"How reliable is the 2003 Yamaha Road Star?"

"Based on 105 NHTSA complaints, the 2003 Yamaha Road Star has a median complaint mileage of 4000 miles. The most common issue is POWER TRAIN:MANUAL TRANSMISSION."

"What are common problems with the 2003 Yamaha Road Star?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2003 Yamaha Road Star is POWER TRAIN:MANUAL TRANSMISSION, accounting for a significant portion of the 105 total complaints filed."

2003 Yamaha Road Star: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 105 complaints

105

Total Complaints

4,000mi

Median Mileage

POWER TRAIN:MANUAL TRANSMISSION

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

2,000 25th Percentile

4,000 Median Mileage

6,505 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

POWER TRAIN:MANUAL TRANSMISSION

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC:CALIPER

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:GEAR POSITION INDICATION (PRNDL)

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE (TCM/PCM/TECM)

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:CARBURETOR SYSTEM

SUSPENSION:REAR

SUSPENSION:FRONT:SHOCK ABSORBER

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"WHILE DRIVING 50 MPH MOTORCYCLE'S FRONT BRAKE CALIPERS FELL OFF. AS A RESULT, DRIVER LOSTS ALL BRAKING ABILITY. *AK"

"BOTH THE DEALERSHIP AND THE MANUFACTURE OF YAMAHA ARE NOT SURE WHEN THE PARTS ARE GOING TO BE AVAILABLE FOR THE TRANSMISSION RECALL. IT HAS ALREADY BEEN A MONTH AND THEY ARE SAYING IT MIGHT BE ANOTHER MONTH AND ADVISED THE CONSUMER NOT TO DRIVE THE MOTORCYCLE. NHTSA RECALL CAMPAIGN 03V309000 TRANS..."

"CONSUMER WAS NOTIFIED OF RECALL 03V309000 CONCERNING TRANSMISSION FAILURE. HOWEVER, PARTS WOULD NOT BE AVAILABLE UNTIL THE END OF FEBRUARY. *AK"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28