From Highlifter Forum - Well Written, Well Stated:

The Suzuki King Quad has a fundamental design flaw and there will be no easy fix short of an engine case/reverse gear shaft redesign. The ECM recall is a stop-gap approach with the intent of limiting the exposure that Suzuki will have to failures under warranty. They know that they will continue to see field failures, but have calculated the reduced number of failures with this fix and have added in the salvaged loss-of-market-share by not allowing it to continue at the current rate and have determined that the cost of a recall is far less than the cost of doing nothing (until redesign). It's a math thing. And for those of you who say it's not really as big of a problem as people are making it out to be - your wrong. Regardless of the current number of failures (nobody really knows for sure except Suzuki - and don't think they are going to be making that info public even to their reps!), the real issue is the huge impact it will have on Suzuki and Suzuki's reputation moving forward. It is no secret that they are making a play for market share in all business segments. They just mortgaged the house to bring RC on board to bolster their offroad market image and share. Unfortunately, they are apparently going to try and side-step the reverse design flaw by minimizing the number to the point where they can A)fix the number that fail under warranty or B) "suggest" operator error/abuse after warranty.

I own a new KQ 700 and have not had a reverse failure. I like the quad a bunch. Do I expect to have problems with reverse? - I'm hoping not - I'm not a mudder and I will be treating heavy reverse situations with added care because of my knowledge of the problem. Would I recommend the new KQ to a friend in the market?......NO! THE ENGINE CASE AND REVERSE SHAFT DESIGN IS FLAWED! Suzuki WILL fix it, but until then, STAY AWAY! A dive in demand and customer satisfaction feedback is the only thing that will help bring resolution to this.

Will Suzuki retrofit the redesigned fix to us unfortunate pioneers that bought into the first run (their mistake)?....A great company would. At a minimum, they should stand behind this issue regardless of warranty status!!!!!

 

The first thing to remember is that this is just one person's opinion. Suzuki has to this day fixed every machine that has had a problem. They have not said they will not do that after the ECM update, that is another rumor as well. Nobody outside of Suzuki has the exact reason for the problem. Everything you read is speculation. I believe it is most likely an oil issue but that is only my opinion as well.

You have to put this whole issue into perspective. Suzuki plans to sell about 20,000 King Quads this year, over half are out there now and only about 30 have failed to date. Every machine so far has been repaired free of charge. Since this is a known issue, I can't see how they could deny a claim down the road, unless extreme abuse was present. In a way, the ECM is a bandaid but from their point of view, it would be cheaper to repair a few machines than replace everyone's cases, especially since there hasn't been that many failures. I understand that and as long as they continue to honor repairs due to this issue can accept that as well. Not much we can do about it anyway. If some failures continue and they do not repair for free the known defect, then I see a major reason to complain. That hasn't happened though so why are people bashing Suzuki? They are at least attempting a fix instead of brushing it under the rug like a few other manufacturers and denying any failures. The attempt at a fix shows a problem was there so should there be any problems in the future, I would think you would have legal recourse should they deny responsibility, again, something that hasn't happened.

I ride with 7 Kings and not one to date has had this problem. None have showed up at the local dealers as well. This whole issue is blown way out of proportion. I do believe there is a valid problem, just don't feel that 99% of us will ever see it. Till Suzuki actually denies responsibility or refuses a repair, I can't see the reason to bash them like so many are doing.

 

If there are so few problems with reverse failure, why are they under recall. What are the odds that if you dont put the new ecm in and you have a rev. failure they will still fix it under normal or extended warranty, I dont think so. I love my king quad but this stinks. I would not recommend one to a friend untill this gets fixed. Anyone who owns this quad will have a failure, will it be now or later is the question. They did not recall them to satify 30 or so failures. Look down the road and see what is going on here. We must stand together to get this fixed, so to all, put down the back biting and call call call suzuki untill they come up with a fix that will work, not just slow down the failures. Again, I love this quad.

David

 

They are not under recall.This is not a fact as of today. ...A recall would effect all the KQ's sold.. With the number of KQ's being listed and doubling that for speculation reasons,there is not enough proof for a recall. There might be, i stress might be, a replacement of certain vehicles ECM. A total recall will have to go through the government for approval and this will take forever. This ECM recall thing is speculation so far. This "replacement" of the ECM unit might only effect certain machines released early on and might only effect certain units that have the problem. This is, as of right now just a "Campaign" not a recall.There is a big difference.
This is what i was told today when i approached my dealer about this topic. Now i dont know what is fact or BS lately with all the forums i have been reading. I am thinking people are making up stories left and right, who knows for a fact whats going on.....NOBODY!!!! But until i hear it from my dealer, which i trust, i will not believe what i have been reading.

This is just my .02 on the topic. My opinion....thats all.
So far all is good with my KQ. I plan on riding the same way and if the reverse fails.....then so be it... Time to move on.
I do understand that these forums are here for finding answers to problems and finding info on such topics as this but i think this has gotten to far out of hand on certain forums.. I agree that if there is a problem then it should be adressed the proper way , but sometimes we dont get what we want... There are many legal issues and corprate $ issues that have to be delt with... This will take more time then you think.
Lets just hope it all gets resolved soon..

 

I was at my dealer today, he printed out the recall. It is from Suzuki, not a government safety recall. They will replace the ECM on a per bike basis. There is a serial number range for this. Mine is listed. When he looked to see if they are availible, they are not. I love the quad but am disapointed in this fix, would have expected better from Suzuki. BTW, I have not had any problems yet.

 

... I have a new 700 with 2 miles on it..If Suzuki "Band-ad" fixes it...that would be that last time I would ever set foot in a Suzuki dealership...major brand switch would occur !!!!!...just when I was starting to trust suzuki...d*m 6 month warranty is crap..when you pay $7000. for somthing..screw the extended warranty for $700.00 plus..when you think about it..you pay for what should be included in a product..I just think the 6 mo. warranty is too short...

 

kingQUADofthehill, So you actually saw this from your dealer? I am shocked.. I was just at my dealer today and they knew nothing of the ECM recall just of a possable campaign for it. Well if this is true, i apologize for my previous post and wish everyone luck with their machine... Its a sad day.

Zig

 

I guess recall is not the correct terminology. I am to blame for that. The official name is a "Product Update Campaign". You have no real choice in that you have to do the "Update" or your warranty will become invalid as it states, "To maintain the continuity of the warranty and ensure the durability of the transmission, it is mandatory that a replacement ecm be installed at no cost to the customer for parts or labor on all affected king quads within vin range." As of the day that was posted, every machine out there, sold or on the dealer floors, needed the new ECM. That was from a local dealer near me from the fax he got concerning this issue. We should be receiving something in the mail about this shortly.

Sorry for the confusion on the name Zig. I changed the original post to reflect this correction as well.

 

I wouldnt say you are to blame for this...You have been extremely helpful. I have read this in many forums as well as here. I apologize for not knowing the real story here. It's strange that my dealer has no clue as to whats going on either.. I know that my dealer has had 2 known cases of this misfortune with the reverse problem. If there were more there ,i have no idea, and they arent talking. Maybe by next week they will know Something.
Zig

 

I think extended warranties can be purchased from a Suzuki dealer on ebay for $400. I got mine from a local dealer for $500.