2004 Yamaha Road Star Engine cooling Problems
- Complaints
- 14about this part
- Share
- 67%of 21 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 8,000miles
- Trend
- Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.
NHTSA recorded 14 complaints about the engine cooling of the 2004 Yamaha Road Star, 67% of the 21 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 8,000 miles. 1 of these say a crash was involved and 1 a fire, according to the filers.
Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“For over a year 2004 Yamaha roadstar motorcycle had the valves sticking while riding it , causing immediate loss of power. It had 8000 miles on it . This happened at 4500 miles. I did what Yamaha advised to do to avoid the situation, it didn't help. They kept giving me the run around. They knew it was a problem with this motorcycle had two carburetor fires after it lost power, and I had to hit the throttle hard to get through an intersection.”
NHTSA complaint #10190624, filed 2007-05, 8,000 miles“The valves stick open on my 2004 Yamaha motorcycle. They stuck open in the middle of a left turn in a three-way intersection and almost resulted in a head-on collision. My dealer is aware of this problem and has chose to ignore it.”
NHTSA complaint #10166230, filed 2006-08, 17,000 miles“I have a 2004 Yamaha Road Star and the rear valve is sticking and will suddenly drop powerand run on one cylinder. I have had this problem for a while and is a very dangerous problem that Yamaha knows about.”
NHTSA complaint #10193038, filed 2007-06, 29,000 miles“I have a 2004 Yamaha roadstar. At about 24,000 miles it developed sticking valves in the rear cylinder head. Talked with dealer about the problem and they had not heard of it. This is a well documented situation so I refused to let them even mess with it. Took it apart myself. Reamed the guides and lapped the valves, put in stronger springs and put it back together. Runs great now. Yamaha needs to be told to do a recall on the 2004, 2005 roadstar to simply replace the heads. They know about the problem and have fixed it on the 2006 model.”
NHTSA complaint #10166837, filed 2006-08, 24,000 miles“Motorcycle looses power at odd times due to rear cylinder not firing. Problem appears to be caused by sticking exhaust valve. Usually occurs during the first 5 or so miles and will clear up and run fine for the rest of the trip. I've been lucky and it has never occurred when pulling out into traffic, but this is a possibility.”
NHTSA complaint #10166292, filed 2006-08, 2,500 milesEngine cooling: other model years
Other parts of the 2004 Yamaha Road Star
4 complaintsEngine
1 complaintsFuel system
1 complaintsBody and structure
1 complaintsVehicle speed control
1 complaintsWheels
1 complaints
← All problems reported for the 2004 Yamaha Road Star
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 29, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.
To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology