I recently purchased a NEW 2006 Rubicon, it now has 1 hour on it. I noticed the plastic cover on the bottom of the atv has alot of fresh oil on it. The ATV dripped a very small amount in the back of my truck after the 1st hour of time I put on it. The dealer I purchased from is a distance away, but I did get the 4 year warranty.

What should I do ??
Demand a refund ?
Take it to the nearest dealer rather than were I purchased it from?

I did check to make sure the oil drain plug was snug and there is no obvious place the oil is coming from.

Either the dealer had a spill and it accumulated on the top of the plastic pan or there is a problem.

Do these ATV's come with Oil or does the dealer put the oil in ?
If it was over filled at the dealer would this do major damage to the engine with only 1 hour of time on it??

SORRY for all the questions, but this was a HUGE purchase and so far not pleasant. I will not mention dealer names at this point.

 

You have not indicated you had any performance problems so we can guess that everything is working ok, take the machine to the dealer and let him find the cause of the problem if there is one. I have 1600 miles on my Rubicon and it has not leaked drop one of any lubricant. Oil leaks are uncommon on any of the products produced by major manufacturers today. Give the dealer a chance, after all your warranty only indicates they will repair anything thats not within specs, it does not say they give a refund and the warranty is Honda, not the dealership..........Tass

 

I have experienced No performance problems that I can detect in the 1 hour I drove it at speeds from 5mph to 15 mph. It idles slightly rough until warmed up well, but I believe this to be completely normal. Shifting seems VERY smooth, actually can't even tell it's shifting. It may simply be a spill at the dealer, I was just VERY concerned when I saw the oil !! And I was unsure if the dealer put oil in or if it comes "ready" with oil already in when it arrives at the dealer. I think I've chosen a fine machine if I can get by the current issue. "IF" there were a problem with the machine I was also debating "if" I should take it to the dealer were I bought it or to "any" Honda dealer.. I figured I would get "quicker" service from the dealer that sold it, although it's not convienent at all to get there, especially if I had to leave it overnight..... so I'm just in a dilema.. on the internet searching for answers.

 

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]Any reputable dealer will help you with your issue, keep in mind though that if in fact it is not a Honda problem you may have to pay for the time a dealer puts in..............I know in the case of my Rubicon, the dealer received it assembled and ready to go except for fluid checks and hooking up the battery..... Give the dealer you purchased the maching from a phone call, give him the opportunity to respond and provide suggestions....If there is an issue they need to chance to give you satisfaction..............Tass

 

Was it w/out a doubt oil you saw? Honda coats their atvs w/ cosmoline (sp?) which prevents rust while in the crate. If the dealer just wiped the atv clean instead of washing it w/ soap and water it may be possible that some may have dripped onto the skid plate and gave the appearance of oil.

Most of the time, Honda atvs need to be topped off w/ oil during set up. Some do and some don't, it depends on the model.

 

Update... I took it to the dealer today with 1.5 hours. They took the plastic skid plate off & there was a leak, You could watch it drip with the ATV idling. I ask for a complete Refund & got it. I was very happy with the out come. There is no way I want a ATV that has issues during the first hour of ownership. I'll probably pickup up another one, maybe this time a Rincon 680, it looks so much sportier than the Rubicon. Although in the very short time I test drove the Rubicon it was very very nice, tons of engine braking. The dealer was Ritchie Power Sports in TN, they really take care of their customers there. I'm sure if it had more time on it, there would of been no return, but in this case they made the exception and took the return on a faulty machine.