Clogged fuel filter causing a stall.

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this Preliminary Evaluation (PE) on August 10th, 2020 to investigate 26 reports of stalling due to clogged fuel filters on model year (MY) 2018 - 2020 Honda African Twin (CRF 1000 - 1100) motorcycles. Many of the owners allege the subject vehicle would suddenly stall while riding. Although the stalling speeds varied, most consumers allege the stalling occurred at highway speeds. This stalling condition is caused by clogged fuel filters. The subject vehicle fuel filters become contaminated with zinc-oxide (corrosion). The corrosion is coming from the inside of the fuel tank, along the end seam of a joint weld. The corrosion clogs the fuel filter, restricts fuel flow to the engine, and subsequently causes a sudden engine stall. During complainant interviews, ODI learned the bikes can sometimes be restarted after the initial stall. However, several consumers described this restart as causing a false sense of security. After restarting the bike and attempting to accelerate/merge into traffic, the bike quickly stalls again. This time the rider is placed in the middle of traffic, potentially causing a crash or risk of injury. On October 9, 2020, ODI received Honda’s Information Request (IR) response and learned that Honda was aware of 36 complaints, 87 field reports and 83 warranty claims of stalling related to clogged fuel filters. There were no claims of crashes or property damage associated with the alleged defect on the subject motorcycles. Additionally, Honda initiated three different modifications or changes to the fuel tank during production. On March 11, 2020, Honda released a customer satisfaction campaign to remove the zinc oxide that can contaminate the fuel pump filter, causing reduction of fuel flow. The part numbers for the fuel tank did not change after the implementation of the zinc oxide removal process. The process improvement was a running-change and no parts were withdrawn from production. On October 5,