[5haS_0209]

I have been a vivid reader of all the threads related to motorcycles as well as cars in TBHP and now I need the help of fellow BHPians to sort out an issue which has begin to arise in my FZ V3 BS4 which has logged 14000kms in three years.

I dropped my bike off at a Yamaha authorized service centre nearby my house for a general service in the morning and got a call in the afternoon by SA stating that there is a fault in ABS Motor also known as Hydralic unit Assy. in Yamaha India's official website. I was shocked to hear the news and I enquired how much it costs for a replacement? He quoted that it would be around 12.5k inclusive of labour. Oh my god. I was speechless for a second.

And later I remembered that I had purchased extended warranty for additional 3years at the time of purchase of my motorcycle. Then I enquired the supervisor at the service centre to replace the ABS motor with the warranty but he insisted that only engine parts are covered in warranty and not the electrical components. I was saddened once again and was about to pay the bill for my general servicing and return home.

But then I saw a board behind the billing desk.


Once I questioned the supervisor what this was all about he said that it covers only the ECU and not other electrical components.I was laughing at him and then he said that he will enquire about this to the top management and get back to me. After that I got back home to know more about the extended warranty scheme. Upon browsing through the website, got to know that Yamaha covers Hydralic unit assy. ie ABS motor in warranty. THANK GOD!

It almost covers all electronic parts. To be precise, 87 of them.


The bike is not drivable as of now as the brake lever is very hard and gets stuck while applying pressure. Whilst asking the SA, he informed me that it is because of new brake oil being filled and will get better upon driving. I got home slowly and have parked the vehicle. Will visit the service center tomorrow to sort this out.

Now comes my questions:
1. Does anyone have experience with this sort of failure in just 14k kms of running? I know it's an electrical fault. But isn't Yamaha supposed to do quality check of all the parts before assembly especially regarding braking since it is the most important aspect in a two-wheeler.
2. I have never replaced any part under warranty before in my vehicle. I have Roots security system installed. Will this lead to any rejection of warranty claims?
3. Should I escalate this issue to Yamaha India?
Please throw some insights.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[5haS_0209]

I visited the service center today and the supervisor told that I was not regular in my service but I was always regular on my service. But I always keep my target for service as 3000kms once as recommended by Yamaha but what he said was I was supposed to come at 6months/3000kms whichever is earlier. Now I'm late by 3 months and he insists that he cannot carry out a warranty claim and that he has also asked his top management. Later he said that leave the bike to me and I will check if there is any airlock in the system. Now, he is trying to dodge the warranty claim.

Assume if I had went for service in 6months time. All they do is check Engine Oil, Air Filter, Oil Filter etc... Neither me nor the service center is going to lay hands on ABS motor without a reason. Just because I came late by 3 months, can they reject my warranty claim? I am in a helpless situation right now. Can someone please help throwing light on this issue? Thanking you in advance.

[skviknaraj]

Originally Posted by 5haS_0209

... But I always keep my target for service as 3000kms once as recommended by Yamaha but what he said was I was supposed to come at 6months/3000kms whichever is earlier. Now I'm late by 3 months and he .

Dear 5has,

Sorry to say this is a common loophole used by all service centers to escape warranty claims. Time is also an important factor to be considered to get the vehicle serviced. Warranty claims can and will be rejected based on this.

Right now it is up to the manufacturer decide and honor the replacement. Try escalating this to the Manufacturer.

For argument sake, have a look in the vehicle manual if there is Inspection/Repair against the hydraulic unit for the 6 month/3000 km service . if there is nothing to be done to the hydraulic assembly in that service, may be you can use it to convince them.

You need to also check with him how did they come to know of an issue with the ABS motor? did you report any issue when you had given the bike for general service?

As for the issue with the brake being hard, first suspect is air lock in the brake line. Get it done asap.

[5haS_0209]

Originally Posted by skviknaraj

You need to also check with him how did they come to know of an issue with the ABS motor? did you report any issue when you had given the bike for general service?

As for the issue with the brake being hard, first suspect is air lock in the brake line. Get it done asap.

Hello skviknaraj,

Thank you for replying. I have not reported anything while giving the bike for service. I informed them that the brake lever is a little hard and the initial bite is missing. But the brakes were working just fine for me. Now the brakes are so hard that my wrists start paining while applying the brakes.

When I questioned him how he found out the fault, he said that the two reasons for the brake lever being hard are one, the master cylinder kit or two, and the ABS motor. He checked by replacing a spare master cylinder it seems and the issue still persists. So he came to the conclusion that the ABS motor is faulty. Another thing is that the ABS blinker is not even up on my bike. If the ABS motor is faulty that would be indicated in the instrument cluster right?

As of now, I have given the bike to the service center so that they would check for any airlocks in the system. Hopefully, this makes the braking better. I will update once I get my bike tomorrow.

[5haS_0209]

Got the bike from the service center(SC). The brakes were working absolutely fine including the ABS motor. I did try braking hard and the wheel did not lock. Even my brother rode my bike and did not feel any difference. Now, I could have been scammed by the SC guys if I hadn't brought up the warranty. In my opinion, what they have done is they informed me that I MUST change the ABS motor for the brakes to function properly but since I had extended warranty they wanted to check what they can do best to avoid the warranty claim and then all of a sudden the brakes work properly?

When I questioned him why the brakes were so hard yesterday he simply said "The ABS functions but not to its fullest capacity and we are not satisfied with its result." After all, there was an airlock in the brake line and they have cleared it. They could've done this in the first place. I never expected this from Yamaha's SC, to be honest.

Hereafter I'm planning to get my bike serviced at an FNG since he is at least honest about what is actually wrong with the bike. Another lesson learnt, if you are within extended warranty please do leave your bikes/cars for service in the correct time/mileage as recommended in the manual. If you skip even one of them, you're gonna be in big trouble.