i purchased 2 brand new atvs in late august this year, a honda 450 and a yamaha kodiak 400 for the girlfriend.
the yamaha has had a squeak in the front brakes since day 1.
first trip to the dealer they changed the discs and hubs.
got home and put 10 km on it and it started to do it again.
back to the dealer- now they think it was manufactured with bent axels (nice quality control eh?), but they are not in stock. waiting for the parts, (been a month) and warranty is comming up.i started it up on the holidays and the thing starts pissing coolant everywhere. any suggestions on how to deal with this? has anyone ever heard of being able to return an atv to yamaha for a refund? then i could buy another honda and not have to worry. i've called customer service and been politely told "@#$& you" take it to the dealer. they have been extremely unhelpful- i've left my number with the guy in charge 3 times and he has neglected to call me back (that was in nov). where do i go now for some customer service? last note: the dealer wouldn't even bring the bike into the shop until they got the clearance from yamaha that they would be re-embursed for the work.the dealer explained that yamaha is known for refusing warranty work, which leaves a bill for the customer whose bike is supposed to be on warranty.

WORST EXPERIENCE EVER... never again.

 

My Grizzly had squeeky front brakes when I bought it. It still has a squeek from time to time. So what? It still has the factory brakes without any "repairs", and they have never missed a beat. I check them a couple of times a year, and when they do wear out new pads may solve the problem, but "who cares". Stay in the water, then they never squeek! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

Rick

 

My uncle had the coolent prob! he started to get sick of all the probs, his was the 01 blue canadian model I dont know if that had a part in al the probs? he also had a rear end squeak, he sold it for $4,600 with winch plow and 589s and the person who bought it hasent had a prob yet, does your girlfriend ride hard?

 

actually the squeaking is constant. the shop manual indicates that the front discs are allowed up to 6 thou play. when the dealer put a gauge on it i was out 37 thou on the right and 26 thou on the left.
that's over 6 times the limit. this also results in excessive vibration and premature wear.
thx for the reply rick

 

Man sorry to hear you are so unhappy with the Kodiak.I have a 2000 that I bought new and I really like mine.Where is the coolant coming from?? The early ones like mine did have a water pump problem but that was updated and I am sure your has the newer pump.My brakes on the frt have never squeaked,the only problem I have is the rears have a short life.Disc brakes stop better than the drums but the trade off is they are exposed to the elements.If you can give me an idea where the coolant is coming from maybe I can help.I work on my own and it seems like everyone elses and I have a shop manual if you need something looked up.If you have an 03 400 then the difference is drum rear brake,no park position and no low range but the engine and suspension are the same.
I know Honda has done a brilliant job selling their reliability and they are reliable but there are a couple in our group (450 s and a Rubicon) and they have not been without their problems either.
2000 Kodiak

 

I am looking at picking up a Kodiak for my Dad but it sounds like the warranty fight between Yamaha and it's dealers on legitimate warranty issues seems to be continuing and getting worse. Don't think I will buy one just yet until they get their acts together! This is one of the main issues I have with buying a Yamaha. Good bikes-$hitty product support and warranty.

 

My kodiak has been a great machine. I have the brake noise too though is very annoying, but pulled wheels off and dirt in the pads. No noise for now.

 

my new axels came in yesterday, went to pick up bike today, only to find out they ordered the 400 axels and yamaha shipped the 450's axels which are a different size due to locking diff.

bike still not fixed yet. no word on how long to get the right axels.

they couldn't find the prestone leak but they agreed it was low. also the diff breather seemed to be pumping diff fluid all over the place- seems it was overfull since the day i bought it. now it smells like crap when the bike heats up. oh well if i'm stuck driving a piece of $hit it might as well smell like one.

 

well, they changed the axels, bearings, seals, everything.
16 hrs labor.
still squeaks.
yamaha says they want to see the bike.
they oversized the breather and put SAE 75 oil in the diff.
will ride it this weekend to see if it still blows diff fluid.

will update with yamaha's verdict as soon as it is reached.

 

I have a 2000 kodiak. Here is my 2 cents worth. Some dealers are better than others. I have had the coolant leak fixed under warranty and the cooling fan, even though it was probably my fault. The squeaky brakes come with the territory as others have said. The diff. thing is a known quirk with the kodiak. I drain my rear diff. and measure exactly what the spec. says the diff. holds, its about 8 ozs. If you use more than that it will spew everywhere out of the end of the breather tube. And even then it spews if you do a lot of high speed driving. It is annoying, but I have beat the living crap out of mine and it runs like a champ. You might try another dealer, I find that there are big differences in how they deal with warranty work and customer commitment. Your brakes are probably going to squeak. If they are not worn out then it's just a fact of life for your bike. Don't give up on legitimate concerns/problems but some are just part of off-road riding.

Good luck.