The dealer told the couple that it would call them back when it had time to perform the safety repairs. Yamaha designed the new safety enhancements to prevent and minimize injury during a rollover. Rhinos are notoriously narrow and unstable vehicles, and every year people become maimed or killed when their Rhinos roll over because there is little, if anything, to prevent one’s head, arms, and legs from protruding during a rollover.

Which is just what happened to the West Virginia couple while they were waiting for a call from their Rhino dealership. In October 2007, the male was driving the Rhino. When the vehicle started to topple, the driver reacted by sticking his leg out to prevent a full-scale rollover. Although his reaction was a natural one, it did not prevent the Rhino from rolling over and crushing the driver’s leg. He now suffers from severe and permanent injuries.

Last month Yamaha and the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a “voluntary repair program” which effectively recalled all Rhino 450, 660, and 700 models for safety upgrades. Yamaha Motor Corp. agreed to install passenger doors, hand grips, and rear wheel spacers on Rhinos already sold. Additionally, the manufacturer plans to remove the rear anti-sway bar on the vehicles, which will give them more stability.

Yamaha headquarters also told its dealerships to discontinue Rhino sales until all safety upgrades were made. While so many repairs are being performed on showroom Rhinos for sale, many dealerships have little time to perform recall repairs.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › West Virginia couple sues Yamaha dealership

The Sands lost their 10-year-old daughter Ellie when the Rhino she was a passenger in rolled over, crushing her head between the ground and the vehicle’s unpadded roll cage. The accident occurred when the driver, traveling at 15 mph on flat terrain, attempted to make a right turn. Ellie suffered a massive brain injury and died the following day.

Since Ellie’s death, the Sands have courageously turned their grief into a positive effort to call attention to the dangers of the Yamaha Rhino. They forged alliances with families of other victims who were killed or injured in Rhino rollovers and they flooded the CPSC with testimonies. Then, after months of investigations, the CPSC announced what is effectively a recall of the Rhinos.

The CPSC has advised all Rhino owners to immediately stop driving their UTVs until Yamaha makes a series of repairs and improvements to the vehicles, free of charge, at a Yamaha dealership. Yamaha Motor Co. has advised all its dealerships to discontinue selling additional Rhino 450, 660, and 700 models until those same modifications have been performed. The modifications are intended to give the Rhino more stability and reduce the chances of being maimed or killed in a rollover.

John and Tammy Sand can now share a sense of accomplishment, and they are pleased that the CPSC pushed Yamaha to take a step in the right direction.

“It made us feel good,” Sands told the Middletown Journal. “I don’t want to take credit for this, but it’s a fight we took up for Ellie.”

Resources: Ellie’s Mission Page; Yamaha Motor Co.; CPSC; Middletown Journal

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Parents of Yamaha Rhino victim happy about ‘recall’

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced just last week that owners of Yamaha Rhino 450, 660, and 700 models could take the vehicles to their dealership for free safety repairs and upgrades. Although Yamaha clearly denies on its website that this is not a recall but a “voluntary repair program,” the CPSC believes the vehicles are a substantial risk and advises the public to avoid operating Rhinos until the proper improvements have been made. Yamaha has also told its dealers to refrain from selling Rhinos until the repairs have been made.

Yamaha Rhinos have been under investigation by the CPSC for months. The commission analyzed more than 50 Rhino accidents that involved 46 driver and passenger deaths. Two-thirds of the accidents resulted in a rollover.

Yamaha’s complimentary “repair campaign” addresses some of the issues that make the Rhino so unstable. It will modify the rear wheels with spacers, giving the vehicle a wider track. It will also remove the rear anti-sway bar, which Yamaha expects will reduce the chance of a rollover and improve the vehicle’s stability and handling.

Because hundreds more people have been seriously maimed in Rhino rollovers, Yamaha is also installing half doors and handholds. Those improvements are intended to reduce the number of people who suffer from crushed or amputated arms and legs. Additionally, Yamaha is offering owners free helmets when they update their Rhinos.

Despite the improvements, critics of the vehicle say that they still don’t adequately address the vehicles’ design flaws. Maneuvers that can be performed safely on other ATVs are still unreasonably dangerous when done on a Rhino.

The Canadian lawsuit was filed in Ontario Superior Court of Justice on Dec. 12, 2008 and served to Yamaha last week.

Source: Bloomberg.com

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Rhino lawsuit moves forward as Yamaha launches repair campaign

The recall involves all Rhino 450, 660 and 700 model vehicles. According to an official news release, the CPSC staff has investigated more than 50 incidents involving 46 driver and passenger deaths related to the Rhino. They report more than two-thirds of the cases involved rollovers, and many appear to involve turns at relatively low speed and on level terrain.

Beasley Allen attorney and Product Liability section head Cole Portis has reviewed over 75 Yamaha Rhino rollover claims in the past two years. He says,”We are concerned that this recall, while a good first step, does not address the inherent design flaws that make the Yamaha Rhino so susceptible to low-speed rollovers. However, I remain hopeful that this government recall will serve as a wake-up call and that Yamaha will re-evaluate their practice of putting profits over people. ”

The recall originally only included the 450 and 660 models, but within a day of the announcement the CPSC added the 700 model as well. The recall includes about 120,000 of the 450 and 660 models and 25,000 of the 700 models.

Yamaha will suspend sales of the vehicles until they are repaired, and consumers are urged to stop riding the vehicles until repairs are made.

Yamaha’s recommended repair includes the installation of a spacer on the rear wheels and removal of the rear anti-sway bar to help reduce the chance of rollover and improve vehicle handling. The repair also includes installation of half doors and additional passenger hand-holds, which Yamaha already recommended after earlier reports of rollover injuries.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › CPSC, Yamaha recall Rhino vehicles

The repairs are designed to reduce rollover risk, as well as to improve handling and keep riders’ limbs inside the vehicles.

Rhino 450 and 660 owners should stop using these vehicles and call their local dealer to schedule an appointment for repairs. They can also receive a free helmet.

Sales of these vehicles have also been suspended for repairs.

This is the first government recall of this category of recreational vehicle.

For more details, call Yamaha at 800-962-7926.

SOURCE: The Associated Press

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Yamaha Rhino ATVs recall issued for two models