Warranty - What has been covered, what has been denied?

[redbarber]

I just used my warranty for the first time, (well, I'm still workin' on it).  My front rotors on my 09 are warped and my rear TPM sensor has a low/dead battery.  Both of these have been approved and the parts are on order. 
Anyway, I know I've seen posts about warranty successes and frustrations in the "old' forum, and I though it would be helpful if we could collect the stories in a single place.  It might even be a good topic for new category.    So, what I'd like to ask you, is if you've had a warranty claim, either approved or denied, post it here and let's see what we have.   Knowing that others have had a problem resolved under warranty could help a rider who is not having the same response argue their case for coverage. 

[Conrad]

The only warranty issue that I've had was a possible stuck open/defective thermostat. In the cooler weather my bike never seemed to warm up properly and I was having issues with condensation in my oil. I took it to the dealer and he swapped out the 'stat under warranty and resolved the problem. This was in 2010, I bought my '08 new in 5/09.

edit...

I forgot to mention that my right mirror was replaced under warranty. The glass was lose and buzzing and the dealer ordered a new assembly. I told him that if it was ok with them that I would just install it myself, I did and kept the old assembly with their blessing. 

[So Cal Joe]

My 09 had a front tire pressure sensor battery go dead, it was replaced with no problem. Most warranties will not cover wear items, brake pads, light bulbs etc.  I haven't had much experience with Kawasaki warranty service  but I know that Honda dealers will vary from dealer to dealer. Some will cover the head lights and fork seals and some will not. A lot depends on the dealer, I know it shouldn't be that way  but thats the way it is. The manufacturer allows a set amount of hours labor for work done under warranty, if the dealer thinks that is not enough they will try to tell you your problem is not covered. Your next step is to call the manufacturer or go try another dealer. When Honda had the frame re weld on the early 1800 Gold Wings many dealers would tell the customer it would take 2 to 3 months to do it so they wouldn't leave their bikes for repairs because many dealers thought the amount Honda paid the dealers to do the repair wasn't enough considering how much work was involved. If you have a good service manager they can get almost anything covered for you. The guy I have is great and has done work on my Gold Wing and my Concours

[Barry]

Via E-MAIL (yes, e-mail) I had my 08 (2nd owner) gas tank replaced under warranty cause the tack welds where the tank typically rusts, rusted.  Just surface rust, but it's the start of badness, so I claimed it.

My service manager at the EXCELLENT dealership (MFI, Woodbridge, Va) covered it.  I took a pic with my phone, sent it to him, he got authorization, I dropped the bike, he put on the tank.

He literally did not see the bike until he made the repair.

YMMV,
Barry

[tjpgi]

2009 Concours. Had sun brand on the black plastic ( inner LH cover) next to the dash, covered by warranty. Luckily after 3 yrs no other issues.

[Jeremy Mitchell]

I had the following parts replaced, no questions asked, the service manager actually took my word for everything except the very minimal rust on the tank mounting brackets.  He took pics of the brackets and I got a phone call a week or so later (after the parts came in) asking me when I could drop my bike off for same day repairs.

Tank
Front rotors
Tire pressure sensors

Here is the kicker, I was told by the service manager that everything that wasn't returned to Kawi for inspection would be released to me if I wanted it.  Kawi took the rotors and tire pressure sensors, I still need to swing by and pick up my tank that is actually in very usable shape. 

[stevewfl]

>41,000 miles in 19 months.

No warranty issues to report.  Such a strange phenomena for a Kawasaki, but KiPass has had my back!

[C1xRider]

Covered:
Warped front left brake rotor (just the one).
Leaking radiator hose to engine connection (just required cleaning I was told).

Not covered:
Terrible vibration throughout whole bike at engine speeds above 4K.
Bolts that fell out.

[jjsC6]

Rear tire pressure sensor replaced under warranty at just over a year old.  No other problems.

[redbarber]

Tally so far...
Brake Rotors - 3 claims, all covered
TPM Sensors - 3 claims, all covered
Fuel Tank Rust - 2 claims, both covered
Thermostat - 1 claim, covered
Radiator Hose - 1 claim, covered
Sun damage to plastic - 1 claim, covered
Engine Vibration - 1 claim, denied
Irrelevant ramblings containing no warranty facts at all - 1 post, ignored.

Friends, my goal here is to compile as complete a list as possible of warranty do's and don'ts, to help us all when dealing with a balky service department.  If you have a warranty experience, please share.  If you don't, please don't post here, it just makes it harder to pull out the real information.  I realize that this bike is so awesome, that many riders may NEVER have a warranty claim.  That's great, and that will be assumed if you don't post anything.

[Tim]

My battery was replaced under warranty. Dealer never saw the bike just the battery. I installed the battery myself last year. The battery was a different brand that came out of the bike and much cheaper than the OEM. But she's always started when asked. 

[Tactical_Mik]

Two left rotors and both tire pressure sensors covered. 

[Son of Pappy]

Gear position sensor-covered.  No further issues.  52,000 miles, rotors wore out, replaced by me.  New July 2008.

[Cheesecake]

Rear drive leaked after water contaminated the lube. Kawasaki refused to fix it because I changed the lube before I took it to the dealer. Moral of the story--just ride it till it won't ride no more.

[J.R.]

My final drive seal was replaced under warranty at ~15k.  No other issues with the bike, now at 28k.

[nyconcours]

2008 purchased in July 2007 48K when 5mph did enough damage for the ins company to total it.

Replaced under warranty:
Both front rotor's warpped
Front and rear tire pressure sensors
Left upper black panel due to sun burn
Instrument cluster due to melted tach needle
4th gear (gear lost whole section while on trip to TN, had to rent truck to get the bike back to NYC.  Kaw paid for truck rental and fuel)

Never denied any request.

[alexx45]

Rear tire pressure sensor covered and final drive seals replaced under warrenty due to obvious leak.

[redbarber]

Time for another tally:
#1) TPM Sensor(s) - 6 claimed, all covered.
#2) Front Brake Rotor(s) - 5 claimed, all covered
#3) Final Drive Seal(s) - 3 claimed, 2 covered
#4) Sun damaged plastic (Covers or Instruments) - 3 claimed, all covered
#5) Rusty fuel tank welds - 2 claimed, all covered.
Tied with 1 apiece, all covered:
4th gear, battery, gear position sensor, leaking radiator hose, thermostat.

and finally: engine vibration over 4000 RPM, denied.

Either this bike is one of the most amazing, well engineered and built machines in recent memory, or some of you haven't bothered to share your experiences yet.  C'mon, it only takes a minute or two....

[Rawman]

2009 Black Non-ABS 39,000 miles
Rear TPMS assembly - covered
that's all.....

[C1xRider]

Been riding all summer, bike starts just fine.  Parked it for 2 days (rain), then yesterday I turned on the ignition and was greeted by a low battery warning.  Tried to start it, and not enough juice to do anything.  Had to jump start it.  In those 2 days off, the temperature inside the garage had dropped by 10 degrees F (55F Wednesday morning).

Rode about 80 miles Wednesday, and for the 3 times I started the bike, each time I had the feeling it just barely started.  Volt meter on display showed it was charging (14.0V to 14.3V).  However, each time it would be down below 12V before trying to restart it.

Called the dealer that did the brake rotor warranty work, and they squeezed it in for me today.  After the Service Manager got off the phone with Kawi support, he was a bit ticked at them for the ridiculous testing they required.  The service manager told me that the required tests didn't even properly load test the battery, and that my battery probably would not fail the test based on my description of events.  They did the tests anyway.

It seems the required Kawasaki test for the battery to be replaced under warranty is designed to only fail if the battery will not take a charge.  Needless to say, if the battery just doesn't like the cold, like mine, but will accept a charge, it will not fail the test.

So, warranty claim for a 2 year old battery that will not hold a charge when sitting for 2 or more days at temps between 55F and 60F : DENIED.