Honda has issued a recall notice through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration regarding certain model year 2013-2015 CBR500R motorcycles manufactured January 24, 2013 to May 14, 2015 and 2013-2015 CB500F motorcycles manufactured January 31, 2013 to May 16, 2015. The NHTSA notice states that “the affected motorcycles may experience the fuel level sensor float arm becoming deformed due to exposure to environmental and roadway conditions. This deformation can cause the float arm to separate from the fuel level sensor body.” There are potentially 14,575 units affected by the recall.

Honda’s recall report submitted to the NHTSA on July 27, 2015 indicates that if the float arm separates from the fuel level sensor body, fuel meter readings will be inaccurate. Metal debris could also contact the positive and negative terminals at the base of the fuel pump, resulting in the possibility of an electrical short and/or a blown fuse.

The chronology of events leading to the recall reaches back to June 11, 2013 when American Honda Motor Co. received its first dealer notification of a “fuel meter fault and abnormal noise in fuel tank in 2013 MY unit as a result of fuel level sensor float arm detachment.” During the subsequent two years, AHM worked with Thai Honda Manufacturing to determine reasons for the issue. Reports of similar incidents arrived from Germany, Australia, Canada and Thailand during that time and assistance was requested from Honda R&D in Japan to test for possible environmental, roadway, chemical and mechanical conditions contributing to the problem. In December 2014, Honda R&D was successfully able to recreate the issue and by July 20, 2015 it was determined that a safety defect exists warranting a recall. By July 27, 2015, the date the defect notice was submitted to the NHTSA, Honda had received 78 warranty claims and 67 field reports relating to the issue. No crashes, injuries or deaths were reported as a result of the defect.

A July 22, 2015 letter included in documents associated with the recall reveals that Honda notified its dealers to stop sale of all new and used 2013-2015 CB500F/FA and CBR500R/RA models.

Honda plans to notify owners of affected models and dealers have been instructed to replace the fuel level sensor assembly, free of charge. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-310-783-2000 for more information. Honda’s recall ID number is JT1.

Owners may also go to www.safercar.gov or call the NHTSA Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 for more information. The NHTSA recall ID number is 15V475000.

Read more: http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/2015/08/article/honda-recalls-2013-2015-cb500f-cbr500r-motorcycles/