What breaks most · 1993 to 2024 model years
Kawasaki KLR650 problems by year
Owners have filed 204 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Kawasaki KLR650 across model years 1993 to 2024. One year stands out: 2008 for exterior lighting complaints. The quietest years are 1995, 1997 and 2005.
- Years to check closely: 2008
- Fewest complaints: 1995, 1997, 2005
- Complaints on file
- 2041993 to 2024, all trims
- Worst year
- 2008116 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 01 fires · 1 injuries · 0 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 4kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 1Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 0 | 0 | Engine and cooling (1) | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | Suspension (1) | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | Engine (1) | |
| 6 | 0 | 0 | Engine and cooling (4) | |
| 7 | 0 | 0 | Engine and cooling (7) | |
| 8 | 0 | 0 | Engine and cooling (6) | |
| 19 | 0 | 0 | Engine and cooling (14) | |
| 11 | 0 | 0 | Engine and cooling (8) | |
| 6 | 0 | 0 | Engine and cooling (5) | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | Exterior lighting (1) | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | Engine (1) | |
| 116 | 0 | 1 | Exterior lighting (85) | |
| 6 | 0 | 0 | Engine (3) | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | Unknown or other (1) | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | Fuel system (1) | |
| 16 | 0 | 0 | Steering (16) | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | Engine (1) |
What fails on the 2008 Kawasaki KLR650
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exterior lightingHeadlights, tail lights and bulbs | 73% |
85 | 0 | Shop all exterior lighting parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Engine and coolingRadiators, thermostats and cooling | 10% |
12 | 0 | Shop all engine and cooling parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Body and structureDoors, latches and body hardware | 9% |
10 | 0 | Shop all body and structure parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| SuspensionStruts, springs and control arms | 8% |
9 | 0 | Shop all suspension parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 4% |
5 | 0 | Shop all electrical system parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 2% |
2 | 0 | Shop all powertrain and transmission parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Equipment and infotainment | 2% |
2 | 0 | — |
| VisibilityMirrors and glass | 1% |
1 | 0 | Shop all visibility parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
-
Turned in complaint on a few days ago. Received this tracking number 11063172. What's my next step? The complaint was turn signals falling off.
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 6, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which Kawasaki KLR650 years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 2008 carries the most filings on the Kawasaki KLR650. The 2008 alone has 116 complaints, led by exterior lighting.
What is the most common Kawasaki KLR650 problem?
On the 2008 model year, the most-reported component is exterior lighting with 85 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Kawasaki KLR650 problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Kawasaki KLR650 complaints that include mileage is about 4,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.