Query Approved.

I also used to think that YAMAHA's service capabilities is one of the better ones in this country, but a recent 'event' has left me with a very sore impression.

Anyhow, I hope people can help you out with your queries.

+ 1 i agree with you , yamaha service getting worst day by day. especialy the 1 near HCC in vikhroli, 1st time i went to buy cluch cable he said its out of stock and will be there after 4-5 days, went after a week , stil same answer ,finally got it from andheri,yesterday i went to buy oil filter and guess whatt i got the same reply , i smiled and asked him "yeh workshop hi hai na bhai",anyways i saw there 3bikes for servicing,so was jsut wondering if they dont have oil fiter how they hell they replace the oil filter while servicing,or they really dont do at all , just fool the customer that they have changed the oil filter ,i will request yamaha to take some action about such service centers , which are good for nothing , just spoiling the brand name.

Let me share my 2 cents of my experience with Yamaha. Pls note, I'm no way defending Yamaha as I'm 100% sure that their service levels has a long way to improve.

Sometimes during Aug 09, someone in the office broke my motorcycle's frame. Pls don't ask me how or the person was Arnold's cousin brother, all I can say is the frame was rusted & it was partially broken. But I somehow managed to ride home that day & the next day the motorcycle fell apart.

Now I wanted a frame ASAP & people in spare parts shops told me it would take about 10 days or more depending upon the Yamaha's dispatch & they never bothered anything on etching the frame number; so I decided to turn to Y.A.S.S who might help. Now here's how the conversation went in Y.A.S.S

Me: Sir
In: (In charge): Busy writing
Me: Sir, is it possible to order a new frame?
In: What?
Me: Sir, I've a broken frame, is it possible to order...
In: What bike?
Me: Rx100
In: It will take min 10 days for the shipment to arrive, besides no guarantee that Yamaha will consider the order; you bring the bike here & we'll see how it can be done
Me: Sir, if I bring the bike & what happens if I've to wait indefinitely?
In: You give me a call after a week & then we'll see
Me: Sir how about the frame number get...
In: Sir, you bring the bike & RC, we'll see if we can get the frame & the etching will be done for you.
Me: Ok Sir. Can you get me only the frame & is it possible for me to get it fixed outside.
In: That is your wish. Unless you leave the bike here & we open up a job card we will not give the frame & this is a strict policy of Yamaha

So I call up this guy after a week, then next week & this goes on for 2-3 times & finally I leave my motorcycle on a Wednesday & take it on Saturday. So during this work, I kept my frustration under control & kept saying "YES" for whatever the In says.

Then by Oct 09, the cylinder goes kaput. No compression nothing. The local mech says the engine is already a sleeved one running on last oversize. So gave me 2 options, change cylinder or get it resleeved. So I call up the In & ask him about the cylinder & he says bring the vehicle, we'll get it fixed, we will open a job card & get this done & this is a strict policy of Yamaha.

So I wait for about 2-3 days more & give him a call, no luck. Then I call him over the phone on a weekend & all of a sudden he says "you come now, I got only 1 piece left that came yesterday". Whoa!!! I jump & run immediately (I still remember the food was on the table around 1:00 PM & simply said bye, took over waller, phone & drove away). I meet him & he hands over a brand new 135 cylinder made in 2008. I Thank him whole heartedly & walk away.

Come December & I've been planning for rebuild & get in touch with In again. He points out several guys, makes several calls, arranges things for me. I walk in to that service centre, right from the head mech to supervisor & the store incharge greets me without me having to open up.

One common scene that I see when I go to the service bay; the service advisor or the supervisor or head mech talks over the phone, writes on the job card while the customer (y)tells the problems with his motorcycle.

The point - Everything is possible, all it needs is just little patience & control on temperament. First impression is not everything & things are not what it seems. Even a rock has water inside. Its easier to change our approach rather than asking them to change for us. Boss, yeh hai India.

Welcome to the club. I had the same problem as yours in my Gladiator. The first time the SC guys insisted that my battery wasnt fully charged. So I got it charged. The next time the bike conked off they insisted my battery was faulty. So I bought a new one.
Guess what,the third time it happened,they blamed the battery again. And not once did they open up the bike to check if the starter motor or the relay was working. Good for me that I bought a relay myself and got it replaced.

What you need to do is contact someone higher up the chain and discuss this issue with him. As far as my experience goes,if you leave the bike at the SC for servicing and come back hoping that you will get a good service then rest assured that they would have done everything with the bike except the servicing part.
Yamaha's service maybe good in the metro cities but in normal places you are better off getting the bike serviced from a good mechanic that you are acquainted with.

P.S. :The last line holds true for most other manufacturers as well.

The phone number or email address of a Yamaha service head is available on the Ownership thread. Search for it. Some people have had prompt responses by contacting Yamaha's head office and have had their problems resolved.

In any case, it is absolutely wrong of the dealership to deny warranty replacement or repair for a part that Yamaha fits as OE. Warranty is implied even on OE parts that have been replaced, both under warranty and non warranty.

@Rak

open your users manual, find the contacts on the last page. Email to your regional office with a cc to the Delhi/plant email address. Then call up on your local office number. I am sure this will get resolved unless the starter motor thins is excluded from warranty (that you can find in your manual again) - though I don't find any reason why it should be excluded from warranty.

@aargee

+1 boss. agree with you. have similar experiences. patience & giving them the importance they are due (not flattering but just treat them as friends & not as labourers) does help a long way.

pls do contact xbhp member "Swas" he had his FZ starter motor go kaput and got it replaced but im unsure if it was under warranty..pls do clear with him.

Hi,

the same problem i faced and got changed the starter motor under warranty. Before that for two week i was running by push start. After a while my patience has gone and written a mail to Yamaha cust care [email protected] with a cc to South regional head and service centre. Within 2 working days starter motor has reached SVC and they changed me without any cost.

So do a call to Yamaha toll free no-18004201600, register a complaint, then write a mail to above mail id, try to get mail id of SVC and mention the service guy name who told u that its not comes under warranty. Write each and everything that u faced at SVC. In back side of manual IYM area offices address, contact no and email id is there. Put a cc to them also. U will get a proper reply...

@ RaK : I had lot of problem with Yamaha service stations in Bangalore.. They never do anything in servicing . They never check any problem. Just wash the bike and deliver to the customer. They do not even tighten the chain. And If you don't know anything they charge you a lot for lots of unwanted things. In my third service they wanted to set the tappet of my bike engine and the baby was just completed 3500 Km. I don't know why.. So be careful with YSC guys. I had a fuel pump problem and get the pump replaced free. But i had to do a lot of follow up with Yamaha India. I advice you to send your problem to the following mail ids and give them a daily reminder, as they are always sleepy..

[email protected]

[email protected]

If your bike is too new get the bike replaced. One of XBHP member(Amit) get the whole R15 replaced..

Well I have owned Yamaha since last 12yrs now, my RX100 and another Yamaha in my stable now, YZF R15. And in between I have changed many places for my education, career and all. Yes I agree to the point that Yamaha has its service a bit down. But still i would say its far more better than other Indian Motorcycle Manufacturer's companies, but this has just happened in last 4 to 5yrs. Before that Yamaha was struggling to even be in Indian market.

About my RX I have got it serviced from Authorized Service Center and also local mechanics. Yes their were many times when I just walked out of the service center, and there are also instance when I actually at a particular place I dont go beyond that service center. Lets say when I take my RX to Lucknow, I always get her serviced from Star Yamaha service center, and the mechanic out there Dheeraj is amazingly knowledged in 2-strokes. Whereas in South Delhi I cant even think of taking my RX to any Service Center have tried and tested it many times. But on the other hand regarding my R15, I get it from Pro Service Center in Delhi, and man those guys have knowledge and that also with full practical experience, though a bit casual but Hey i want my bike in top condition so casualness doesnt matter to me, I try to gain knowledge about my bike in those casual time they have. Also there is another guy at Adarsh Yamaha who seems to be quite good a mechanic named Praveen, though I just got cleaning & lubing done on my R15. But have heard about him a lot from some other biker brothers.

But reading to what all you guys have written there are few things which needs to be kept in mind when going to any mechanic or service center.

1. - These guys are professional in there areas, so they think they have all the knowledge ( I am not saying they dont have knowledge) but then attitude of the customer also matters. I have seen some guy who tell all technical things to them, and at times they dont like it. What I do is like say normal things as a layman, and when they talk to me after taking the test ride, then I start getting technical, that also if required. If the mechanic has got the right nerve, and has told the right remedy then I just be vigilant as per what they are doing.

2. - whenever I go to my mechanic for any detailed job, I dont rush things, I give them the time they need. As my main motto is always to get the job done near perfect. ( as nothing/nobody is perfect in this world ). SO dont rush things as that may force them to do things in hurry which may hamper the work efficiency.

3. - If you are not satisfied with the work, take the matter to Supervisor and then to higher authorities, if needed. I have myself done that for my RX and have got a very positive reply including the action needed.

And in situation which are weird - politeness, soft spoken words, calmness helps a lot and it can lead you out with a complete satisfaction, but if it doesnt work you have the email IDs to go ahead to get your problem solved. Go ahead and drop in your suggestion and then keep following it till it get resolves. You have to be stubborn to get your work done but at the same time you have to be calm and polite as well. try it and it work wonders. I have helped few guys back in my college days when Yamaha was on the edge of returning back to its country and believe me they replaced the whole bike, and with politeness and stubbornity mixed the Dealers helped us a lot.

i dont think YAMAHA being a foreign manufacturer makes them have a better Service supp.
IMHO EVERY Manufacturer in India...TVS,HH,YAMA,HONDA etc have the same service quality.at the end of the day its the same guy who worked in Bajaj who left for YAMAHA...
Its the attitude of Indians...unlike in other countries bikes in India are a bare essential...the Service personnel's have tons of bikes for service with them and hence they don't give any special attention...they jst want to get over with it!

@hellrider6140

Done ever got to the Vikhroli guy. I heard he is the worst of all service center guys in Mumbai.

@HydBiker

I did call the Yamaha Customer care number given on the last page of my service manual. First they didn’t pick the call………..I tried many times later on and was lucky they finally picked. They guys on call said that he need to check whether that part is under warranty or not and I need to drop them an email at this address so that my concern can be addressed ASAP: [email protected] . I immediately dropped them an email and still waiting for their reply which I don’t think I will ever get.

@Swas

I tried everything from my end. The guy on the tollfree number told that he is not sure whether it comes under warranty. He needs to check that and if it comes under warranty then the money I have spend will be reimbursed.

@Ksatish

I will try sending one more email to [email protected] and [email protected] . No my bike is 6 months old and done about 11K till now. Let’s see what happens.

Also Guys he service station guy was continuously telling me to wait in the waiting room but I didn’t move of the main gate of the service station where I was looking everything they were doing with my bike.

+1

One thing i have noticed with service centers is the service quality/attention to bikes decreases with increase in number of customers/popularity.

And it's wrong to assume foreign manufacturers providing better service. After all, the manpower is the same which keeps on swaying between the companies.And same thing holds true for four wheelers as well.

@RAK - What's the part you're waiting for? Is it the rear wheel alloy wheel?

So now we know where the problem lies.