Yamaha · NHTSA safety record

2015 Yamaha YZF-R1

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

Complaints

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Owners of the 2015 Yamaha YZF-R1 have filed 11 safety complaints with NHTSA between December 2015 and December 2018. The most complained-about system is the power train, named in 10 of them (91%). The typical failure was reported at 1,000 miles, the median across the 8 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

NHTSA has issued 1 recall covering this vehicle.

Recalls (1)

POWER TRAIN:MANUAL TRANSMISSION

15V802000 · November 30, 2015

Do not drive until repaired

The defect: Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA (Yamaha) is recalling certain model year 2015 YZFR1, YZFR1C, YZFR1MF and YZFR1MFC motorcycles manufactured August 1, 2014, to June 1, 2015. The affected motorcycles have transmission gears that may fail.
The risk: If the gears fail, the transmission may lock up, resulting in a loss of vehicle control, thereby increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy: Yamaha has notified owners, and dealers will replace the transmission assembly with an improved one, free of charge. The recall began on December 4, 2015. Owners may contact Yamaha customer service at 1-800-962-7926. Yamaha's number for this recall is 99100.

Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA · up to 2,921 vehicles across all model years covered

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 11.

POWER TRAIN 10 91%

ENGINE 4 36%

SERVICE BRAKES 1 9%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2015 at 6.

2015 to 2018

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

ENGINE Filed December 1, 2018

5,000 miles

THE MOTORCYCLE IT'S BROKEN ENGINE ONLY 5000 MILES I PAY 17 THOUSAND HELP ME PLEASE

NHTSA complaint 11155291. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN Filed April 17, 2016

3,400 miles

I HAD THE TRANSMISSION RECALL DONE 12/23/2015 AT DON AND ROYS MOTORSPORTS IN BROOKFIELD WISCONSIN AND I WAS ABLE TO RIDE IT, DUE TO WEATHER, 04/17/2016. DURING THE RIDE THE BIKE HAD A SQUEAL OR HUMMING SOUND WHEN I WAS ACCELERATING OR MAINTAINING SPEED BETWEEN 60 AND 70 MPH IN ANY GEAR. WHEN I DECELERATED WITHIN THAT RANGE THE SQUEAL STOPS. I AM NOT HAPPY AND I DON'T FEEL SAFE RIDING THIS BIKE. RE-REBUILDING THE ENGINE IS NOT GOING TO BRING BACK ANY TRUST I ONCE HAD RIDING THIS BIKE. I EXPECT A FULL REFUND OR FULL CREDIT TOWARDS ANOTHER BIKE. IF THINGS AREN'T MADE RIGHT... I WILL DEFINITELY KEEP THIS EXPERIENCE IN MIND ON MY NEXT MOTORCYCLE PURCHASE.

NHTSA complaint 10859975. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN Filed February 13, 2016

906 miles

RECALL CAMPAIGN 15V802. OIL WAS LEAKING ON THE BOTTOM RIGHT SIDE OF THE MOTORCYCLE (REAR TIRE+EXHAUST+ALL THE PLASTIC COVERS+ RIGHT SIDE OF THE MOTOR). *TR

NHTSA complaint 10825947. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES Filed February 2, 2016

56 miles

THIS IS MY SECOND 2015 YAMAHA YZF-R1 MOTORCYCLE. THE FIRST ONE WAS NEVER REGISTERED, BUT WAS DEFECTIVE ON THE DEALER'S SHOWROOM FLOOR. THIS SECOND MOTORCYCLE WAS A REPLACEMENT FOR THE FIRST. NOW THAT I HAVE RECEIVED THIS RECALL, I WAS TOLD THE MOTORCYCLE WAS UNSAFE TO DRIVE AT ANY TIME AND THAT IT WAS TO BE BROUGHT BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR IMMEDIATE REPAIR. UPON CONTACTING THE DEALERSHIP, I WAS TOLD THEY WOULD NOT PAY TO HAVE THE MOTORCYCLE PICKED UP NOR WOULD THEY REFUND MY MONEY OR ALLOW A FULL CREDIT TRADE TOWARDS THE PURCHASE OF ANOTHER MOTORCYCLE. A LETTER TO YAMAHA CORPORATE OFFICE, DATED DECEMBER 4, 2015 YIELDED A RESPONSE ON JANUARY 15, 2016 THAT SAID YAMAHA IS PROUD OF IT

NHTSA complaint 10823879, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN Filed January 19, 2016

2015 YAMAHA YZF-R1. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO NOT ENOUGH HAS BEEN DONE TO REMEDY THE TRANSMISSION REPLACEMENT RECALL NOTICE PROBLEMS. *SMD

NHTSA complaint 10838270. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN Filed December 18, 2015

1,000 miles

MY NEW VEHICLE PURCHASED IN NOVEMBER, 2015, HAS A DEFECT WITH THE TRANSMISSION THAT MAY CAUSE IT TO LOCK UP AT SPEED. THE MANUFACTURER'S FIX IS TO BRING THE VEHICLE BACK TO DEALER FOR A COMPLETE ENGINE TEARDOWN ALTHOUGH TECHNICIANS ARE NOT TRAINED TO PERFORM THIS TYPE OF PROCESS. THE ESTIMATED TIME TO GET AN APPOINTMENT WITH A DEALER DUE TO YAMAHA CORP. NOT RELEASING PARTS IS TWO MONTHS. WHEN I CALLED YAMAHA TO ASK THEM TO BUY THE VEHICLE BACK SO THAT MAY PURCHASE A TROUBLE-FREE VEHICLE WAS, "THIS IS YOUR VEHICLE, YOUR PROBLEM. GET IT TO THE DEALER AT YOUR CONVENIENCE AND NO OTHER SOLUTION CAN BE OFFERED. CUSTOMER SERVICE AGENT WAS VERY UNSYMPATHETIC TO MY ISSUE AND SAID, " YOU ARE NOT THE

NHTSA complaint 10811092, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other 2015 Yamaha models

FJ-09 10 FZ-09 10

Every Yamaha on this site — 5 vehicles, 77 recall campaigns and 0 open investigation s.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

Complaints: NHTSA's ODI complaint file , published August 20, 2026. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.
Recalls: NHTSA's recall campaign API , most recent campaign filed August 12, 2026.
Investigations: NHTSA's ODI investigation file , published 2026-08-19.

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by guarledes
Independent developer and analyst