Motohead (or others that might be able to answer),

I have recently learned of this problem from this and the NYROC site, and unfortunately I have the same problem with my 2005 KQ. Just had the compression checked today and it was at 125. The dealer will be contacting the Suzuki rep soon to find out what they will do. My question is what should be replaced? Just rings? Piston, cylinder, head? Do you need to use a new cylinder with the plasma coating to be sure the new rings will seat properly? Have you seen worn valves or seats caused by the dust/air filter problem? Just want to educate myself so that I can make sure the job gets done properly and will last as long as it should. Thanks for any and all replies!

 

I went back and pulled a few tickets on KQ rebuilds and what I am seeing is that almost all of them got piston, rings,cylinder and gaskets. I am not seeing any valves on the tickets. I am assuming that the service manager and techs as well as Suzuki determined it wasnt required to replace them. Yours may be different , if you ran yours longer with more dirt run through it , it may require the valves to be repalced.

 

Thanks for checking on that. I will be sure to get the piston and cylinder along with the rings for mine. It just makes sense that if there is that much wear then the cylinder's life has been shortened.

 

"The stock filter does let minute amounts of dust in but not enough to destroy and engine."


I disagree with this statement. I have seen the units come in with a paper filter with grease on the foam edge and have substantial dust in the intake and blowing smoke. The 2007 KQs have a new style paper filter,(we are still replacing these) that is made using a different process to filter out finer dust particles. While at the dealer meeting on Sunday I had a chat with a TSM from Suzuki, their comment was that the finer filter would solve the issue. There is a new filter part number that is not published as well. He said when the Qty in stock was
sufficient to fill the expected orders they would publish it in a TSB.

Buy a Unit filter, Call around until you find a dealer that will tell you he knows about it and that will handle it for you. Be nice and the dealer you call will probably go way out of his way to please you.

 

Thats funny , my dealer never heard of the air filter problem

Well , I caught him later in that lie as his mech. came out and told me about the other KQ he had to redo last month for the same problems . If suzuki knows about this then why in the HE$$ will they not take care of their loyal customers ? ?
Sounds like a firestone tire thing to me ?
S.C.

 

Here are the results of my request for repair of my KQ to my Dealer:

My dealer spoke to the Suzuki rep and gave him the details of my KQ: 2005, 863 miles, 125psi compression and dirt in the inside of the filter and lining the throttle body intake. The rep replied that 125psi was normal for an ATV with 863 miles and that they would not pay to have it fixed. He said that "the ones that they are fixing are only two months old and have 50 miles on them." According to my dealer the service limit for the KQ is 114psi. I still can't believe that 125psi at 863 miles is normal or acceptable. Any suggestions on where I go from here?

I have been very "nice" with my dealer although being adamant that there is a problem. They told me that I would have better luck if I called as a "customer". When I did, the rep I spoke to said the decision had already been made by someone higher up than him and that he could not do anything more. He also chuckled sarcastically when I told him I have been getting my info from online forums such as this and NYROC.

Motohead, Corona and anyone else with positive results from Suzuki: Could you please provide either here or by sending me a PM, documentation of Suzuki fixing KQ's with similar spec's as mine? Then I can go back to my dealer and show them that basically Suzuki is lying to them and that they have in fact fixed KQ's other than the ones with "50 miles and two months old". Or maybe even having a lawyer send them a letter with this documentation as has been suggested.

Thank you for any help. It is greatly appreciated!

 

Motohead, I wish you were a little closer than Kansas! My dealer has made the call to Suzuki, but claims all they can do is accept Suzuki's decision that my KQ is within spec and denied my request. They are denying that they have a problem. And yes I was very nice. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

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He also chuckled sarcastically when I told him I have been getting my info from online forums such as this and NYROC.
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I hate to tell you, as a dealer we get lots of customers who get "the real story" from the internet. I am sceptical
of anything I read until I have seen it first-hand. Look at some of the posts on here. There is proof you dont have to be smart or reliable to post.

Is your unit smoking? Even if compression is low , if its not smoking its going to be hard to get anyone to replace your top end.

 

Yes, I agree you have to be skeptical, I'm one of the best! But there is a difference between being skeptical and sarcastic/condescending, especially when you are a rep for a company like Suzuki. That's why I was asking for info from ANYONE, even if they could send it to my dealer to show that Suzuki is in fact fixing the low mileage KQ's that have excessive wear because of their faulty air filter. Even if my KQ still runs"OK" it is not what it should be and now I have a machine that has a shortened lifespan because of the premature wear.

 

One final question for Motohead or someone with some facts:

If Suzuki is approving warranty claims 100%, what criteria are they using to determine if they will fix your KQ? Only if it is smoking? Only if the compression is below the service limit, which I was told is 114psi?

Other???