2013 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R

Routine

Owners filed 8 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the electrical system. No safety recall has been issued.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Electrical System6
000
Engine2
000

What owners reported

Newest filings
Electrical System
Filed Sep 5, 2018900 milesWA

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 ?

Electrical System
Filed Aug 11, 20172,000 milesWY

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.

Engine
Filed Sep 8, 20163 milesCA

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.

Electrical System
Filed Jul 22, 20167,000 milesMI

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.

Engine
Filed May 6, 201510 milesCT

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.

Electrical System
Filed Jan 6, 2015200 milesNH

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.

Electrical System
Filed May 23, 20141,000 milesAZ

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. *TR

Electrical System
Filed Feb 3, 20145 milesNC

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). *TR

8 of 8 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 2025
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
20261100Do not drive
202524201Do not drive
202418201Do not drive
20231000Routine
20221000Routine
20191000Routine
20151000Routine
20141000Routine
2013 — this page8000Routine
20122100Routine
20111100Routine
20100100Routine
20095100Routine

Compare every Ninja ZX-6R year →

Reading this record

No unusual pattern of severe incidents in the complaint record.

Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.

Most recent recall on file: none. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.