Hey!

I recently bought a 2005 Prairie 360 4x4. My Previous machine was a 300 Prairie 4x2 bought in 2002, and used it for ranch work. (worked it hard skidding trees, chasin cows, coyotes, haulin feed, etc.)

I had not a lick of trouble with that 2002. I used that machine hard, and nothing ever ripped, bent, broke or tore.

It served well, always started, nothing ever fell off and the machine never went back to the dealer for service of any kind.

I changed the oil every 20 hours, and serviced the plugs twice, adjusted the belt and brakes every now and then and honestly that was it. The machine had 484 hours on it when I sold it.

Because of the fantastic service I had with the 2002, it never at all entered my mind to even consider another make of ATV when replacing the 2002.

So here we are with 10 hours on the 2005, and parts have started to hit the ground. Screws are falling out, can't keep the front brake adjusted.

It squeeks, whines, whistles and makes all sorts of strange noises.

The ends of the electrical wires that are supposed to be moisture protected, do not fit, same with the brake, throttle and choke.

Been follow threads here and at Kawasaki BB about blinking lights not being reset, engine brake problems, expensive modulator problems of all kinds.

Just wondering of Kawasaki fell off on quality control or what.

It just seems to me the quality and enginering at Kawasaki have headed south since I bought my trusty old 2002.

Anybody else in the same boat??

 

Sorry to hear of your troubles. I haven't seen many reports with all of the same troubles that you've had...at least not within the first 10 hours! Maybe you got a lemon?

Unfortunately, I think its common for the Kaw. Prairies to come from the factory with loose bolts everywhere...that's why its a good idea to retighten them as soon as you get home (actually, one of my P650 fender bolts fell off on my way home from the dealership when it was brand spanking new!). This is definitely a quality control issue (the dealership should at the very least really do a better prep job IMO).

As far as the KEBC or 2wd/4wd actuators, yes those do sometimes go out (causing blinking lights on the speedo display) and they can be a little expensive if you don't have a warranty to cover it (but I assume that you do if its so new).

Strange noises are commonly reported on the Prairies...basically, the CVT belt whines when you drive (sorta sounds like a supercharger to me! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] ) and the KEBC will reset every time you turn off the ignition key switch (makes a little sound when it does this). These are common noises and are not indicative of a problem at all! I'm not sure about any other noises you heard...those may or may not be a problem.

PS - Another common problem that you did not mention is leaking seals. I had a left rear axle seal leak twice and front drive shaft seal (next to the motor) leak badly once....so I had to replace them. They need better seals IMO.

Other than the minor problems mentioned above, these Prairies seem to be very reliable machines.

Happy trails...[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

im sorry to here you have a little trouble right now. Maybe once you get everything settled down you will be back on the right path. My 360 has been suck a great 4 wheeler. It has 125 hours of hard riding under its belt and no probs yet. I hope everything gets fixed for ya.

 

Sorry to hear about the problems. You might just have a lemon. My brother bought a new kawa 360 prairie 4x4 last June and he has had any problems at all. He has about 200 miles on it and it is great.

 

it was made on a friday or a monday!

 

excuse my ignorance but aren't the front brakes hydralic and non adjustable ?

The dealer is supposed to check over bolts and rarely do......hopefully you didn't pay for prep.

 

The front diff locker can be adjusted, but I think the front breaks are hydrolic and am not sure about adjusting them.

 

Thanks for the reply Guys'

I had such great luck with the 2002, It never hit the dealers shop once.

I guess Kawasaki has engineered in some defects to make sure it gets back in the shop so they can get somore of our dollars [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-disgusted.gif[/img]