Kawasaki Issues Stop Drive Recall On New Supercharged Side-By-Side, Transmission Could Explode

Launched only a few months ago, Kawasaki's new Teryx H2 side-by-side has been recalled, and the UTV's owners are being told to stop driving them altogether.

Photo by: WESTx1000

By: Jonathon Klein

Feb 19, at 8:15am ET

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The 2026 Kawasaki Teryx4 H2 and Teryx5 H2 are barely hitting dealership lots, as the purported king of all side-by-sides was only released in the latter part of last year. And yet, it's already facing a recall, and a big one at that.

According to leaked dealership documents on the recall, Kawasaki USA is recalling, issuing a stop-sale, and even going so far as to issue a stop-drive of all Teryx H2 models due to a CVT "breakage" issue. For those who don't know, Kawasaki's H2 lineup of Teryx side-by-sides has a 250-horsepower supercharged engine, making it the most powerful of all side-by-sides on the market.

But, apparently, there's some issue with putting all that power to the ground through the UTV's transmission. As evidenced by this recall notice.

The recall letter sent to dealerships is titled, "Important Stop Sale Notice: Stop Retail Sales and Delivery of Teryx4 H2, Teryx4 H2 Deluxe eS, Teryx5 H2 Deluxe eS," and details that Kawasaki corporate is issuing the stop-sale notice. According to the letter, "Affected vehicles may experience CVT drive converter sheave breakage in certain circumstances, resulting in metal fragments being discharged within the rear-mounted engine compartment and surrounding area."

What's that mean? It means the CVT could explode and send CVT-based shrapnel everywhere.

Kawasaki's letter goes on to state that the company is in the process of contacting owners who've already taken delivery of their Teryx H2s, and telling them that they need to park their side-by-sides until a fix can be determined. And that last part is interesting, as Kawasaki states it hasn't figured out how to fix the machines.

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"Kawasaki is diligently pursuing a repair and will announce it as soon as possible," states the recall notice, adding, "Once the authorized repair has been finalized, owners of affected vehicles will be notified to contact an authorized Kawasaki Side x Side dealership to schedule an appointment to complete the repair. We apologize for any inconvenience experienced and are working toward a resolution of this matter as quickly as possible."

As the recall explains, owners who already have their Teryx H2s need to park them, and dealerships won't be able to sell them. It's not a good look for something that received so much fanfare when it launched, including from us. But I'm glad that Kawasaki seems to be taking this issue seriously, as is working toward a resolution. We just have to see how long it takes...