What To Do If Your Motorcycle Is Recalled
Your bike's been recalled. Now what do you do? Maybe you learned of the recall effort from your favorite motorcycle magazine or web site. (Recalls are published monthly on MotorcycleLife.com.) Or perhaps you received a notice from the manufacturer in the mail. Either way, getting your bike repaired under a recall campaign is usually a pain-free proposition. Here are the three steps:
If you haven't received a notice from the manufacturer in the mail, wait for it. Manufacturers are obligated to notify all registered owners of affected vehicles. They use state vehicle registration records to do this so it's important to keep your registration information current. If, after a reasonable amount of time, you have not received a notice, contact the manufacturer.
The notice that you receive will include several important pieces of information:
- a description of the defect or problem
- a description of the risk or hazard posed by the problem
- warning signs of the problem
- a description of the remedy
- when the remedy will be available
- how long the remedy will take to correct
- what to do if you are unable to have the problem corrected within a reasonable time and at no charge
With your recall notice in hand, call your dealer's service department to schedule the repair. Be sure to tell them that the repair is for a recall. You may need to provide your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) to confirm that your particular bike is part of the recall campaign. Note that any dealer for that manufacturer is required to make the repair at no charge. So even if you are on an extended road trip, the nearest dealer will take care of the problem.
Take your vehicle in and have the repair performed.
In most cases this is all that you need to do. Of course, once in a a while, you will run into a snag. Perhaps the dealer is refusing to provide the repair at no charge. If this happens, first contact the dealer service manager and explain the situation. If you do not get satisfaction, contact the manufacturer using the information provided in the recall notice. If you are still unable to get satisfaction, contact the NHTSA.
An important point, while manufacturer's are obligated to provide the recall repair at no charge, they are not obligated to reimburse you for repairs made prior to the recall or by service facilities other than their own dealers. Still, a manufacturer might reimburse you for a previous repair if you provide receipts so it doesn't hurt to try. Also, manufacturer's are not obligated to reimburse you for damages caused by the defect.
John Davis is a rider and writer. His current ride is Victoria, a candy red Honda VTX1800 Retro. John writes for several web sites and blogs in addition to his own site, NorthwestCycleReport.
