Yamaha Australia has tightened warranty conditions on new WaveRunners sold from the second half of this year – and scaled back its three-year coverage to two years unless the watercraft is serviced within the authorised dealer network.
Changes to Yamaha WaveRunner service logbooks in Australia – issued from the second half of 2022 – now describe the warranty as “two-plus-one-year” coverage.
Yamaha WaveRunner service logbooks issued in the first half of 2022 described the warranty as “three-year” coverage.
Above: Yamaha WaveRunner ‘two-plus-one-year’ warranty coverage in service booklets issued from the second half of 2022.
Representatives for Yamaha Australia – and Yamaha WaveRunner dealers – have told Watercraft Zone the three-year warranty coverage has always been a “two-plus-one-year” offer.
However, Watercraft Zone has read the current and prior Yamaha WaveRunner warranty booklets cover-to-cover, and we have only seen the “two-plus-one-year” coverage referred to in the most recent booklet.
Above: Yamaha WaveRunner ‘three-year’ warranty coverage in service booklets issued in the first half of 2022.
Yamaha WaveRunners were the first personal watercraft in Australia with a three-year warranty, after the coverage was introduced more than 10 years ago. (Watercraft Zone has reached out to Yamaha to clarify which year it was introduced locally).
However, Yamaha WaveRunner’s three-year warranty was overtaken by the five-year coverage introduced by Kawasaki Jet Ski in Australia in mid-2020.
Above: Yamaha WaveRunner ‘three-year’ warranty coverage in service booklets issued in 2015.
Kawasaki Australia does not insist its Jet Skis are serviced within the dealer network in return for five-year warranty coverage.
If routine maintenance is completed outside the Kawasaki Jet Ski dealer network, customers are obliged to show proof their craft has been properly maintained – by producing receipts for the work completed and parts used by independent repairers – before a warranty claim is lodged.
Market leader Sea-Doo has a two-year warranty in Australia, though from time to time it offers three-year coverage during special promotions.
Changes to Yamaha WaveRunner warranty in Australia mean the coverage for all three major personal watercraft brands now ranks as follows:
- Kawasaki Jet Ski: five-year warranty;
- Yamaha WaveRunner: two-plus-one-year warranty (three years on watercraft serviced within the dealer network);
- Sea-Doo: two-year warranty (three years offered during special promotions).
Watercraft Zone could not find any evidence of the previous Yamaha WaveRunner three-year warranty being described as a “two-plus-one-year” offer, with the extra coverage conditional on dealership servicing.
The Yamaha WaveRunner warranty booklet from 2015 lists a one-year warranty, with two more years added – for a total of three years coverage – at no extra cost if customers register their details on the Yamaha Australia website.
However, the 2015 booklet does not describe a two-plus-one-year warranty – or list dealer servicing as a condition of the three-year coverage.
It is unclear if Yamaha Australia has attempted to rewrite history, however the most up-to-date warranty booklet supplied with Yamaha WaveRunners delivered in the second half of this year has the following disclaimer.
“At Yamaha, we stand behind out product, that is why we were the first in the industry to offer a three-year (two-plus-one) warranty,” the latest Yamaha WaveRunner warranty booklet issued in Australia notes.
“This is made up of a two-year standard manufacturer’s warranty, plus customers who choose to have their WaveRunner scheduled services (listed in the applicable owner’s manual) completed by an Authorised Yamaha Service Centre, receive an additional one-year Extended Warranty.
“Yamaha’s three-year warranty is available at no additional cost and covers all new WaveRunners purchased from an authorised Yamaha dealer for personal use only.”
As before, Yamaha WaveRunners sold to commercial operators such as rental firms and guided-tour companies only have a 90-day warranty.
Other changes to the most recent Yamaha WaveRunner warranty booklet in Australia include the following notes.
“We reserve the right to improve the design of any product without assuming any obligation to modify any product previously manufactured,” says the latest Yamaha WaveRunner warranty booklet.
Translated, this means if Yamaha makes a running change or improvement to a new WaveRunner, it is not obliged to offer the update or improvement to earlier versions of the same-generation watercraft – unless there is a manufacturing defect that would fall foul of Australian Consumer Law.
Yamaha Australia also advises WaveRunner customers to address warranty concerns in a timely manner.
“The customer shall give notice to an authorised Yamaha WaveRunner dealer of any and all apparent defects within 10 days of discovery and make the (vessel) available at that time for inspection and repairs at the dealer’s place of business,” says the latest Yamaha WaveRunner warranty booklet.
“(The) claim shall be made under this warranty by delivering the product to an authorised Yamaha … dealer. If the customer cannot deliver the product to (an) authorised dealer for some reason, he may contact the Yamaha distributor.
“Once a warranty repair request has been approved, the work must commence within 30 days subject to parts availability.
“Customers are to ensure that their product is booked in at the dealership within this period. Customers who are unable to do so within the 30-day period must advise their dealer, who will notify Yamaha of the delay to complete the warranty repair.
“Failure to do so will result in the (warranty) claim being rejected once it has passed the 30-day period.”
The following list of warranty exclusions carry over into the new booklet, including:
- The WaveRunner has been altered from standard;
- Racing or competition use, modification of original parts, abnormal strain;
- Lack of proper maintenance and off-season storage as described in the owner’s manual;
- Installation of parts or accessories that are not equivalent in design and quality to genuine Yamaha parts;
- Damage caused by water entering the engine cylinder(s) through exhaust system or intake system;
- Use of fuel, lubricants, oils, and fuel/oil mixtures that are not suitable for this model including contaminated fuel;
- Improper transportation and/or storage;
- Normal deterioration;
- Damage caused by jumping waves;
- Damage/cracks to hull or deck – or damage to internal components – caused by excessive impact. Excessive impact can be experienced when wave/wake jumping.
Yamaha WaveRunner customers should note Yamaha Australia has since added the following warranty exclusions in its latest booklet:
- Failure of a Yamaha component as a consequence of the unit having been repaired after an accident or returned to a usable condition as a repairable write-off;
- Hull damage due to riding onto or using a dry docking system for storage, Yamaha does not recommend the use of docking systems;
- Hull damage due to riding onto a beach area;
- Paint deterioration or hull damage due to poor storage methods;
- Hull damage due to storage cover being used during towing;
- Battery failure due to lack of maintenance.
Watercraft Zone has contacted Yamaha Australia for clarification regarding the historical requirements of its three-year warranty coverage – and the shift to a “two-plus-one-year” warranty – and will update this story with the company’s response.
Representatives for Yamaha WaveRunner in Australia are adamant the three-year warranty has always been a “two-plus-one-year” offer conditional on routine maintenance at authorised Yamaha dealers.
Yamaha Australia representatives say the new wording in the latest warranty booklet is a clarification intended to make the conditions more transparent to customers.
However, for now, Watercraft Zone has been unable to find anything in writing that shows the previous Yamaha WaveRunner three-year warranty was a “two-plus-one-year” offer.
In both the current and prior warranty booklets, Yamaha Australia makes it clear WaveRunners must undergo routine maintenance by qualified technicians using appropriate parts.
“This warranty provides you with protection against the expense of repairs for your WaveRunner that are required as a result of defects in materials or workmanship,” both new and old Yamaha WaveRunner logbooks note.
“When maintained and utilised in the prescribed manner you can count on your Yamaha WaveRunner to provide reliable service.
“During the period of warranty, any authorised Yamaha WaveRunner dealer will, free of charge, repair or replace, at Yamaha’s option, any parts judged defective by Yamaha due to faulty workmanship or material from the factory.”
The previous Yamaha WaveRunner warranty booklet for Australia also noted:
“Under the terms of this warranty, the customer will be responsible for ensuring that the WaveRunner is properly operated. Scheduled servicing history must be recorded by the authorised Yamaha dealer in this booklet.”
This disclaimer does not insist the work be completed by an authorised Yamaha dealer, only noted or recorded by an authorised Yamaha dealer.
In other words, routine maintenance could be done by an independent – but qualified – technician, but an authorised Yamaha dealer was required to note the service in the customer’s logbook for the warranty to remain valid.
Presumably this requirement was designed to ensure correct maintenance was carried out on the craft. It was also a device to direct customers to the authorised Yamaha WaveRunner dealer that sold the craft.
However, as far as Watercraft Zone can ascertain, the earlier version of the Yamaha WaveRunner logbook did not describe the warranty as “two-year-plus-one-year” coverage.
The new wording in the updated Yamaha WaveRunner warranty booklet in Australia is designed to encourage customers to keep up-to-date with routine maintenance – and to service their skis within the dealer network to ensure genuine parts and fluids are used.
Staying within the authorised Yamaha WaveRunner dealer network also means software updates or “field service campaigns” (technical improvements that fall outside a safety recall) are completed.
Another motivation to encourage customers to visit Yamaha WaveRunner dealers for routine maintenance: it could lead to fewer warranty claims for Yamaha Australia when watercraft are maintained properly and regularly.
And it would eventually see a higher number of well-maintained Yamaha WaveRunners on the used market.
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