The Used Car Index

2018 Kawasaki Ninja problems

NHTSA lists 2 complaints for the 2018 Kawasaki Ninja, 0 of them mention a crash and 0 mention a fire. 0 complaints mention an injury, with 0 injuries and 0 deaths reported.

Data build 2026-10-09.

NHTSA lists this vehicle as KAWASAKI NINJA.

At a glance

Complaints
2
With crash
0
With fire
0
With injury (complaints)
0
Injuries
0
Deaths
0
Recalls
2
Do not drive recalls
1
Park outside recalls
0
Recall potential units (maximum)
799
Investigations
0
Open investigations
0
Manufacturer communications
4

Complaints per 100k sold unavailable. No sales source is available for this record.

Where the complaints are

Top systems
SystemComplaintsShare of this vehicle's complaints
POWER TRAIN2100.0%
ENGINE150.0%
Top subsystems
SystemSubsystemComplaints

One complaint can name several systems, so shares can add to more than 100 percent.

Model-generated complaint tags

These labels are model-generated, not NHTSA data.

Failure modes
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
loss of control150.0%0.52
mechanical failure150.0%0.81
Severities
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
moderate2100.0%0.78

Model: typesafe/jev-1.13-20260917; schema version: tag-v1. 2 tagged complaints of 2 complaints (100.0%).

Confidence is the model's own probability for the label it chose (0 to 1), not accuracy.

Model-generated labels on tagged complaints only. Model years 2013 and newer are tagged in full; 2012 in part (see tagged_share); earlier model years have no tags. NHTSA's own flags remain separate in the complaints block.

Recalls

See new recalls and investigations this week.

2 recalls.

20V676000

Date: 2020-11-02. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, POWER TRAIN.

Defect: Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. (KMC) is recalling certain 2018-2020 Ninja H2 SX, Ninja H2 SXSE, and 2019-2020 Ninja H2 SXSE+ motorcycles. In the event of a gear misengagement the engine electronic control unit (ECU) programming doesn't have the capability to suppress high RPM during transmission. If the transmission gears are not properly engaged while shifting into 4th or 5th gear, high engine RP (excerpt)

Consequence: Damaged gears and the inability to shift can cause the engine to lock up, increasing the risk of a crash. (excerpt)

Remedy: KMC will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the FI-ECU software, free of charge. Owners are advised to not ride their motorcycle until the repair has been completed. The recall began November 16, 2020. Owners may contact KMC customer service at 1-866-802-9381. KMC's number for this recall is MC20-10. (excerpt)

Do not drive: Yes. Park outside: No.

18V580000

Date: 2018-08-30. Systems: STRUCTURE.

Defect: Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. (Kawasaki) is recalling certain 2018 Kawasaki Ninja H2 SX SE (ZXT02BJ) motorcycles. The pin for the center stand spring may have been improperly welded, and, as a result, the pin may shift or fall off resulting in the spring detaching and the center stand dropping to the ground unexpectedly and dragging while riding.

Consequence: The dragging center stand can cause a loss of control, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Kawasaki will notify owners, and dealers will replace the left center stand bracket, free of charge. Owners may contact Kawasaki customer service at 1-866-802-9381. Kawasaki's number for this recall is MC18-05.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

Investigations

0 investigations; 0 open.

Manufacturer communications

4 manufacturer communications.

Communications by system
SystemCount
EQUIPMENT3
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM1
STRUCTURE1

10249813

Date: 2024-01-25. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STRUCTURE.

Service Information about a shipping bracket attaching the motorcycle to the crate can cause damage to the motorcycle fuel tank if removed.

10181948

Date: 2020-10-13. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, EQUIPMENT.

Kawasaki has required a service activation in KVCS for selected 2021 models before delivery to the customer. The main purpose of this is to record the "service activation" date of the vehicle.

10127015

Date: 2017-12-14. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: EQUIPMENT.

Assembly and Preparation manual - Not to be released to Public

10127017

Date: 2017-12-14. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: EQUIPMENT.

Assembly and Preparation manual - Not to be released to Public

Notes on this record

  • Complaints from the API and bulk file are merged and deduplicated by ODI number; the API alone misses records.
  • System and subsystem counts are numbers of distinct complaints, recalls or communications that name them. One record can name several systems, so shares across systems can add to more than 100 percent; a single share never exceeds 100 percent.
  • Recalls are counted once per campaign, investigations once per action and manufacturer communications once per NHTSA id, even when NHTSA lists several model names for the same record.
  • A sales denominator is a calendar-year proxy, not the population of vehicles still in use. Rates are copied from verified pipeline output.

Other names NHTSA uses

None listed.

Matched NHTSA models

Matched labels and complaints
NHTSA model labelComplaints
NINJA2

Same model, other years

All model years | All Kawasaki models

Other Kawasaki models, 2018

Sources

Get this record as JSON

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