I just spent the last 2 hours reading up on the 2012 frame issue- wondering if anyone here has experienced the metal around their welds cracking or paint peeling on their outlanders or rene's?

It's pretty interesting. There's one lengthly thread about it on the can-amforum.com website.

BRP has responded to the handful of issues of welds cracking (actually, the metal around the weld is the culprit)-
From what I've read- BRP has authorized dealers to repair the welds and BRP will be sending new upgraded frames out to people who have had this issue shortly.
I'd expect to see some kind of recall for this.
I wondeer if it has anything to do with BRP (Can-Am) now including the 2 year B.E.S.T. warranty with every financed can-am atv...?


I did see the metal tube that has the cracked weld in it- not sure if the 2011's are the same- but that steel tube does look pretty thin considering it has the very beefy DPS bracket welded to it.


To be honest- I'd expect better from BRP and a $13k atv... it's mind boggling to me why BRP is still wrestling with their frame design!

I know it the first year for the new model / frame and these bugs will happen but- BRP needs to stop BS'ing around and beef these frigging frames up already!!!

At least BRP is taking it seriously and responding to the issue on the can-am forum site & FB.

I just bought a 2011 800 max xt outlander- hoping they finally got that frame issue straightened out with the gen 1 frames!!!




tags:2012 outlander renegade frame issue cracked welds

 

post some links

 

You think this would put someone's butt on the line down in r&d there. Gotta be cheaper to do a little research and design it right rather than pay to fix all that were made wrong.

 

From my experience working as a Mechaincal Engineer with different corporations, you may be surprised to find out that a good portion of the time something does not work correctly, it can be tracked back to finance. Finance sets the budget. If they say they want a frame that costs $100, but the engineers say it needs to cost $110 to be right, guess who wins? Engineers make mistakes like everybody else, but if finance is not willing to put up the money to fix it right, then they ship it as it is and hope for minimal returns.

I was blown away years ago when I heard something while working on armor kits for military hummvee's. It did not take long to notice that the armor that covers the profile of the doors was much heavier than the surrounding armor. The comment that came back was "Military bean counters have determined that it is cheaper to pay disability to a solder that looses legs and hands, than to upgrade both the armor and drivetrain of the fleet of Humvee's."

At the same time though, if you left it all up the the engineers, you might get a perfect product, but it would take 3 times longer and cost twice as much...

 

The problem is where the power steering brace is welded to the frame. It's cracking in that area.

 

Can Am has had these frame issues for quite some time. All the way back to like 06.

 

Man it gets tiring hearing wannabe's talk about Can Am frame issues. The '06 to '11 single spar frame had a few issues with a very small percentage of the number of Can Am's out there. Almost all of them were crash related. The new 12' Generation 2 frames are having a few issues with cracking, but a very small percentage by what I have read and the polls I have seen. The King Quads have by far more frame issues. Get your facts straight or find something else to b****ch about.

 

If there are a handful of aftermarket companies making fixes that usually points to at least a potential problem. I haven't read as much about King Quads but I don't spend any time on Suzuki-only forums. After looking at my son's Renegade and reading dozens of posts on the issue at canam-talk I decided it was worth the hundred bucks for peace of mind. The pre-G2 frames were some of the thinnest wall steel frames I've seen. Can-Am even welded in an X-brace for a couple years in the 2010-2012 pre-G2 models in the area where the frames were getting bent by the front A-arms. Maybe it didn't happen to the majority but it did happen to enough frames that the aftermarket companies and the maker itself felt they had to address the issue.

Can-Am makes the highest horsepower to weight ratio quads out there in the utility market. One of the ways to do this is, of course, to make the frame lighter. If you're in the speed is everything camp they are the utility to buy. I think there is a happy medium that they're getting closer to with the G2. It's also why I try to avoid buying a first year model. Let them get any kinks out first. Then I'll go buy one if I can afford it.

 

Hey, don't flame me for making a true statement. Also don't hi-jack the mans thread by bringing KingQuad's into it. If you want to talk about KingQuad frame issues, then start a thread about them. I personally know three people who had frame issues with earlier Can Am's and none of them were wrecked. They were Outlanders and Renegades.

Also, it is not bitching when you are discouraged by a company that has had a continuation of problems in the same area and has not fixed them. People pay a lot of money for their machines and deserve better that that.

 

Now I remember why I don't come to this forum. Sorry if I "hijacked" the thread but the KQ frames were pointed out just as a comparison. I believe I will go back to CanAmForum or CanAmTalk and read factual accounts by owners. Happy trails!