2004 Yamaha Road Star problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Engine And Engine Cooling:engine (9) · Power Train (2) · Engine And Engine Cooling:engine:gasoline (2)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Yamaha Road Star model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (1)
Equipment 2010-08-23 · campaign 10E041000 · 300 vehicles
Defect: YAMAHA IS RECALLING CERTAIN ACCESSORY YAMAHA DOUBLE "T" FAT HANDLEBARS , PART NUMBERS STR-5PX75-12-00 AND STR-4WM75-12-00, MANUFACTURED FROM AUGUST 1, 2008 THROUGH JULY 31, 2009, TO BE USED ON MODEL YEAR 2002-2009 XV1700PC WARRIOR, 1999-2003 VX1600 AND 2004-2010 XV1700 ROAD STAR MOTORCYCLES. THESE HANDLEBARS MAY HAVE TUBING THINNER THAN DESIGNED WHERE THE BARS NARROW FOR THE SWITCH HOUSINGS AND GRIPS.
Risk: THE AFFECTED HANDLEBARS COULD BE WEAK ENOUGH IN THE AREA TO BREAK. SHOULD THIS BREAKAGE OCCUR WHILE THE MOTORCYCLE IS BEING OPERATED, THE OPERATOR COULD LOSE CONTROL OF THE MOTORCYCLE WHICH COULD RESULT IN A CRASH.
Fix: YAMAHA WILL NOTIFY OWNERS OF RECORD AND DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE AFFECTED HANDLEBARS FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON AUGUST 31, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT YAMAHA TOLL-FREE AT 1-800-962-7926.
What owners report
2020-04-28 · Power Train · 46 mi“the transmission did the same thing that the transmission on the 2003 did. with only 46000 miles, the transmission started having trouble. o was on my way home from work when the transmission, started acting like it had come apart and. gears were trying to mesh. i immediately stopped the bike and called my wife to bring the traijer and come get me…”
2013-02-19 · Engine · 15,000 mi“rear cylinder exhaust valves sticking. *tr…”
2010-06-17 · Structure“tl* the contact owns a 2004 big bear venom chopper motorcycle. the contact left the vehicle with the dealer for repairs under nhtsa campaign id number: 08v129000 (structure) on february 1, 2010. the contact stated the dealer would not release the vehicle until he was reimbursed for the repairs by the manufacturer. the contact had not experienced an…”
2010-04-16 · Vehicle Speed Control · 5 mi“tl*the contact owns a 2004 yamaha roadstar motorcycle. the contact stated that when he engaged the throttle, the engine sputtered and stalled. the vehicle also stalled when it came to a complete stop. the motorcycle was taken to an authorized dealer but they could not duplicate the failure. the contact stated that the dealer never inspected the veh…”
2007-06-12 · Engine And Engine Cooling:engine · 29,000 mi“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. …”
2007-05-21 · Engine And Engine Cooling:engine · 20,550 mi“i was merging onto interstate 80 getting up to speed and it started to spit/sputter and lost power. almost, rear ended by another car at 60 mph. nothing has been done to this point to remedy the problem.*ak…”
2007-05-14 · Engine And Engine Cooling:engine:gasoline · 8,000 mi · 🔥 fire“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 tw…”
2006-09-04 · Engine And Engine Cooling:engine · 15,000 mi“2004 road star valves stick on rear cylinder causing a loss of power. *nm…”
2006-08-29 · Engine And Engine Cooling:engine · 24,000 mi“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 an…”
2006-08-23 · Engine And Engine Cooling:engine:gasoline · 2,500 mi“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. *jb…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.