Yamaha Recall Certain 2021~2023 Models

[Wild]

I purchased a new 2023 Yamaha 222S at the Biloxi boat show. Wired my funds, registered with insurance and literally the day I was supposed to pick it up my salesman sent me this (see attached official letter) and said they can’t deliver the boat due to this language

“It is a violation of Yamaha policy for your dealership to deliver any affected watercraft to customers until the procedures in the upcoming bulletin are performed.”

“Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. has decided that a defect that relates to boating safety may exist in certain 2021~2023 model year…(252SD/ 252SE/ 252S/ 252XE/ AR250/ SX250)…(255XD/ 255XE)…(AR220/ SX220)…(222XD/ 222XE/ 222SD/ 222SE/ 222S) boats.

To correct this defect, Yamaha is initiating a Factory Modification Campaign. Affected units must have the fuel tank air vent replaced with one that has the proper specification.”

This does sound incredibly serious as a fuel vent issue can be explosive ?, he also said that it could take a really long time to fix as there are more than 30K boats that’ll fall into this…

Does anyone have any idea how long this could take to resolve? Thanks!

 

[Joshua Miller]

Well shit my 252x falls within the serial number range. Strange how I haven’t received the same recall notice. I have no idea how long it would take to fix but I’m getting to close to boating season to take my boat back to the dealer..

 

[johnso30]

Well this sucks… I preordered a 2023 before they were announced to be sure to have it before this summer. Not looking likely now…

 

[Ronnie]

I think the duration is different for every recall. A year or so ago yamaha sent me a recall notice on my 2021 Waverunner, something about the lanyard failing to kill the engine sometimes. When I called to bring it in to have recall work done the rep told me they did not yet have the replacement part and if i brought it in knowing that they don’t have the part they would not be able to give the Waverunner back to me until the recall work was done. At the same
Time seadoo just released their fishing oriented pwc, it was subject to a recall and the rep told me they planned to “fix” their unsold stock first so that they would be legally allowed to sell the units. They weren’t worried about the units that have been ordered, paid for and taken out of the store already.

 

[Thermobrett]

I read a bunch of 2022 models were under recall last year and everyone was supposed to get a latter for the fuel pump not being properly installed. My SX195 fell within the range and when I took my boat to the dealer, they did a look up and no recalls listed.
My experience with Yamaha in Tennessee was fantastic when dealing with a warranty issues my dealer didn’t want to handle. Maybe try giving them a call and getting to the bottom of it that way? Maybe they can shed some light and prove the validity of the letter your dealer is talking about…

 

[Dixemon]

Thats a tough position to be in. Knowing the parts availability and the time frame that they can take care of the problem would be helpful. Good thing you didn't take possession of the boat, otherwise you may not have a way out of the deal. Correct??? I would imagine that they are working diligently on getting the parts available to correct the issue. I'm guessing all these boats have the same fuel tank...

 

[Wild]

Thats a tough position to be in. Knowing the parts availability and the time frame that they can take care of the problem would be helpful.

That’s exactly right, so far no joy and what I was hoping someone might have a feel for here.

Good thing you didn't take possession of the boat

Agreed, unfortunately that’s the one I wanted. May need to start evaluating alternatives if there’s no line of sight to a solution.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

I purchased a new 2023 Yamaha 222S at the Biloxi boat show. Wired my funds, registered with insurance and literally the day I was supposed to pick it up my salesman sent me this (see attached official letter) and said they can’t deliver the boat due to this language

“It is a violation of Yamaha policy for your dealership to deliver any affected watercraft to customers until the procedures in the upcoming bulletin are performed.”

“Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. has decided that a defect that relates to boating safety may exist in certain 2021~2023 model year…(252SD/ 252SE/ 252S/ 252XE/ AR250/ SX250)…(255XD/ 255XE)…(AR220/ SX220)…(222XD/ 222XE/ 222SD/ 222SE/ 222S) boats.

To correct this defect, Yamaha is initiating a Factory Modification Campaign. Affected units must have the fuel tank air vent replaced with one that has the proper specification.”

This does sound incredibly serious as a fuel vent issue can be explosive ?, he also said that it could take a really long time to fix as there are more than 30K boats that’ll fall into this…

Does anyone have any idea how long this could take to resolve? Thanks!

While it could be what you say it is… I sincerely doubt it is a safety issue, it just says to correct the spec. That says to me it has something to do with emissions. If it was a safety related issue I would think it would say something to that effect, like, don’t use your boat until this is fixed or you could die. Their legal department probably had either oversight or editing of the document.

If you want to be sure, go out and stick your head in there and make sure everything is connected properly.

 

[Dixemon]

While it could be what you say it is… I sincerely doubt it is a safety issue, it just says to correct the spec. That says to me it has something to do with emissions. If it was a safety related issue I would think it would say something to that effect, like, don’t use your boat until this is fixed or you could die. Their legal department probably had either oversight or editing of the document.

If you want to be sure, go out and stick your head in there and make sure everything is connected properly.

I guess my point was that he cant get the boat anyway because of their policy. So, to decide on whether or not to be strung along on forever backordered parts, or to move on.... It was good that he can still make that choice without haven taken possession of the boat. I assume...

 

[Goflight2]

I am supposed to pick up my 2023 255XD next week, now I am not so sure! lol

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

I am supposed to pick up my 2023 255XD next week, now I am not so sure! lol

The recall states certain model….it may not be all of those listed..

 

[Chrisbert]

Never got any letters for 2022 252SD.

 

[Ziess21]

Couple of notes on this recall:
- A fuel vent with the incorrect spec was installed in some boats and it may cause the boat to leak fuel when the tank experiences expansion. A properly spec'd fuel vent will be installed and your charcoal canister will also be replaced if your boat needs it.
- Even if your boat falls in the effected serial number range it may not actually have the incorrect part installed.
- You can call your dealer with your VIN number and they can look up to see if your boat is actually part of the recall.
- You should have this completed sooner than later as "This could result in a fuel leak due to inadequate fuel expansion volume in the tank during fill-up, increasing the risk of fire or explosion."

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

So word toThe wise is to not overfill the tank…

I would add that any gas tank if over filled could leak fuel through the vent or cap if over filled.

 

[Mike C]

I had a good conversation with my dealerships maint manager on this today. I also got the recall notice emailed to me. I was on the dealerships list to call out to since my boat which Ive had for 2 months, is on the recall. He said that Yamaha has not yet shipped the replacement kits but that he had 10 coming soon.

He mentioned that its not about fuel leaking in the boat... its about fuel "burping" back at you while your filling it with fuel. The vent isn't allowing equalization at the rate that is needed during fill up and it causes the fuel to rush up the neck and out at the person filling it. Im just passing on what he said. Ive used the boat for 6 hours and have not had any issue at all and definitely NO leaks inside the bilge. They will call when the kits come in.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

I had a good conversation with my dealerships maint manager on this today. I also got the recall notice emailed to me. I was on the dealerships list to call out to since my boat which Ive had for 2 months, is on the recall. He said that Yamaha has not yet shipped the replacement kits but that he had 10 coming soon.

He mentioned that its not about fuel leaking in the boat... its about fuel "burping" back at you while your filling it with fuel. The vent isn't allowing equalization at the rate that is needed during fill up and it causes the fuel to rush up the neck and out at the person filling it. Im just passing on what he said. Ive used the boat for 6 hours and have not had any issue at all and definitely NO leaks inside the bilge. They will call when the kits come in.

Thanks for this post Mike!

 

[Chrisbert]

I got the letter yesterday. It has the legal "don't use the boat..." phrase.

 

[biffdotorg]

I saw this posted on one of the FB groups and folks were getting all bent out of shape about taking legal action, and "who's gonna pay my insurance on a boat I cannot take delivery of" etc. OMG, who activates insurance on a boat you have not taken possession of?

It was quite obvious that none of them have ever owned a Polaris product, or an automobile from any current MFG in the business. As a "stop ride, no sale" recall is very common practice and legaleeze for CYA purposes until they can correct it. If they don't issue that strict of a warning, they could be sued if someone actually got splashed in the face by gas. To be honest, that could only happen if filling from a gas can or a pump with no autostop feature.

As far as not taking delivery and asking for my deposit back, why? Unless you were going to another brand, a boat with a deposit would have first dibs on the part coming in. As nobody else should have boats available for delivery either. If the service manager above is as honest about the actual issue being a breather, then use the boat and don't over fill, or fill at too fast of a rate. Then get it in when parts are available. game over.

For anyone that has not taken delivery yet, I'm quite sorry for the inconvenience, but be glad they caught it and are taking action. This isn't as bad as COVID times, they will make it right in short time. Some were crying on FB about missing an entire season. I find that highly unlikely.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

I saw this posted on one of the FB groups and folks were getting all bent out of shape about taking legal action, and "who's gonna pay my insurance on a boat I cannot take delivery of" etc. OMG, who activates insurance on a boat you have not taken possession of?

It was quite obvious that none of them have ever owned a Polaris product, or an automobile from any current MFG in the business. As a "stop ride, no sale" recall is very common practice and legaleeze for CYA purposes until they can correct it. If they don't issue that strict of a warning, they could be sued if someone actually got splashed in the face by gas. To be honest, that could only happen if filling from a gas can or a pump with no autostop feature.

As far as not taking deliver and asking for my deposit back, why? Unless you were going to another brand, a boat with a deposit would have first dibs on the part coming in. As nobody else should have boats available for delivery either. If the service manager above is as honest about the actual issue being a breather, then use the boat and don't over fill, or fill at too fast of a rate. Then get it in when parts are available. game over.

For anyone that has not taken delivery yet, I'm quite sorry for the inconvenience, but be glad they caught it and are taking action. This isn't as bas as COVID times, they will make it right in short time. Some were crying on FB about missing an entire season. I find that highly unlikely.

Taking legal action against a company that is doing a safety recall ?? That’s rich! Everybody wants to sue to the deep pockets.. one of the main problems with this country anymore.

“To be honest, that could only happen if filling from a gas can or a pump with no autostop feature”.
Or unless someone keeps trying to make the pump, pump more gas and by retracting the nozzle a bit to make it flow more gas, or turning off the pump, depressing the trigger and lifting the pump hose to try and drain that little bit of extra gasoline out of the hose…(this always makes me laugh when I see people doing this) If people are living in a state with vapor recovery nozzles on the gas pump, thats the bellows on the pump nozzle, there is much less of a danger of splash back.

Seems to me that Yamaha as @biffdotorg states above is doing what is right and exhibiting “intent”, intent to protect their owners from getting injured. Is it a drag? Yes! Is it a first world problem? Yes! For most, the boating season is still months away… in Southern California it has been snowing down to 500’.. in Florida, my god! Its still only 65* degrees in the morning, who can boat is such harsh conditions.. [sic]. For those folks saying what if this costs me a boating season at this point, I’d say, “well IF grandma had balls she’d be grandpa”. Hey if it was me I’d be running with a tight ass as well, but in reality, based on info above, it sounds like Yamaha is on top of it and is getting the kits out post haste.

@Chrisbert can you scan / take a photo of the letter you got, redact personal info of course, and post it in this thread please? It would be nice to see the horses mouth.

 

[NoFla21]

I received my letter in the mail yesterday. I remember filling up my tank for the first time and having the gas hose "locked" so it would fill up by itself. I heard it sound like it was about to stop, and once it clicked off, a splash of gas came out of the top and ran down the boat. Since then, I manually pump, but it still can get tricky with gas coming back up.

Now I know why