something on the braking part had to be checked.

About the wiring I haven't heard anybody mentioning it on the Dutch VFR Owners Club forum.

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  • 6 months later...

Definitely a case of "Better Late Than Never...."I'd just like to thank everyone on the site who posted information about the Canadian component of the 6th Gen wiring harness recall. As an owner of an '04, i realized that this was a recall notice that I never got verified as affecting my bike (my fault completely). On June 21, 2011, I dropped into my new favorite local Honda dealer, Honda Extreme, in Edmonton and asked them to run my VIN. I brought along a copy of the recall notice and link from a member of VFRD. I got immediate service. In two minutes, my VIN was accepted for an inspection booking anytime I wanted to drop the bike off. The inspection would be done and, if needed, arts ordered and the recall service performed. I brought my bike back on June 22nd mid afternoon. At 1630h today, June 24th, I got verification that the inspection was complete, parts were ordered, and recall service completed. The bike is ready for pickup. Charge: $0.00 Thank you VFRD members! And if anyone is listening, thank you Honda Extreme for great service, again!

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  • 11 months later...

Wow, I thought there was a time limit on that recall?

Glad you got it done, even more so, this late in the game. :fing02:

Hope theres still no time limit as I'm trying to get it done on my 02 as we speak. :huh:

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  • 5 months later...
Guest AZViffer

My nearest Honda dealer is 160 miles from me, and my '03 has never had the recall service done because the dealer is too far away. With only 463 miles on my VFR800, I am trying to save it for the Smithonian. :) Someday, I will get a trailer and truck it up to the dealer.

Edited by AZViffer
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  • Member Contributer

My nearest Honda dealer is 160 miles from me, and my '03 has never had the recall service done because the dealer is too far away. With only 463 miles on my VFR800, I am trying to save it for the Smithonian. :) Someday, I will get a trailer and truck it up to the dealer.

I'm not quite understanding "160 miles" and "463 miles"... Are you for real?

Without making disparaging remarks, if the bike was mine and I wanted the recall done, and 163 miles was "a good long ride" to me, I would plan for the ride (call ahead to dealer and arrange service to be done in one day, hopefully in a half day), and make it happen! Take a picnic lunch!

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  • Member Contributer

My nearest Honda dealer is 160 miles from me, and my '03 has never had the recall service done because the dealer is too far away. With only 463 miles on my VFR800, I am trying to save it for the Smithonian. :) Someday, I will get a trailer and truck it up to the dealer.

Don't need the recall done if you ain't gonna ride it! :tongue:

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