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KawasakiModel report

Kawasaki Kawasaki Problems by Model Year

NHTSA recorded 69 consumer complaints across the 8 model years of the Kawasaki Kawasaki (1995–2003) that have at least 5 complaints. 2002 has the most, with 14. Across all years, the part named most often is engine cooling (19 mentions). Pick a model year below to see its parts, mileage, recalls and service bulletins.

All Kawasaki model years

Years with fewer than 5 complaints are not listed. The score compares years of the same model, allowing for the era and for how long each year has collected complaints: 50 is a typical year, lower means fewer complaints. It is not adjusted for sales volume.

YearComplaintsMedian miRecallsTSBsScore (50 = typical)Trend
200398,50000—Not enough data
2002142,60600—Not enough data
20016—00—Not enough data
200011—00—Not enough data
199911—00—Not enough data
199764,40000—Not enough data
19966—00—Not enough data
19956—00—Not enough data

Parts named most often, all years

Counts add up complaint mentions across the listed years. A complaint can name several parts.

Example complaints

One per model year, chosen for length and detail. Personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

1997: “Balancer idler lever failure. Found it broken in my engine while performing maintenance. This would lead to engine seizure and a possible lost of vehicle control if left unchecked. I have since replaced with higher quality component.”

NHTSA complaint #10060034, filed 2004-02, 4,400 miles

2003: “I have a Kawasaki klr650 which I purchased in november 2002. Because I had heard of problems with the balance tensioner, I purchased an upgrade kit. When I brought the bike to the dealer for the 6000 mile service, I asked the dealer to check the condition of the tensioner. He refused to do so without extra charge. In september I hired a private party to check the tensioner. Upon inspection the spring was broken which could have LED to catastrophic engine failure.”

NHTSA complaint #10043355, filed 2003-10, 8,500 miles

2002: “While riding on the way home from work, I went to shift from one gear to the next and all of a sudden it made a weird sound like a ball bearing bouncing around inside the motor, that's the best way that I could describe this. I then quickly reacted and pressed the clutch lever in and coasted and pulled over to the shoulder. Since that incident the bike doesn't shift the same and the clutch would engage with the lever almost all the way out which prior to that the clutch engage sooner then that. I no longer feel safe riding the bike. …”

NHTSA complaint #10007160, filed 2002-07, 150 miles

Other Kawasaki models

Kawasaki KLR650
195 complaintsKawasaki Ninja ZX-6R
55 complaintsKawasaki Vulcan
48 complaintsKawasaki Ninja 300
42 complaintsKawasaki Concours 14
34 complaintsKawasaki Ninja
27 complaintsKawasaki Vulcan 1500
18 complaintsKawasaki KL650E
18 complaints

All Kawasaki models →

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 31, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate. Methodology