I have a 2009 Sportsman 550 XP with power steering. I have changed the tires to ITP Terracross, 26X9X14 front, 26X11X14 on the rear. Even prior to changing the tires on a ride I noticed the steering became a little "stiff." The bars had resistance that had not been there before. On a recent ride in W. Va. the steering became very stiff and ahd a ratcheting feel when I turned the bars at low speeds and alos at heigher speeds. Turning the bars while still was almost like there was no power steeribg at all. The hot light for the steering ubit never came on and the P/S unit was not muddy. I took it to the dealer and they can not duplicate the problem. The dealer has 2 brand new 850;s on the floor and I got the technician to turn the key on and feel the difference in the steering. He stated that it could be due to "wear" on my unit...tie rods, etc... My unit has just under 400 miles on it and I don't ride it hard. The dealer advised that they will contact the district representative and ask him to look at my unit. My unit will be out of warranty in October. My gut tells me the representative will tell say there is no problem. Anyone have any ideas or experienced the same problem??

Thanks in advance....

 

Have dealer check the steering rod bushing.

 

I would contact them at least every couple days to make sure they get it looked at promptly.

 

I would make sure you get a written statement that you reported this "problem" before your warranty expired, that way you should be covered if it gets worse later.

 

I know it sounds crazy but check your battery cables...I had a similar problem with the PS on my new Outlander...all of a sudden it was sluggish at idle..and intermitten while riding,real hard then ok,then real hard,then ok...no faults indicated. I shut it down and restarted it and it seemed fine but I didn't ride but a few more minutes. Then the next day I found both of the battery cables to be loose. Tightened them up and have had no issues since. Might not be you problem but easy to check...the PS unit draws quite a bit of juice and I know that some have had issues with the cables on the XPs loosing up..

 

Thanks for the replies... I will ask the dealer to check the cables as I suspect that they haven't thought about that. I checked them about a week or so ago and they were tight..but I know things can change quickly. This is a starnge problem. The steering is "tighter" when sitting still as opposed to it being very easy to turn a month or so ago. I asked the technician to check the steering on the 2 XP's they had in their showroom and he agreed that there is a noticable difference..then stating that they were on a waxed floor an mine was outside on concrete. I asked him to put mine on the same floor..and he did.. and mine was noticably stiffer. Explanation..wear on tie rods, ball joints,etc. I disagreed with him for whatever good that did. What is very odd is that it became very hard..with a ratcheting feel..when riding and turning at low speeds on some trails in W. Va. last month. It has not done that in a while though. I spoke with the service manager yesterday at the dealership and he is waiting for a call back from their Polaris representative. He further advised that Polaris doesn't have technical reps that they send out when customers/dealers have a problem to resolve..rather they send out what he called a regional sales representative. That sounds strange to me. Most other manufactures have technical reps. that go to the dealers to assist in locating problems. The manager did tell me that since the problem has been documented prior to the warranty being expired that if the problem rises to the level that the dealer can duplicate it that Polaris will most likely repair it under "good will." Hopefully it won't come to that. My fingers are crossed.

 

Looks like the dealer doesn't know *(&%.

Get a hold on that rep ASAP. Sales rep or tech rep, doesn't matter. Someone with authority is what you need. The dealers have their hands tied most of the time.

If you get no head way, don't be afraid to go to another dealer. I have yet to find one that I trust.

 

I just got back form the dealer. The service writer was actually able to make phone contact with an area sales representative. The sales rep. did not have any answers..he advised the dealer to contact the tech line. The mechanic ahd already done that...no updates/recalls/problems with the power steering. Guess I am the lucky first one..I doubt it. The service writer asked the rep if the power steering "goes out" after the warranty perioid would Polaris repair it under the "good will" gesture. He would not commit that they would. Next step...start a "claim" documenting the problem. I am not getting a good feeling about this. I have all ideas that I will be told that the stiff steering is acceptable..even when the technician can tell a difference on my unit as opposed to the new units in the showroom... he has already made the comment "stiff due to wear." Tell me what is worn..if it is a warranty item I do not think it is unreasonable for Polaris to fix it. If not..tell me what is worn and I will pay to fix it.

 

If there is nothing wrong with it, ask them to buy it back as if there isn't an issue...

 

Thought about it.....