2010 HONDA VFR1200F — Problems, Recalls & Safety Data

According to the cert Honda Technician, Brannon Kilbarger recommended that the fuel pump be replaced due to off and on start up issues. I filed a complaint on May 16th, 2024 for this issue with Honda case #[XXX] and with The NHTSA for this issue. I felt that this issue was a defect from the factory since the occurrence happen before I took possession of the bike in 2019 with 8,300 miles and that Honda should service the bike without any cost to me. Honda denied my claim and refused to service my bike. New evidence now shows that the VFR1200F needed a new ECM. There are no breaks in the wiring or any other issues that would cause a massive power failure to cause the bike not to operate as it was originally designed to do. Without this $3,000+ fix and the $1,900.00 for the fuel pump, the bike has major Safety issues written all over it. The bikes is 14yrs old but hasn’t been ridden much due to replacing batteries (3) at $200.00 each and most of the time not being able to start it up. ECM units and fuel pumps don’t usually wear out prematurely well before 8,000 miles. At this time Honda doesn’t have a predetermination test for their ECM units. I found one other bike on utube that has the same issue as mind but they couldn’t determine the cause of the bike failure. My bike has been in the shop since May and I need your help in resolving this David and Goliath battle with Honda. This is truly a rare defective item that got past Honda’s quality control people at the manufacturing plant. The age of the bike shouldn’t be considered in this case especially since there was no damage to the wiring harness just the ECM chip, plus the bike has hardly been ridden the past 5 yrs due to the malfunction of the chip. Even the Certified Honda Technician believes it’s a defective unit that occurred at the factory! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The bike is draining the battery, this is my 3rd battery and this drainage isn’t covered under warranty due to the drainage being the bikes fault. The bike will not start a great deal of the time. The wiring was checked by a certified motorcycle mechanic and the issue has not been resolved. Honda of America has been notified and calls to reach back out to me haven’t been made. This has been a recurring incident since May of 2019 when I purchase the bike. Whenever the black double arrow bar(fuel pump indicator) is left if the air temp screen the bike will not start, when there is no bar the bike cycles on with the fuel pump noises associated with turning on the bike. The pages from the Honda Shop manual appears to suggest issues with the fuel pump. This bike had 8,600 miles when purchase in May 2019 and now has 9,946 miles as of May 2024. The bike runs Great when it is charged, the only issue is the battery drainage and start up when bike is unable to cycle on during start ups.

ENGINE HAD METAL SWARF LEFT INSIDE OF IT WHEN MANUFACTURED. HONDA KNOWS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM AND HAS A RECALL ONLY IN THE UK, OWNERS IN OTHER COUNTRIES HAVE SUFFERED THE SAME DEFECTS BUT ARE OFFERED NO COMPENSATION. ENGINE DEVELOPED ROD KNOCK AT 4800 MILES.

REAR BRAKE LIGHT IS IN-OPERABLE DUE TO FRONT BRAKE SWITCH FAILURE. RIDER MUST USE FOOT BRAKE FOR VEHICLES BEHIND HIM TO SEE HE IS BRAKING AT 65 MPH. RIDER CAN ONLY DETERMINE BRAKE SWITCH IS OPERABLE WHEN MOTORCYCLE IS INITIALLY CHECKED AT START-UP. PROBLEM IS INTERMITTENT WHEN SWITCH BEGINS TO FAIL, SO CHECK AT START-UP IS NOT CONCLUSIVE. *TR

REAR BRAKE LIGHT IS IN-OPERABLE DUE TO FRONT BRAKE SWITCH FAILURE. RIDER MUST USE FOOT BRAKE FOR VEHICLES BEHIND HIM TO SEE HE IS BRAKING AT 65 MPH. RIDER CAN ONLY DETERMINE BRAKE SWITCH IS OPERABLE WHEN MOTORCYCLE IS INITIALLY CHECKED AT START-UP. PROBLEM IS INTERMITTENT WHEN SWITCH BEGINS TO FAIL, SO CHECK AT START-UP IS NOT CONCLUSIVE. *TR