Yamaha Recall of 2016 Turbo Vipers

[christopher]

By now many of you have probably seen this article that appeared this morning. The moment I saw it I called MPI to ask what the heck was going on. Mac about had a meltdown on the phone as I could hear the steam coming out of his ears! This article GROSSLY MISREPRESENTS what is actually happening and why there is a recall in place.

MPI says we will have a formal rebuttal outlining what is really going on shortly...

http://cs.amsnow.com/sno/b/news/archive/2017/01/12/yamaha-recalls-400-sleds-with-mpi-turbo.aspx

Yamaha Recalls 400 Sleds with MPI Turbo


Posted by Emily Hare on Thursday, January 12, 2017



According to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, Yamaha has recalled about 400 SR Viper snowmobiles that are equipped with a dealer-installed Mountain Performance Inc. (MPI) Turbo Kit sold by Yamaha, due to crash and fire hazards. Yamaha has received 40 reports of engine damage due to the turbocharge overboost. No injuries have been reported.

The recall involves model year 2016 SR10 SRViper snowmobiles in several colors, which were sold by Yamaha snowmobile dealers nationwide from August 2015 through April 2016 for between $12,800 and $14,100. (For a complete list of recalled models, click here.) The MPI Turbo Kits were sold as an aftermarket accessory at Yamaha snowmobile dealers nationwide from March 2015 through September 2016 for about $3,300.

The model name is printed on the left and right side of the front cowling. The vehicle identification number (VIN) and the model number are stamped on the frame (tunnel) near the right foot-well. The letter G in the 10th position of the VIN number indicates that the unit was made in the 2016 model year.



Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled snowmobiles and contact a local Yamaha dealer to schedule a free repair. Yamaha is contacting all registered owners directly.

For more info, contact Yamaha at 800-962-7926 anytime or visit its website: www.yamahamotorsports.com.

 

[christopher]

As a reply to the recent AmSnow article that had incorrect and missing facts, confused conclusions and the sent the completely wrong message:

Yamaha is recalling about 400 2016 Viper units. This recall is 100% for Yamaha components. It is a free replacement of the flawed 2016 connecting rod. The production 2016 mild steel rod is being replaced free of charge for all Viper customers with a Japanese equivalent to chrome moly (SCM420). This will actually make the rod stronger than the original 2008 to 2015 viper well known for its “very strong bottom end”. When Yamaha introduced the 2016 newer low cost version of the original 2015 and earlier motor, they attempted to align the motor with the new for 2016 YXZ motor and the new water craft triple”. Unfortunately the design mistakenly included an inferior rod.

This rod failure will be corrected only for MPI turbo customers, all other 2016 turbo owners will be responsible for replacing their own rods. This can easily be verified by the fact that the only “recalled” vehicle is the 2016 model. Clearly the same turbo kits were supplied and to all viper models. The 2015 and earlier models are not affected.

Again, the only components that are recalled are Yamaha. NO MPI COMPONENTS ARE BEING RECALLED or REPLACED.



[FONT=&quot]Regards,[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Mac[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Mac Randolph[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Mountain Performance, Inc.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]12379 South 265 West, Unit B[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Draper, UT 84020[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]801-619-1569[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]www.MountainPerformance.com[/FONT]

 

[christopher]

Looks like AmSnow has WITHDRAWN their article.
The link above is now DEAD.

I found a new article in it's place with a different URL.
And the new article reads VERY different from the old one this morning.
Someone from Yamaha/MPI must have gotten on the phone and raised hell!!

http://cs.amsnow.com/sno/b/news/archive/2017/01/12/yamaha-recalls-400-sr-viper-sleds.aspx

Yamaha Recalls 400 SR Viper Sleds


Posted by Emily Hare on Thursday, January 12, 201<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlnslink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" viewBox="0 0 32 32" class="at-icon at-icon-addthis" style="width: 32px; height: 32px;"><g></g></svg>




According to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, Yamaha has recalled a small number of Viper snowmobiles that have the Yamaha-approved turbo kit installed by Yamaha dealers. A total of 400 SR Viper 2016 Model Year snowmobiles are being recalled due to crash and fire hazards. Yamaha has received 40 reports of engine damage due to the turbocharge overboost. No injuries have been reported.

The recall involves model year 2016 SR10 SR Viper snowmobiles in several colors, which were sold by Yamaha snowmobile dealers nationwide from August 2015 through April 2016 for between $12,800 and $14,100. (For a complete list of recalled models, click here.) None of the previous model years or non-turbo Viper models were affected. The recalled models are those equipped with the aftermarket turbo accessory at Yamaha snowmobile dealers nationwide from March 2015 through September 2016 for about $3,300.

The recall revolves around the connecting rod in the motor for a very small number of Viper machines with the added turbo. The actual turbo unit is unaffected.



A consumer will find the sled's model name printed on the left and right side of the front cowling. The vehicle identification number (VIN) and the model number are stamped on the frame (tunnel) near the right foot-well. The letter G in the 10th position of the VIN number indicates that the unit was made in the 2016 model year.

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled snowmobiles and contact a local Yamaha dealer to schedule a free repair. Yamaha is contacting all registered owners directly.

For more info, contact Yamaha at 800-962-7926 anytime or visit its website: www.yamahamotorsports.com.

 

[Motorbreath_]

I actually thought Yamaha was better than this. All 16 Vipers should be fixed. People bought this sled for its track record and Yamaha delivered an inferior product with no warning!

I said I would never buy a Polaris after the way I seen the way they deal with warranty issues.. but after Yamaha did this, I went and bought a SKS. I don't know if any of the manufacturers can really be trusted anymore for warranty claims..

 

[paulharris]

whaaaaaaaat?? mild steel connecting rods? how could yamaha make an error like this? Very unlike them for sure, bizarre. i do vaguely remember hearing the YXZ side by side had weak connecting rods. apparently it was the same production run. you have to assume they are going to just drop a new long block in these sleds, i cant imagine they are going to tear every motor down and replace the rods....that would be a TON of labor.