"How reliable is the 2004 Yamaha Road Star?"

"Based on 23 NHTSA complaints, the 2004 Yamaha Road Star has a median complaint mileage of 8000 miles. The most common issue is ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE."

"What are common problems with the 2004 Yamaha Road Star?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2004 Yamaha Road Star is ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE, accounting for a significant portion of the 23 total complaints filed."

2004 Yamaha Road Star: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 23 complaints

Total Complaints

8,000mi

Median Mileage

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

2,500 25th Percentile

8,000 Median Mileage

20,550 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

POWER TRAIN

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:CARBURETOR SYSTEM

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:EMISSION CONTROL:GAS RECIRCULATION VALVE (EGR VALVE)

WHEELS

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"HAVE MOTORCYCLE THAT HAS BEEN ON RECALL FOR 3 MONTHS AND CAN NOT GET IT FIXED. YAMAHA HAS NOT SENT RECALL KITS TO MY DEALER AND MY MOTORCYCLE IS SITTING IN MY GARAGE WITH THE TRANSMISSON LOCKED UP AND I CAN NOT GET ANY RESULTS FROM YAMAHA."

"XV-175S ROAD STAR YAMAHA MOTORCYCLE - 2004. BIKE RAN INTO A CEMENT HIGHWAY BARRIER WHEN RIDER WAS ON WAY HOME FROM DRIVING BIKE OFF SHOWROOM FLOOR. WITNESSES SAID IT SEEMED AS IF HE COULDN'T TURN THE HANDLE BARS OR APPLY THE BRAKES.*AK"

"MOTORCYCLE WAS LEAKING GAS FROM THE CARBURETOR. MOTORCYCLE WAS INSPECTED ON THREE DIFFERENT OCCASIONS AT THREE DEALERSHIP. A YAMAHA REPRESENTATIVE CAME FROM CALIFORNIA TO INSPECT THE MOTORCYCLE ABOUT MONTH AGO, AND HE NEVER NOTIFIED THE CONSUMER WHAT WAS WRONG WITH THE MOTORCYCLE.*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