2014 Yamaha Bolt
Safety record from NHTSA: recalls, owner complaints, investigations and service bulletins.
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Vehicles › Yamaha › Bolt › 2014
These records cover every 2014 Yamaha Bolt. To see whether one car still needs a recall repair, decode its VIN or check it with NHTSA.
Recalls
1 recall names the 2014 Yamaha Bolt. Newest first.
Yamaha Motor Company (Yamaha) is recalling certain model year 2014 XVS950CU (Bolt) motorcycles manufactured March 2013 through June 2013. Slack or sag in the wiring harness may allow it to contact the exhaust manifold causing the wires to melt, and possibly short circuit.
Risk and remedy
Risk
If the wires short circuit, the fuses will blow which may cause the engine to stall. An engine stall while riding, increases the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Yamaha will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the wiring harness and secure it away from the exhaust. If the wiring harness is damaged, it will first be replaced. The recall began on August 2, 2013. Owners may contact Yamaha at 1-800-962-7926.
Owner complaints
82 complaints
What owners report most
Latest complaints
- Exterior lighting · Unknown or other · Visibility/wiper
Vehicle meter IS dangerously dim. Not visible during daylight due to glare. Only 2014 yamaha bolt models encounter this issue. The speed can not be determined while riding nor any other information displayed on the meter.
- Steering
Death wobble- steering instability at 35-45 mph. This could be fixed by the manufacturer by using tapered steering bearings
- Electrical system · Vehicle speed control
Speedometer can't be seen when traveling into the sun or any time the sun IS at the wrong angle that it creates a non readable display, which happens to be almost any time the sun IS out. This IS a safety hazard not being able to read your speed as well as possibly causing speeding tickets. This issue needs to be addressed by the manufacture with a recall. Seriously issue.
- Exterior lighting
Speedometer can't be seen when traveling into the sun or any time the sun IS at the wrong angle that it creates a non readable display, which happens to be almost any time the sun IS out. This IS a safety hazard not being able to read your speed as well as possibly causing speeding tickets.
- Steering
My concern IS the death wobble the bike has when at speeds around 45 mph.
- Vehicle speed control
During the day or when the sun IS bright I can not see the speedometer reading. Its digital and there isn't much contrast so I cant see how fast I am going. this IS a safety hazard and should be recalled. This can cause me to check my speed for longer periods of time and can cause a speeding violation or accident. This happens when in motion or stationary, its too dim.
- Electrical system · Vehicle speed control
Bike speedometer has an issue where the speed display IS way too dim to see in sunlight. in the right sunlight position, it IS completely black and impossible to read without literally putting your head inches from it and looking at it far too long to try to make anything out. this IS dangerous…
Bike speedometer has an issue where the speed display IS way too dim to see in sunlight. in the right sunlight position, it IS completely black and impossible to read without literally putting your head inches from it and looking at it far too long to try to make anything out. this IS dangerous while in motion for obvious reasons. this happens on every ride for me at multiple points depending on where the sun IS. even when I can see the numbers, it's still too dim for just a quick glance. there must be some badly engineered polarized lens in there. this IS poor design and a safety hazard just to get a "blacked out" look. by 2015 yamaha knows this which IS why it's fixed from 2015 models on. some guys are even buying 2015 speedometers to install on the 2014 bike to fix this. a speeding ticket IS the least of my worries, this IS my life and a gamble every time I ride.
- Vehicle speed control
While driving my 2014 yamaha bolt r spec, the speedometer does not illuminate at night and IS nearly impossible to read during sunny daylight hours. this causes the driver to take his or her eyes off of the road for an extended period of time in attempt to read the speedometer to remain at the…
While driving my 2014 yamaha bolt r spec, the speedometer does not illuminate at night and IS nearly impossible to read during sunny daylight hours. this causes the driver to take his or her eyes off of the road for an extended period of time in attempt to read the speedometer to remain at the posted speed limit. this increases the chances of a motor vehicle accident which could lead to serious bodily injury or death. the newer model bolt (2015-present) has fixed this issue however yamaha has not issued a recall or reached out to the 2014 bolt owners to provide them with the opportunity to replace the poor manufactured speedometer.
- Exterior lighting
When riding the yamaha bolt towards the sun, the speedometer IS impossible to read. Because of the positioning of the speedometer, and the graphic interface that IS used, it IS impossible to read. This has caused me great difficulty while riding. If I cannot read my speed accurately, I have no idea…
When riding the yamaha bolt towards the sun, the speedometer IS impossible to read. Because of the positioning of the speedometer, and the graphic interface that IS used, it IS impossible to read. This has caused me great difficulty while riding. If I cannot read my speed accurately, I have no idea of my rate of travel. This IS a safety issue and poses risk to myself, my property, and those surrounding me. This specifically happens while in motion, riding towards the sun.
- Electrical system
At certain times of the day the speedometer IS next to impossible to read to to the sun shining on to it . It takes your eyes off the road and you sometimes have to use your hand to cover the speedometer to see the numbers with in itself IS unsafe when riding a motorcycle which could cause a accident.
- Unknown or other
During daylight hours the speedometer IS almost impossible to read. in certain conditions it IS impossible to read. I hope nhtsa will require yamaha to replace all affected speedometers as it IS a safety defect that could lead to injury or even death. This has happened since new. it IS not a new…
During daylight hours the speedometer IS almost impossible to read. in certain conditions it IS impossible to read. I hope nhtsa will require yamaha to replace all affected speedometers as it IS a safety defect that could lead to injury or even death. This has happened since new. it IS not a new problem, the motorcycle arrived in this condition. I have talked to yamaha and they are aware of the condition (many complaints) but they are choosing not to fix the problem.
- Vehicle speed control
In bright sunlight, I can not see the speedometer. it IS a black circle. doesn't seem to matter whether the sun IS in front or behind me. this IS a hazard and should be replaced. this will cause me to get a speeding ticket or, worse, get into a crash because I can not judge my speed.
- Electrical system
Cannot see in direct sunlight, digital display disappears. Failure to see travel speed. Was pulled over for 68mph in a 60mph in the afternoon sun. only a warning... But next time maybe not so lucky....
- Vehicle speed control
The speedometer IS not visable at all while riding into the sun
- Visibility/wiper
TL* the contact owns a 2014 yamaha bolt. The contact stated that the digital odometer was not viewable during the daylight due to a glare. As a result, the speed was not monitored while driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the odometer needed to be replaced. The…
TL* the contact owns a 2014 yamaha bolt. The contact stated that the digital odometer was not viewable during the daylight due to a glare. As a result, the speed was not monitored while driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the odometer needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000. The vin was not available.
- Vehicle speed control
The speedometer IS not bright enough to provide current speed in daylight conditions and creates an inability to know your current speed.
- Electrical system › Instrument cluster/panel · Structure
When riding in bright daylight it was hard to see my driving speed. I would have to remove one hand from handlebars to shade the speedometer to be able to see, giving me less control. It caused me to be unable to tell how fast I was going and if I was in compliance with posted speed limits. updated 09/17/15*lj
- Vehicle speed control
Shortly after purchasing my motorcycle I noticed that when it IS bright outside I can not read my speedometer. there IS a big black circle with no way for me to see how fast I am going. I have attempted to lean forward, change body positions and cover the speedometer with my hand to see it and it…
Shortly after purchasing my motorcycle I noticed that when it IS bright outside I can not read my speedometer. there IS a big black circle with no way for me to see how fast I am going. I have attempted to lean forward, change body positions and cover the speedometer with my hand to see it and it IS impossible to see even from a few inches away from it. this poses a huge safety concern. to my knowledge all vehicles are required to have a working speedometer and this motorcycle's speedometer only works part of the time. I do not feel safe riding in the hills when it's a bright day as there are numerous curves that require you to slow down from 45 or 50 mph to less than 30 mph to safely navigate the curves. it IS extremely easy to misjudge your speed for these curves because you can't see the speedometer. I have came close to crashing a couple times and other times I about got ran over because I slowed down to much. this problem needs to be corrected.
- Vehicle speed control
The speedometer screen IS unreadable and IS a hazard.
- Electrical system · Vehicle speed control
While riding the yamaha bolt during the daytime it IS nearly impossible to read the speedometer due to glare. I do not know if it IS due to the glass over the lcd itself, but unless I take my eyes off of the road and cover the glass with my hand I cannot get an accurate view of my speed. This…
While riding the yamaha bolt during the daytime it IS nearly impossible to read the speedometer due to glare. I do not know if it IS due to the glass over the lcd itself, but unless I take my eyes off of the road and cover the glass with my hand I cannot get an accurate view of my speed. This leaves me vulnerable to accidents, speeding tickets and many other situations that are due to this distraction. I hope yamaha will address this issue in the very near future.
- Electrical system · Unknown or other · Vehicle speed control
The speedometer IS unreadable in most daylight situations. the glass plate over the digital readout IS too dark and reflective. all one can see during most day riding IS glare or a black pane. it IS almost impossible to tell what speed the motorcycle IS going since the speedometer IS unreadable.…
The speedometer IS unreadable in most daylight situations. the glass plate over the digital readout IS too dark and reflective. all one can see during most day riding IS glare or a black pane. it IS almost impossible to tell what speed the motorcycle IS going since the speedometer IS unreadable. one cannot judge if they have slowed to required speeds in marked "reduced speed" areas such as construction and dangerous curves. one cannot know if they are entering traffic at a safe speed or exceeding the speed limits posted. turn signal flasher IS not visible in daylight, making it impossible for the drive to know if his turn signal IS on or off. warning lights are not visible in daylight, making it impossible for the driver to respond to any potential mechanical emergency shown by lights.
- Unknown or other · Vehicle speed control
Depending on the time of the day the position of the sun the speedometer becomes unreadable. Which has caused me to drive over the speed limit which has almost caused accidents. Also I have been fortunate enough not to have gotten arrested because of this issue, but often I have found myself…
Depending on the time of the day the position of the sun the speedometer becomes unreadable. Which has caused me to drive over the speed limit which has almost caused accidents. Also I have been fortunate enough not to have gotten arrested because of this issue, but often I have found myself speeding excessively when I couldn't see my speedometer due to sunlight. I only realized my speed when the sunlight was blocked. Moving my head and shifting my stance does not help the situation one bit. The product IS defective and yamaha keeps putting it out. Consumers are buying the product because they are non the wiser. Please help stop the production of this speedometer before there IS real injury.
- Vehicle speed control
2014 yamaha bolt r-spec (xv950r). The digital speedometer visibility IS extremely poor during the daytime in almost all but perfect conditions and makes determining speed a major issue. At night it IS visible due to it's back light and really IS the only time it can be seen at all angles all the time.
- Electrical system › Instrument cluster/panel
Speedometer IS unreadable when the sun IS at certain angles. *tr
- Electrical system › Instrument cluster/panel
The speedometer becomes impossible to read when the sun IS shining on it at certain angles, making it unclear to the rider what speed the bike IS currently going. This IS a danger to road safety, a possibility of getting a ticket, and a nuisance. Yamaha has been unhelpful and uncooperative when approached via email and telephone. The better business bureau was also an unsuccessful avenue to file a complaint. *tr
Service bulletins
Technical service bulletins and other communications the manufacturer sent dealers about this vehicle. Ask a dealer for the full document by its number.
- 10058499Yamaha mc: information on discontinuation of suspension oil RT-43 used for certain models and replaced by an ultra high performance M1 suspension oil. No model or years listed.
Every Yamaha Bolt model year
Bars are owner complaints, dots mark years with recalls. Select a year to open its report.