Same old story here, but small twist....

2005 kingquad, 18 hours, 70 miles on odometer

Was 4 wheel'in in the mountains and got into some snow. Was on flat ground, snow was getting deep so i decided to stop and turn around. Put it into reverse and gave it 70 percent throttle, bike moved back a few feet, then started digging into the snow (the point right before you are stuck) , so I varied the throttle a bit low and high (up to 100 percent throttle) then *BAM* and no more reverse. Probably not in reverse for more than 10 or 12 seconds at most. Took my bike into my local dealer who are complete *IDIOTS*. First they tell me they cant get the bike in for 3 weeks. Then its..oh.. you have a recall? we can get you in next week. I take the bike in on tuesday. I call today (thursday) and its..umm..we got the ok to get the parts. We just need to wait for the ecu upgrade before we can order the parts. Im like??? what the hell are you talking about? I dont care about the ecu, i want reverse fixed. Then they said they havent had a chance to take the bike apart yet to see what they needed to order. That was the last straw for me. I called american suzuki and talked to somebody named Gabe. I asked whether the ecu was mandatory and told him I DID NOT want it installed. I just want reverse fixed. He said if I didnt do the ecu upgrade then the warranty was not valid anymore. I reminded him that the letter I got from suzuki specifically mentioned that failure to upgrade the ecm DID NOT void the bikes warranty. He said he would check into it and call me back. I also asked if they were going to replace the gearbox/motor or just send parts, as I read that other suzuki owners on the internet had recieved new gear/motor boxs to resolve the reverse failures.
He said each bike is on a case by case basis and he would have to wait until the local dealer reported thier findings. He also said suzuki america is currently working on a fix for the reverse failure problem. I assume he means a REAL fix, as the current ecu "fix" is a band-aid on a shotgun wound.
As a side note, I think that if they are going to send parts (and the same parts, not upgraded parts) instead of replacing the whole gear box, im going to take the parts and see about removing the shaft bushing and replacing it with a bearing. I assume some machining will be needed inside the case. (from what ive read, reverse failure is the result of the bushing failing that holds the reverse gear shaft to the side case, which overheats and siezes, causing the shaft and bushing to get ripped from the side case housing, causing failuire.) Sounds simple to fix, as long as the wrench monkey at the dealer lets me modify the side case where the bushing resides.

Ill keep everyone posted on here whatever the outcome is.......


Geoff Brandon

 

Sorry to hear that what2be. I am starting to think it is a matter of time before this happens to all of us or at least most of us. It has been so cold around here, I think the warmer weather coming will dramatically increase these failures which is good for all of us in the long haul.

 

If you get so far as to get the parts in...get your dealer to order the replacement kit from Suzuki Canada, it is designed as an exact replacement for your gear and the new shaft has oiler holes for the bearings. The gear also has a bearing in it! It is only available to Canada suzuki right now, but it exisits. If you need pics we have them stored in a few places. A Candian dealer was kind enough to share the pics and installing procedures with us, but promtley was cut off, all photos removed... and he has not posted since. Suzuki America does not have the bearing, and offers only the same weak parts! Go to Nyroc's site ...he has one photo of the bearing, there is a seris of about 12 pics of the bearing and shaft. We just don't get to have it yet in the US! Before I mess around with it by myself, I would look into getting a factory made gear and bearing for our freinds up north!!

 

Thanks for the reply. Ive heard that the canada fix was a real bearing instead of the bushing, but didnt know how legit the info was. Its nice to know suzuki acknowledged the problem and is offering a real fix. I will get the updated kit if I have to drive to canada myself.

 

Just got off the phone with Gabe at Suzuki America. He told me that he called my local dealer and gave him the part numbers for the NEW bearing/reverse gear fix they are now offering. He said if I have the ecm upgraded he would give me a 5 year warranty on reverse gear breakage. If I DIDNT want the ecm upgraded there would be no 5 year warranty and the only warranty that would apply would be the mfg warranty. When I asked him if reverse would still be covered under my extended warranty, he told me he didnt know, I would have to take that up with the company that handles the extended warranty. (so I assume that is a yes, they would still cover it) SO, there you have it. If you have a reverse gear failure your bike (should) be upgraded to the new bearing style reverse gear. Of course, they are still covering their butts with the ecm upgrade, which I would think is not needed with the bearing fix, but who knows. I really dont forsee me going near deep snow again with my bike anyway, and if I do, its going to be with tracks, not tires. Now, if you were going to be in the snow often with your quad, maybe Id get the ecu upgrade. To each his own.
I plan on going down to the dealer and telling them I want to be notified when the parts come in. I want to see with my own 2 eyes that I get a bearing and not a bushing.

Hope this helps someone.


Geoff

 

WOW! Your the first post of a US cutomer being allowed to have the bearing! Check it out with your own eyes and take some pics if you can...if this gets documented...we will all have bearings before too long! I'm posting your comments on another site...try to bring in a ray of hope! LOL!

 

That is great news. IF you can see it for your own eyes, and tell all.

 

And now the next question on this mess.....are new units that are currently available for purchase going to have the new bearing in it? Or will we have to buy potentially defective units from existing stock and hope reverse breaks before the manufacturer's warranty expires to get it fixed properly and maybe get an extended warranty? I went to one of my local dealer's last weekend and they claimed to not know anything about any problems except the replacement ecm. I told the sales guy to go to some of the forum boards and learn whats going on out here and he did mention that sales of the KQ' s have been slow. I can't believe he was not aware of the actual issues on this.....

 

Like any salesman, they will never just offer up the bad info. they will play stupid. I assume (and this is my guess, thats all) that since they offer the replacement part as a bearing now, they are either in the process or already have integrated the new parts into production. Every time reverse breaks it costs suzuki money, and believe me, they are going to want to resolve the problem in production, not after the fact where it cost them even more money. Just my 2 cents..

And yes, to the previous poster, I am going to take my camera down to the dealer as soon as they get the parts in.

Geoff

 

thats exactly what my thoughts were.....much less cost to the company if the make the change at the production level before they even fix consumers broken ones....