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Yamaha Rhino ATVs have been linked to elevated number of rollover accidents. Significant design flaws in the Yamaha Rhino have made it top heavy and prone to rollover and have caused deaths, broken bones, and amputations.

On April 29, 2010, a new defective product safety recall was voluntarily carried out by the U.S. CPSC and Yamaha Motor Corp. Consumers should stop using the product immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Yamaha All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs)

Units: About 20,000

Manufacturer: Yamaha Motor Corporation U.S.A., of Cypress, California.

Hazard: The steering column support assembly can crack and cause the rider to lose steering control, posing a risk of injury or death to riders.

Incidents/Injuries: Yamaha has received 19 reports of incidents involving the recalled ATVs. No injuries have been reported.

Description: This recall involves the non-power steering models. Model names can be found on both the right and left hand side of the unit on the side panel.The following model numbers are affected by this recall:

Sold at: Yamaha dealers nationwide from October 2007 through March 2010 for between $7,000 and $9,500.

Manufactured in: Japan

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled ATVs and contact their local Yamaha dealer to schedule a free repair. Registered owners were sent direct mail notification of the recall.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Yamaha at (800) 962-7926 any time or visit the company’s website at www.yahama-motor.com

The number of children and adults seriously injured or killed due to Yamaha Rhino ATV rollovers increases annually in the United States. For example, the Yamaha Rhino Atv has a smaller tires and a narrower wheel base, which increases the chances of the vehicle rolling over.

On April 21, 2010, two sets of DeSoto County, Mississippi parents joined hundreds of other people across the country suing Yamaha for wrongful injury or death. They jointly filed their lawsuit in state court in Gwinnett County, Georgia, where defendant Yamaha Motor Manufacturing Corporation of America has its principal office, according to a recently published DeSoto Times Tribune news report.

The couples each lost a daughter on October 18, 2008, when a Yamaha Rhino in which the 11-year-old girls were riding rolled over after leaving and then being steered back onto a paved surface in a community south of Olive Branch.

The girls’ deaths are among nearly 50 attributed to the Yamaha Rhino and which drew attention from the Consumer Product Safety Commission last year during its investigation into whether regulations are needed for four-wheeled all-terrain vehicles, sometimes called side-by-sides or ROVs.

ROVs in general resemble rugged golf carts and are blamed for more than 100 deaths since 2003. However, the Yamaha Rhino has been alleged responsible for more deaths, and injuries, than any other brand.

Approximately 700 lawsuits in federal and state courts involve Yamaha and its two Rhino models, both which were voluntarily recalled last March for free repairs aimed at reducing the chance of rollover and increasing passenger safety.

The lawsuit also claims some of the Yamaha Rhino’s safety features are inadequate and in many rollovers, contributed to injury or death rather than preventing it.

On October 21, 2009, after numerous deaths, the federal government had decided to take a closer look at off-road recreational vehicles, known as ROVs. The Consumer Product Safety Commission voted to write mandatory rules to regulate the four-wheel vehicles, following more than 100 deaths since 2003. Riders have suffered dozens of injuries.

ROVs, also called side-by-sides, are two-passenger motorized vehicles designed for drivers 16 years and older. They resemble a cross between a rugged-looking golf cart and a miniature-Jeep, and have a roll cage, metal bars framing the cab.

The industry proposed voluntary regulations for side-by-sides, but CPSC staffers said they fell short. Agency members have expressed concern about the vehicles and rollover risks. The commission will solicit comments from industry, consumer advocates and others as it writes the rules. This is the beginning of a process that could take many months, even years.

ROVs first appeared on the market in the late 1990s. Since 2003, CPSC says 116 people have died, including young children, and more than 150 have been injured. Injuries have involved crushing fractures to legs, feet and arms and some riders have lost limbs.

Safety advocates say the commission’s vote puts the industry on notice.

“This is an instance where the industry has not been responding quickly and effectively enough to the well-documented hazards caused by these products,” said Rachel Weintraub, director of product safety and senior counsel for the Consumer Federation of America.

ROV makers, however, insist the vehicles are safe. “We know the vehicles are safe when used responsibly,” the Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association said in a statement. “We must emphasize the importance of consumers making the right choices when driving an ROV.”

Former agency chief, Nancy Nord, first directed the CPSC staff to investigate the vehicles and deaths a year ago.

In March, Yamaha Motor Corp. USA recalled more than 100,000 of its Rhino off-highway recreational vehicles for repairs after two models were linked to 46 deaths in the past six years. In many cases, riders were not wearing seat belts, the commission said. And in a number of incidents, rollovers happened on level ground at relatively slow speeds, the agency said.

The vehicles can reach top speeds of more than 35 miles an hour. Industry officials declined to say how fast they can go, but several dealers put top speeds at about 40 to 50 miles an hour. Yamaha did not immediately return calls about top speeds for its ROVs.

Presently, there are mandatory restrictions for ATVs, such as speed limits for youth models. But there are no standards, voluntary or otherwise, for the side-by-sides, which have the roll cage and a different steering system.

An estimated, 140,000 ROVs were sold last year in the United States.