Who else has had problems with getting Polaris getting to cover well known Predator issues and prematurely worn components? I've just got back from getting my 6 month dealer service, and they have a very very frustrated customer right now.......

For all those of you with even the extended Warranties, good luck getting them to cover anything short of a total failure of a part; Ala the Raptor 2001 blown up dog ear gear tranny issues.

I took my 6 month old TLD Preddy in trying to get what I feel are "loose and premature wear" things taken care of, but have found that this is all very subjective.

I had problems getting them to even fix things under the 6 month factory warranty.......that's the POLARIS factory warranty.......ball joints are loose, they covered only 1 of the sloppiest ones; Front brakes are dragging, "oh well, they're supposed to do that" HUH??; Hole is wearing in the airbox lid from the Seat latch, "its not all the way through yet, so we won't cover it till its a true hole" (guess the engine has to seize from sand/dirt entering directly into the carb first) Steering stem has some play in the upper bushing, but "its just breaking in they said". Don't even think of trying to get new TLD stickers, after a garden hose wash down peeled chunks of mine off. I guess you shouldn't wash it at all, and I know well enough not to use a pressure washer on a quad to get dirt into a-arm bushings or O-ring chain.

I could go on and on, but IMHO, Polaris Factory has really let me down, and the dealer couldn't of cared less whether he got the work or not........sigh......

I'll post more later, I'm too pissed off right now to think straight. I'm a Boeing Engineer, so yeah I'm detail orientated and with this being my 6th quad, (after 4 Yamahas and a Honda) I know what to look for and what I feel is a worn out or tired component. AFTER ONLY 6 months, and maybe 4-5 dozen rides.........my Predator is showing more wear that my 1993 banshee in certain places.

If you even change anything, whether jetting, a K&N, or aftermarket tires, they can simple void the warranty saying "its not totally bone stock" so its out of their control......it seems to have to be a total component failure.

I talked with 3-4 different dealers seeing what EXACTLY the factory, or even extended warranty covers, and not one of them could give me a straight answer.......so go ahead and pay the 300-400-500-600 dollars for an extended warrenty,,,,,,,just wait till you try and exercise a claim like I did at the 6 month mark, which is supposed to be "covered" from the factory.

If the customer is un-happy with something obvious as a wearing hole in the airbox lid, it should be covered. End of story. "Wear" is very very subjective, yet ball joints failing at 6 months, not 6 years, shouldn't even be questioned. Poorly designed air box lids getting holes rubbed in them? come on, give me a new $12 lid or what-ever it costs, might be $1.50 worth of injected molded plastic to the factory.

It was like pulling teeth, and I'm exhausted after doing 3 rounds with Mike Tyson my dealers service manager......

Smokey Point Honda Cycle Barn Service North of Seattle Washington has really really let me down, and the Polaris Factory too as to what will or won't be covered and paid for. .....maybe the new Yamaha or Honda 450 class machine will be better supported.

This is my first Polaris, and they wooed me away from being a brand loyal Yamaha owner with the Predators superior suspension over the Raptor. Just don't expect much when you go in for factory service. Somebody please wake me up from what I hope isn't a long term nightmare.......

Predator owners, what has been your factory support like?

I want constructive comments here, this isn't a bashing of Polaris, just what I feel is poor support.

No flamers please. Lets make this constructive criticism so they'll improve in the future.

Heapster

 

G'day Heapster.

Sorry to hear of your troubles mate.
Polaris could learn a lot from your industry.
My company has quality standards it has to meet like yours.
We are also a quality endorsed company, and have to be proactive in our behaviour especially to our customers.
I'm not beating my chest, just wish Polaris would jump up to the plate without being dragged there kicking and screaming.

Popping off for now, Geoff.

 

Man,
That bites. Have you tried talking to Polaris directly? My dealer seems the same way. After trying just to get a price on the Pure Polaris pipe, oil filter, oil or anything it was like pulling teeth. I eventually found a dealer closer and have made all purchases through him. Good Luck and keep us updated if something changes. I hope Polaris reads these comments. This will be my last Polaris if I get the same service. The thing hauls but how about the support? Later.

 

I think your biggest roadblock is your dealer. Mine replaced my airbox cover without the hole being worn thru. And they told me later that Polaris claimed they had not heard of any problem with the covers. My dealers response to Polaris was they would continue to replace the cover until the factory released a service bulletin for a permanent fix!
The cover is the only issue I've had with mine, besides when I screwed the jetting up myself.........

 

I also think your dealers are the problem, I had both left ball joints replaced before I rode the quad at all and now after some ride time the right sides are loose. My dealer ordered them with just a phone call from me and they will replace them. I purchased the 6 mo extended factory warranty only, the longer warranties go through a seperate company. If you've never dealt with extended warranty companies it will generally be a PIA dealing with them. They are in the business to make money not spend it on your broken parts so anytime they can avoid covering a problem it's money in their pockets. Also you must read the very fine print as they may not cover many things you think they should. The other problem is these companies also treat the dealers poorly compensation-wise, they try to pay less than the normal charges on any given repair and that's lost revenue for the dealer and it's employee's. I would never buy any aftermarket warranty, I'll take my chances and end up better off in the long run. So far I have never a had a major failure with any quad I've bought and if I do I'll simply fix it myself.....

 

bad *** dealer.

 

Hi Dave,

Here's my past dealings:

ME: "Hello, could I please speak with someone regarding a technical problem with my Predator?"

POLARIS (Operator): "I'm sorry sir, but you'll have to speak with your dealer regarding technical problems."

ME: "I already spoke with the dealer and he didn't have a clue about this issue."

POLARIS (Still Operator): "Well, I'm sorry sir, but we do not have any provision for you to speak with technicians."

ME: "Well, help me out here, I just talked to my dealer and he does not have a clue about this problem, and he says he's already talked to your technical staff, then what do I do?"

POLARIS (Yes, still the Operator): ****No answer*******


ME: Hung up!

When this conversation happened just after I got my Predator in January 2003, I knew I was *&#$ed. One of the reasons I got this quad was to avoid this kind of crap, and not have to deal with the arrogant Japanese manufacturers.

I think we are all "big time boned" with any warranty issues. This company is just as bad, or maybe even worse, than Yamah and the like.


JJ

 

 

I hate to sayit friend but I have some of the same frustrations. It gets even worst when you try to get parts for the predator. Try to locate aftermarket parts and don't wait several weeks to get back in motion.The real picture is the Predator does take you to another level and is very close to becoming the Top of all quads now and in the future. Polaris needs to wake up and listen to their sales and will prosper in the future from satisfied customers and word of mouth. However history speaks and Polaris has had this reputation for many years. I am a business owner of a large swimmingpool and service company and I have lost thousands of dollars on warranties that a manufactor would not cover due to BS. I protected my sales to my customer and swallowed the loss. However it comes back to you eventuallyin profits.I had a warped wheel when I purchased that I did not see, stickers are history, loose hardware, Have already replaced 2 ball joints and an A-arm. I could not ride mine after first day because they did not have oil filters and could not get them for weeks. I am waiting on PS-4 oil now. I have purchased 10 filters and thinking about changing to another performance oil.Forget Polaris for now and we can all work togethet and eliminate the few problems this machine has at it's first production year. Get a football needle and adapt to a grease gun. Sharpen the end and this will allow you to punture joint seals to flush out contaminates and supply lubrication. This extends the life of joints without fittings. Have your machine preped and apply clearcot over the plastic and stickers when replaced. Add some flake to enhance the ugly Predator plastic.Get rid of the airbox and make some thing yourself or purchase one of the options available with a HMF pipe,and play out all jet configurations. Get somemore gas and air to that cylinder and watch what happens to the V-force and other contenders. I told my dealer to forget all the service i lost and bring me some competition. I embarrased him and his servicemen when the first Kaw 700 was smoked after gassing up from the box.Now all they can say is that ain't a Predator because they see a pipe and air mods. Polaris can fold for all I care because I have one now and I will take it to the generations that Polaris is still having coffee and doughnuts on. Sorry friend you are not alone but don't get rid of your machine because the Zero bump steer, motor and drivetrain is very close to profection in it's class. If you don't have the time or ability to handle the few problems then pay someone outside of Polaris to make the mods and you will be riding well into the future. Compare greenstamps to greenstamps to obtain one of the ultimate quads and I can tell you this is the winner and Polaris will never agree with my motto of Customer satisfaction. Later --- [Predator Trollun

 

Yup I agree that the dealer I took it too was the main problem, and how they handled my "concerns" was the biggest PITA........

I didn't even mention in my other post how they had the quad for 3 weeks, without them even getting parts ordered, or how they left it outside (told me it would be kept stored inside) so now its got rust growing on the head pipe (another fine cheap crap burnt off Polaris Paint job - that they're aware of too) most allen head screws have rust on the inserts, the seat foam was saturated and damp enough so it gushed water out when I sat on it........I could go on, but it's not my style to rant on a soap box.

Point is, the Pred is still one of the best quads I've ever owned, and yeah its a machine so things WILL wear out...........but premature wear of Ball Joints or worn holes in the airbox lid and other issues should be addressed without question.

I will be sending Polaris Corporate a copy of this letter, and yes I'm aware that they do monitor these forums for real world feedback.

I'm hoping to keep this in a "constructive criticism" mode, as Polaris gets enough other perceived public bashing whether its warrented or not.........

Now its time to gas up the Pred for another fun ride, but just don't drip any on the cheaply dyed seat vinyl, as mine already has some stains from a drip drip drip (at least I hope those front of seat drip stains were from the gas, and not from a favorite organ of mine in the same general area!) <grins>

Lifes Short, ride hard.