I have been trying to decide on which ATV to buy, and am really having a tough time, I have owned 2 polaris atv's and was very satisfied with them. I have been watching this forum for quite awhile, and I am under the assumption that polaris is lacking in quality control. I have read every thing from bearings going out at under 500 miles, cv joints going, not proper routing of the gas line and acceleration cable, now I see machines shutting off when you put them in 4 wheel drive. All this makes me nervous on buying another polaris. It seems there are more problems listed with the polaris than any other forum, accept maybe artic cat. I hope Polaris gets there act together because I really like there machine, but if quality control does not start getting better they will start losing business. I know a lot of the problems have been fixed under warranty, but when your 40 miles away from civilization, you do not want to have to start walking.
I guess I am just a little disappointed in what I am seeing [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-disgusted.gif[/img]

 

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]You are reading the problems of a very small portion of the thousands of people who own POLARIS atv's.I have owned Polaris atv's since 1987 and had very few problems .I will be first one to admit that the older models(chain drive) were high maintance but when maintained were very relailable..Also we ride with the other brands and they have their problems also..I presently own a 87 Trail Boss 250,2000 Trailblazer,2002 Sportsman 700 and 2004.5 Sportsman 400.HAVE YET OT WALK OR BE TOWED BACK FROM A RIDE...SPORTSMAN 700 HAS 4100 MILES AND SPORTSMAN 400 1150 MILES..

 

I think if you look at all the different brands, you'll see people having problems. You don't see any post that say "My quad is running perfect". People look to see if someone else had the same problem and how they fixed it. If you notice nothing else, you'll see Polaris backs their quads more than other manufacturers. I recently had to ride back to camp, about 1 mile, with 3 teeth missing from the front sprocket and part of the chain link missing, don't know how many others would have made it back. As far as Artic Cat, check out all the posts on Limp Mode. BTW, welcome to the forums.

 

like the others said, there are going to be some problems here and there, but your going to get that no matter what brand it is. I have owned 3 polaris', and had VERY FEW problems, only chains and CV boots. THATS IT. I dont think that you would have problems, because out of all of the polaris' out there, there are very few that have severe trouble. JMO

P.S. Welcome to the Forums! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

I have two 2002 Polaris's and have had no problems and no DISAPOINTMENTS with either. When I check out the other forums I find no more trouble with the Polaris then any of the others. I have owned other brands of atv's and let me tell you, I'm not going to go back anytime soon. IronRanger considering your past experience with Polaris and the info you are getting off the forums you gotta do what you gotta do. I really don't care what you decide to do because it doesn't affect me. I'm just glad I made the right choice for me. I did the same thing as you and looked over the forums for a couple months before I made my choice on what to get. I was also able to ride alot of quads to help me choose the best quad for me [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

I've owned Two Polaris ATV's and neither one has ever had to go back to the shop. And I ride HARD, I pound the snott out of them.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

Thank you all for your input, it makes me feel a little more confident. I guess the problem they have that bothers me the most is the routing of the accelerator cable and gas lines, has this problem been addressed by polaris, once again thank you all for your help.

 

You also need to look at how many are sold vs. how many are having problems. See Polaris is the second largest ATV company in the world with somewere around 25% of the maket share. So Polaris is going to have more ATVs in the shop than a company like Kawi because they have so many more out there.

 

My family has had several Polaris ATVs (and close to 40 Polaris sleds) and we've had nothing but great luck with them all. When we did have problems, our dealers always took care of us. Don't worry about it! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

You can check the Polaris website for any recall information. You may be able to find the info you're asking about. I do remember them having a recall about a gas line problem, but can't remember the model. As far a the accelerator cable, really not much you can do, never had a problem with mine though.