Jan 13 2005
Dropped ATV off at K and H Kawasaki at 5:45pm w/Doug for them to look at the ATV the following week, the guy said that it would be Tuesday was when they could look at it. I stated when I dropped it off that the Actuator was not rotating when engaging the 4x4. I all ready had the plastic covers off and the actuator out of the machine. (I did not have any codes before I dropped the ATV off, I stated to them in service that the ATV did everything correctly, except I just was not getting the 4x4 to engauage. The light in the display would change like it should, so I figured that the speed sensor was good because my speedo was working and it took like 5-6ft for the 2wd to switch to 4wd. But I explained all of this to the gentlemen)

Jan 14 2005
Called KH Kawasaki and Spoke with guy in Service telling him who I was and that I want someone to call me if the bill is going to be over $500.00 I told him the reason for that is that I don’t want to end up with a $1000.00 bill.

Jan 20 2005
Called to see how they made out on Tuesday.
Guy on the phone explained that he took apart the Actuator to see if it was dirty, he said, it wasn’t that dirty, but he cleaned it up and put it back together.
The guy then explained that they were getting several codes on the machine, and they were looking into the wiring harness for a broken wire, he said that it was flip flopping back and forth from the different codes. He stated they would do one thing and then it would do the complete opposite. He also stated that the 4x4 actuator was now working when the engine brake was working, when turning the key on and off.
“So I then explained to the gentlemen that it did this with me also, but it was only because I had put the actuator motor cover on wrong, and the cover has to go on a certain way, but he tried to tell me that it does not matter because the cover has magnets on the inside and it can go on any way it lines up. But I told him that he should call Kawasaki and make sure, because from what I had researched I was sure I was right”
Then I was told that they had to move the ATV off to the side to work on Snowmobiles, being there snow on the ground. They did not know when they would be able to start looking into the ATV again. He thought it would be 1-2 weeks. They had warranty and recall work to do on the sleds. I said no big deal. I then asked how much they had into it, but the guy did not know, he said it was mostly labor and was not sure. I said ok just let me know.

Jan 28 2005
I called to see if they had gotten it in yet. He said they are going to get it in the shop on Tuesday.

Feb 3 2005
I called to see how they made out. The guy said they had to open the wiring harness up from front to back and found a broken wire in the harness and all he had left to do is order the Actuator, which he was going to do when he got off the phone. I asked how much the bill was going to be, he stated that he was not sure, he didn’t know how much the actuator was. He then told me that the part would be in on the following Tuesday, so then I said that I would call and Weds, but he told me they were closed Weds. I said I would call on Thursday then.

Feb 10 2005
Called to see how they made out. The gentlemen told me the part did not come in on Tuesday, but it should be here today. He then told me to call him back later. I stated the I would be out of town over the weekend so I wasn’t going to be able to pick it up andyways and I would call him on Tuesday the following week.

Feb 11 2005
Called to tell the guy that my plans for the weekend were canceled and if the part came in I could pick it up either today or Sat. He then told me the parts came in on Thursday and they got it back together and it was ready. I then asked how much the bill was. He then stated the they came in under my goal. He said that the bill was $971.54 “I then said what, I then told the guy that they were supposed to call me if it was going to be over $500.00.” He then stated that he took $300 off from the labor and that they had 15hrs of labor into the machine so the labor cost was originally $900.00, so he was giving me a break, by dropping the labor to $600.00. “ I then stated that I did not tell them to go into the wiring harness. I told them when I dropped the ATV that the Actuator was not working correctly and to see if it was broken. I then stated that I was not my fault you put the Actuator motor cover on wrong to make the machine throw the different codes, I then said that they were not supposed to go over $500.00 with out letting me know” He then said that most all of the labor was from the wiring harness, and they did not want to stop in the middle of it because they had reached my limit. He then said it was going to have to be fixed any ways. “I then said that we were tax exempt” He then said that, that would drop $74.00 off from the bill. So we left it as that.

I then drove over to the shop to look for the owner. I found his wife, and explained to her my situation from the above, she said that she would go get the invoice and see what she could do. She explained that they had gotten away from they’re old way of doing stuff in the shop, she said that they used to have a sheet were they wrote down what the found wrong or thought they were going to have to do and then let the owner know what was going on. The lady was very nice and was willing to work with me. She then took another $200.00 off from the bill. Making the total $671.54 Which I paid with check #1341

I talked with the service manager in the storage unit, then loaded it and left.

Feb 12 2005
Went on a trail ride with my son being its been over a month since I had my ATV. It was late afternoon before we got going and it started to get dark so I went to turn the lights on and I have no head lights, I have dash and tail but no headlights. So I had to ride all the way home with my son in the dark, on the roads because the woods were to dark to see and the roads had snow along the edge that allow my to see a little bit better.


I just feel that, the person that worked on my ATV just got carried away with it and I now have problems with my wiring “headlights“. The guy butchered my wiring harness, to find a puncture, that he probably did when he was cutting away the cover on the harness. He found 1 punctured wire and he fixed that and then used electrical tape to wrap the thing back together. I feel that the old actuator should work if they just had one punctured wire and fixed it. But instead, they still had to order the Actuator anyways. I bet they could had replaced the wiring harness for less then $500.00 maybe not, but I am calling to see how much the main harness is this morning. If they just replaced the actuator like I told them when I dropped it off I would not be in this mess. Now I have to drive my truck with the atv back to the dealer which is 1hr each way, and that cost me $20.00 just for gas. So if I have to drop it off and leave it, it will cost me $40.00 total now just for my gas to go back and forth. Plus I have to deal with work taking my time from it. The reason I took it to this dealer is that we had just purchased ATV’s from them this past Fall and I like the sales, and the service guy sounded like he knew a lot over the phone. My warranty had ran out being I purchased the ATV in July 2003 so I knew that there was no way it would be under any kind of warranty and I was going to have to pay for it to get fixed. So I now stopped payment on the check I wrote so we can work out another price. I just wondered what you guys would do in this situation?

 

For got to mention that this was a 2004 Prairie 700

 

A 2004 Prairie, should be under somekind or warranty, that's probab;y why they gave you a 'break' on the labor here and there. Go over his head and get in tough with Kawasaki of America directly. Also contact your BBB. Sorry to hear of all you've been thru...

 

First off.....I am sorry for your unfortunate situation. You need to call Kawasaki and explain your major problem with your dealer. Maybe Kawasaki can help you or at least they will know of this dealers practices. When you drop your atv off at a dealer for work, especially when not under warranty, you never know what the bill is gonna be. Nine outta ten times, some punk that hates his job, making minimum wage, is gonna be working on your atv. IMO, your best bet is to buy yourself a maintenance manual and do the work yourself. The maintenance manual is detailed and almost idiotproof.

 

ya id call kawi b4 u go back to the dealer. did u buy the bike new? if u did woudlnt it still have a warrentee

 

At very least Im sure they will fix your lights free of charge. I ALWAYS get a price before I let them do any work. If they cant give me a price or at least real close I tell them I will take it to someone who will. Just something about giving a dealership a blank check I cant do. Expeiriences like that is why I do as much work on them as I can. You are doing the right thing by letting everyone else know how they do business. Contact the BBB and continue to tell everyone about there business practices. It wont help your situation but you can feel better by making sure they loose that $1000 in lost customers.

 

The reason I did not buy the Service Repair Manual was I figured it would take them 1hr maybe 2hrs to put a new Actuator on the machine, being I had already taken the old one off. So if i pay them for 1-2hrs labor plus the part, I am equal to what I would have spent buying the Service Repair Manual. So either way I was going to be paying about the same, I thought.

The ATV is a little over 18 months old. I believe the standard factory warranty is 6months, Am I Correct?

 

yes, standard is 6 months.

 

I did not tell them to spend what ever it takes to fix it. I specificly called them back the next day after dropping the ATV off, and I told the guy in the shop, to call me if the bill is going to be over $500.00, becuase I dont want to spend $1000.00

If I knew it would cost that much I would have traded the machine in, for a new one.

 

Yes you are mostly correct that a 2004 should have some sort of warrenty. But, if you are like me, you don't have anymore warrenty. I was stupid and did not get the extended warrenty for $500 and I have already spent that much in minor repairs. I also have almost 1000 miles on mine. I wish I had bought the extended warrenty and next time, I will!!!!