I bought my son a polaris sptsman 500 , It has spent 2 months in two different shops still under warranty. the first problem was it creeped when in gear. The first shop said it was missing a spacer in the clutch or belt drive, they said they fixed it.Two weeks later it was making a rumbling sound took it in to the 2nd shop all owned by the same owners, they said the whole clutch was bad. He told polaris about it and they wouldnt give him one,they said calculating the hours and miles on it it was driven at low speed in hi gear so they wouldnt fix it .The shop said it looked like the clutch had 3000 miles on it this bike is less than a year. H e paid for it himself. Now my speedo is wacky and im not sure about awd working how can i check. .P.S. My dealer no longer carrys polaris Now i have to drive 2 hrs to a shop.

 

I am sorry to hear this DisplacedOkie. I also have a 02 500ho Sportsman and have had no problems with mine. The first thing I would do is buy a service manual for it at your dealer or from Polaris online. You can use a floor jack and raise the backend off the ground, put it in awd and the front should pull it forward if working. You could also put the whole quad up on jack stands and try the awd that way.

 

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appreciate the advice

 

displaced, please don't let this get to you......if you need help, do as he said, get a manual, then post in here and we will help you through it. It is not often that things go wrong with these quads, so keep your head high. If you can't fix it, don't be afraid to ask everyone......almost everyone in here has experienced something worthy of info......so everyone is a help.

 

I still have a problem w/the speedo its all over the place it doesnt read right . ive got a freind that has a 03 im going to switch speedos and see what happens . ive already cleaned the sensor .So ill find out tommorrow. Does polrais extended warranty cover this?

 

DisplacedOkie,

You aren't the only disappointed Polaris owner!!!!
I have had three Polaris ATVs and every single one of them has been in the shop numerous times. Before I start complaining, I want everyone to know, these machines are by no means treated rough (I'm too old for that and these things weigh too much to play on for me), they're rode, at most, 2 – 4 times a month, and when they are rode its just casual trail riding with the occasional mud hole here and there.

When I started looking for an ATV, I wanted something that was going to be comfortable, powerful and easy to operate. At the time (2000), the 500 fit the bill. But I should have focused on reliability as well.
I bought a 1996 model Sportsman and everything worked great for about 2 months until it started backfiring and flooding to death. One month later I had to take it to the shop because it wouldn’t even start (Have you ever tried to push one of these things onto a trailer?). They had to replace the needle in the carb, the belt was worn out (2200 miles) and the belt case was warped ($375.00).
Next, I bought my son a 1999 Explorer 300. The chain has been nothing but a problem since I bought it. I’ve replaced the chain and sprocket in the rear twice since 2001 ($300.00) and it needs another one.
Lastly, I sold the 1996 and bought a 2002 Sportsman 500 H.O. X in January 2003 with less than 150 miles on it. The whole clutch went out in less than a year and had to be replaced. The mechanic told me he found a rebuild clutch for $250.00 to put on because a new one was around $450.00 to $500.00!!!!! Oh yea, the whole reason I took it to the shop in the first place is because it wouldn't even start in gear without creeping (DisplacedOkie) and wouldn't idle right no matter how it was adjusted and I thought the water pump was going out (but it wasn’t). Since they had to replace the clutch, it was a good idea to replace the belt as well ($380.00 Total February 2004).
6 months later, it won’t run right when you give it a lot of gas!!! It tries to flood its self to death. I thought I might have picked up some bad gas or trash but I drained the tank, added Gas Treatment and even run alcohol through it and it still won’t run right!! Suggestions would be greatly appreciated before I have to take it to the shop, AGAIN.
I know many of you go out and buy a Polaris and run the crap out of them and have ZERO problems and never have to go to the shop. Well, I envy you, because I've had 3 and they have ALL been in the shop as much as on the trail!!! I'm not putting down Polaris by no means!!! Maybe the newer models are better built and I love the ride and comfort but, to me, reliability is greatly more important than comfortable ride when it comes to being stranded 5-10 miles from home or the trailer then have to walk or be towed (Embarrassing).
WOW!! Didn’t mean for this post to be so long, I just had to get this off my chest and give my ½ cents worth. I've spent way too much money on these things for them to stay in the shop. My next ATVs will have to be the reliable Honda.

 

I sympathize w/you I tried to buy american!!!!! My dealer "that no longer carrys polaris because warranty issues" told me he doesnt have that problem w/riceburners,and that he should have sold me a kawasaki or other.

 

you do know that you cant putt around a trail slower than 30 or so in HI range...or tow heavy loads in HI....thats what LOW is for....

 

That's what I was thinking when I bought the H.O. Buy American!!
The reason I say I'll buy a Honda is because all my friends have Hondas and they put them through the ringer but they keep on running with absolutly no problems. Out of 6 people, not one of them has had to take their's to the shop!!!
One guy even submerged his Rancher completely under water (ran off in a creek that was over his head)! They pulled it out, drained the water and refilled gas and oil, 30 min. later he was back on the trail. He did change the oil 4 times over a period of a month, just to be safe. But it wasn't the 4-wheeler's fault. It was the riders.
The point is, he has had no problems besides the self induced ones. Also, if they don't ride their's for 2 or 3 months and then decide to jump on them and go, they load em' up and go. It seems like every time I park mine, the very next time I decide to ride, it needs to go the shop for some other problem. What's up with that?
OK, I'll stop complaining... for now.