The defect
ZERO MOTORCYCLES, INC. (ZERO) IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2011 AND 2012 S, XU, AND DS MOTORCYCLES, MODEL YEAR 2011 MXD, AND XD MOTORCYCLES AND 2012 X MOTORCYCLES. THE BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH AT THE FRONT BRAKE LEVER MAY NOT ACTIVATE UNTIL SIGNIFICANT BRAKE LEVER TRAVEL OCCURS.
The risk
THE BRAKE LIGHT MAY NOT ACTIVATE WHEN A MODERATE AMOUNT OF FRONT BRAKE IS APPLIED. AS SUCH, MOTORISTS TRAVELING BEHIND THE MOTORCYCLE MAY NOT BE ALERTED WHEN AN AFFECTED MOTORCYCLE IS SLOWING DOWN, WHICH COULD LEAD TO A POSSIBLE CRASH AND POTENTIAL INJURY OR DEATH TO THE RIDER.
The remedy
ZERO WILL NOTIFY OWNERS, AND DEALERS WILL INSPECT AND, IF NECESSARY, REPLACE THE FRONT BRAKE SYSTEM BRAKE-LIGHT SWITCH FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON AUGUST 3, 2012. OWNERS MAY CONTACT ZERO MOTORCYCLES AT 1-831-438-3500.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Zero DS | 2011 |
| Zero MXD | 2011 |
| Zero S | 2011 |
| Zero X | 2012 |
| Zero XD | 2011 |
| Zero XU | 2011 |
| Zero Zero DS | 2012 |
| Zero Zero S | 2012 |
| Zero Zero XU | 2012 |
Components: EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS:SWITCH
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zero DS | 2011 | 0 | 2 |
| Zero MXD | 2011 | 0 | 1 |
| Zero S | 2011 | 1 | 2 |
| Zero X | 2012 | 1 | 2 |
| Zero XD | 2011 | 0 | 1 |
| Zero XU | 2011 | 0 | 1 |
| Zero Zero DS | 2012 | 0 | 6 |
| Zero Zero S | 2012 | 1 | 6 |
| Zero Zero XU | 2012 | 0 | 3 |
Other exterior lighting recalls in 2012
25 of the 583 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2012 concerned the exterior lighting; ZERO MOTORCYCLES INC. filed 4 campaigns in all.
| 12V602000 26 Dec 2012 | SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC. |
| 12V578000 11 Dec 2012 | Newmar Corporation |
| 12V561000 4 Dec 2012 | AUTOMOBILI LAMBORGHINI |
| 12V553000 30 Nov 2012 | Ford Motor Company |
| 12V538000 15 Nov 2012 | BLUE BIRD BODY COMPANY |
| 12V493000 10 Oct 2012 | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. |
| 12V490000 9 Oct 2012 | PACCAR Incorporated |
| 12V484000 4 Oct 2012 | General Motors LLC |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2012