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FaultScore report

2013 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R problems

Owners have filed 12 complaints about the 2013 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R with NHTSA between 2014 and 2018. The largest single group is the electrical system. Across this model's run it ranks 3 of 3 worst.

Read the complaints What breaks Worst years for the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R All 2013 cars
B

FaultScore 36/100

Higher is worse. Measured against the other years of the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R.

How this is worked out

The numbers

12

Complaints

0

Crashes reported

0

Fires reported

0

Injuries reported

550 mi

Median mileage at failure

Half of reported failures happened before this

100%

Failed under 36,000 miles

Inside a typical bumper-to-bumper warranty

What kind of bad

The letter says how bad. This says what kind — whether this year drew an unusual number of complaints, unusually dangerous ones, or failures that arrived unusually early.

Complaint volume 31 vs 50 Severity 0 vs 50 Early failure 100 vs 50
The dashed ring is 50 — the national norm. Further out is worse.
Complaint volume — 31
Against the median year of the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R. 50 means typical for this model; 100 means roughly double.
Severity — 0
0% of these complaints involved a crash, fire, injury or death, against a national rate of 9.7%.
Early failure — 100
100% of failures with a mileage on record happened under 36,000 miles, against a national rate of 29%.

How 2013 compares with every other Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R

Click any bar to open that year's report.

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks on a 2013 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R

Every complaint is filed against a part. Follow any row for the complaints about that part alone.

Electrical System 6 50.0%

Median failure at 950 miles

Engine & Cooling 5 41.7%

Median failure at 200 miles

Fuel & Propulsion 1 8.3%

Median failure at 200 miles

When owners complained

A spike years after the car went on sale usually means a part wearing out on schedule across the whole fleet — the kind of pattern no single owner can see from inside their own car.

Feb 2014 peak 3 Sep 2018

The most recent complaints

In the owners' own words, exactly as filed with NHTSA.

at 900 miles GIG Harbor, WA

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

COLD START STALL PROBLEM. MOTORCYCLE WILL TYPICALLY STALL ON 1ST 2 ATTEMPTS TO START IT. OPENING THROTTLE ON COLD START DOES NOT HELP. ECU NUMBERS ENDING WITH 62 AND 72 HAD BEEN REPORTED TO FIX THIS PROBLEM BY REPLACING ECU NUMBER ENDING WITH 74. THIS IS A LIFE THREATENING PROBLEM. IF ENGINE SHUTS DOWN WHILE RIDING, IN MANY INSTANCES IT WILL RESULT IN AN ACCIDENT OR DEATH. 1000 MILES ON THE MOTORCYCLE. OTHER PEOPLE REPORT AFTER 2000 ENGINE SHOT OFF WHILE RIDING. SO I HAVE 1000 MILES LEFT TO LIVE ?

NHTSA complaint #11124601 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 900 miles GIG Harbor, WA

ENGINE

COLD START STALL PROBLEM. MOTORCYCLE WILL TYPICALLY STALL ON 1ST 2 ATTEMPTS TO START IT. OPENING THROTTLE ON COLD START DOES NOT HELP. ECU NUMBERS ENDING WITH 62 AND 72 HAD BEEN REPORTED TO FIX THIS PROBLEM BY REPLACING ECU NUMBER ENDING WITH 74. THIS IS A LIFE THREATENING PROBLEM. IF ENGINE SHUTS DOWN WHILE RIDING, IN MANY INSTANCES IT WILL RESULT IN AN ACCIDENT OR DEATH. 1000 MILES ON THE MOTORCYCLE. OTHER PEOPLE REPORT AFTER 2000 ENGINE SHOT OFF WHILE RIDING. SO I HAVE 1000 MILES LEFT TO LIVE ?

NHTSA complaint #11124601 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 2,000 miles Cheyenne, WY

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

MY BIKE COMING TO A STOP WILL STALL OUT. SLOWING DOWN, ENGAGING THE CLUTCH TO DOWNSHIFT TO FIRST GEAR AND THE RPM WILL DROP TOO LOW AND STALL THE BIKE OUT WHILE MOVING. IT WILL ALSO DO IT HOLDING IN THE CLUTCH COMING TO A STOP IF IT DOESN'T DROPPING TO FIRST GEAR. I HAVE READ OF THE ISSUE BEING RESOLVED AFTER PUTTING IN A NEWER KAWASAKI ECU. ZX6R MADE BEFORE JUNE 2013 SEEM TO HAVE THESE ISSUES AND CHANGING OUT THE COMPUTER SEEMS TO BE THE FIX BUT KAWASAKI WILL NOT RECALL IT. BEING ON THE MOVE IN TRAFFIC AND YOUR BIKE STALLING BECAUSE HOLDING IN THE CLUTCH AT A SLOW SPEED SEEMS TO BE A SAFETY ISSUE. IT WILL DO IT ALMOST OVERTIME COMING TO A STOP ONCE YOU ENGAGE THE CLUTCH. WILL NOT DO IT AT HIGHER SPEEDS ONLY DOWNSHIFTING TO FIRST OR BEING IN FIRST AND HOLDING IN THE CLUTCH. THERE ARE PLENTY OF VIDEOS OF THE 2013 ZX6R DOING THIS ONLINE.

NHTSA complaint #11014542 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 2,000 miles Cheyenne, WY

ENGINE

MY BIKE COMING TO A STOP WILL STALL OUT. SLOWING DOWN, ENGAGING THE CLUTCH TO DOWNSHIFT TO FIRST GEAR AND THE RPM WILL DROP TOO LOW AND STALL THE BIKE OUT WHILE MOVING. IT WILL ALSO DO IT HOLDING IN THE CLUTCH COMING TO A STOP IF IT DOESN'T DROPPING TO FIRST GEAR. I HAVE READ OF THE ISSUE BEING RESOLVED AFTER PUTTING IN A NEWER KAWASAKI ECU. ZX6R MADE BEFORE JUNE 2013 SEEM TO HAVE THESE ISSUES AND CHANGING OUT THE COMPUTER SEEMS TO BE THE FIX BUT KAWASAKI WILL NOT RECALL IT. BEING ON THE MOVE IN TRAFFIC AND YOUR BIKE STALLING BECAUSE HOLDING IN THE CLUTCH AT A SLOW SPEED SEEMS TO BE A SAFETY ISSUE. IT WILL DO IT ALMOST OVERTIME COMING TO A STOP ONCE YOU ENGAGE THE CLUTCH. WILL NOT DO IT AT HIGHER SPEEDS ONLY DOWNSHIFTING TO FIRST OR BEING IN FIRST AND HOLDING IN THE CLUTCH. THERE ARE PLENTY OF VIDEOS OF THE 2013 ZX6R DOING THIS ONLINE.

NHTSA complaint #11014542 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 3 miles SAN Jose, CA

ENGINE

ENGINE SHUT OFF WHILE IN USE. STALLING. I WAS RIDING MY MOTORCYCLE AND ALMOST CRASH DUE THE MOTOR STOP WORKING. IT TOOK A WHILE FOR ENGINE TO START AGAIN.

NHTSA complaint #10904606 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 7,000 miles Ypsilanti, MI

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

TOTAL LOST OF ELECTRIC POWER DURING HIGHWAY(I94 EAST IN MICHIGAN) RIDING, MOTORCYCLE SHUT DOWN WITHOUT NOTICE, LUCKILY I MANAGE TO PULLED UP ON THE SHOULDER BEFORE I GOT RAN OVER BY VEHICLES. MOTORCYCLE WOULDN'T RESTART. BOUGHT BRAND NEW 0MILES, NOW 7000MILES ON ODOMETER. LATER A DIAGNOSTIC FOUND THE KILL SWITCH IS DEFECTIVE, SOLDERING OF ONE WIRE CAME OFF, CAUSING MOTORCYCLE TO SHUT OFF.

NHTSA complaint #10887784 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 10 miles Danbury, CT

ENGINE

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 KAWASAKI NINJA ZX-6R. WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 15 MPH, THE ENGINE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE FAILURE RECURRED NUMEROUS TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 10.

NHTSA complaint #10714922 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 200 miles Manchester, NH

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

THIS MOTORCYCLE SUFFERS FROM A ROUGH START IDLE THAT CAN RESULT IN THE VEHICLE STALLING AT LOW SPEEDS OR AT TIMES, OR WILL STALL WHEN THE VEHICLE COMES TO A STOP.

NHTSA complaint #10670492 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 200 miles Manchester, NH

ENGINE

THIS MOTORCYCLE SUFFERS FROM A ROUGH START IDLE THAT CAN RESULT IN THE VEHICLE STALLING AT LOW SPEEDS OR AT TIMES, OR WILL STALL WHEN THE VEHICLE COMES TO A STOP.

NHTSA complaint #10670492 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 200 miles Manchester, NH

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

THIS MOTORCYCLE SUFFERS FROM A ROUGH START IDLE THAT CAN RESULT IN THE VEHICLE STALLING AT LOW SPEEDS OR AT TIMES, OR WILL STALL WHEN THE VEHICLE COMES TO A STOP.

NHTSA complaint #10670492 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 1,000 miles Tempe, AZ

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

THIS MOTORCYCLE IS VERY PRONE TO STALLING WHILE COLD, AND ALSO AFTER IT HAS SAT IN THE SUN FOR A FEW HOURS OR IF THE TEMPERATURE IS HOT OUTSIDE. IF COLD, IT'LL GRUMBLE AND REALLY NOT WANT TO START, MAY TAKE SEVERAL ATTEMPTS. IF HOT, IT IS A SEVERE SAFETY ISSUE, BECAUSE IT WILL START FINE, NO INDICATION OF AN ISSUE, BUT THEN AFTER YOU HAVE DRIVEN A FEW HUNDRED FEET, PULL IN THE CLUTCH TO SLOW, THE BIKE WILL STALL. THIS WILL HAPPEN MULTIPLE TIMES UNTIL YOU'RE DOWN THE ROAD A FEW MILES. I ALMOST CRASHED BECAUSE OF THIS A FEW TIMES WHILE ON A TURN, THE BIKE IS AT AN ANGLE, AND LOSS OF POWER IS DETRIMENTAL DURING THIS TIME, BUT I MANAGED TO CORRECT THE ATTITUDE OF THE BIKE IN TIME. THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME MANY TIMES WHEN I'M AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT AND IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. THIS REALLY NEEDS TO BE INVESTIGATED. THERE'S A THREAD ON ZX6R.COM CALLED 2013 ZX6R ISSUE'S HTTP://ZX6R.COM/ZX6R/38150-2013-ZX6R-ISSUE-S.HTML WHERE MANY PEOPLE ARE REPORTING THIS PROBLEM, UNFORTUNATELY, VERY FEW PEOPLE KNOW HOW TO PROPERLY REPORT THIS ISSUE. I JUST HAD THE COLD START ISSUE THIS MORNING AGAIN, AND NOW THAT SUMMER IS STARTING, THE HOT STALLING ISSUE IS RECURRING. THIS VEHICLE IS WELL PAST IT'S "BREAK IN" PERIOD, NOW AT 11,000 MILES, AND IS STILL DOING IT.

NHTSA complaint #10593788 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 5 miles Spring Lake, NC

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

THE MOTOR REQUIRES MULTIPLE ATTEMPTS TO START WHEN COLD. WHEN THE MOTOR IS AT OPERATING TEMPERATURE THE ENGINE WILL NOT START UNLESS THE THROTTLE IS HELD OPEN. WHEN DRIVING AT LOW RPMS INTERMITTENTLY THE ENGINE WILL DIE WHEN THE CLUTCH IS ENGAGED, SPEED IS NOT A FACTOR CONSIDERING IT HAS HAPPENED AS SLOW AS 15 MPH (ALMOST RESULTING IN A CRASH) AND HAS HAPPENED AS FAST AS 45 MPH (ALMOST RESULTING IN ME GETTING REAR-ENDED BY ANOTHER VEHICLE).

NHTSA complaint #10562775 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.