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P1000 1st day stranded, towed by a Polaris. Disappointed.

J

JMac74

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Jun 20, 2016
3
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Southern IL
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Finally after 2 1/2 years, I traded off my Polaris for a Honda Pioneer 1000-5 Deluxe Camo. I've always been a die-hard Honda owner and never wanted to buy a Polaris to start with but Honda didn't offer anything that would compete. Once the new Pioneer 1000-5 came out I wanted one. I went Friday, June 17, 2016 to see if I could strike a deal. The only one they had, had a warranty issue with paint peeling off of the roll cage. They decided to just swap cages with another one. When I told my wife, she said are you sure this isn't a bad omen and we shouldn't wait for a different one? (Probably) Three or so hours later, I ended up bringing that one home. I, as well as my wife and 3 young kids were thrilled. Other than riding around the yard with the family, I wasn't able to ride it much when I got it home. Later that night, around 9:15, after all the kids were in bed I decided to ride it over to my buddies house to show it off, you know since I finally have a Honda again. The Pioneer had almost 5 miles on it when I got it home. I put another 2 on it piddling around in the yard. My buddy lives about 2 miles away. This is where my excitement starts to fade. When I turned on his road, I noticed it started to shift oddly, very slow to change gears and would rev up in the process. Well, now I'm at his house kinda wondering about it but thought it was just a fluke and I'm sure it'll be alright once I head home. I continued to brag about how glad I was to not have the Ranger anymore and how much I liked the Pioneer so far. Here's where disappointment 1st shows its face. When I go to leave, and reach in to start it, it just clicks and all the dash lights flicker. Hmmmm, that's odd I say. I try a few more times, waiting between, and then all the sudden it starts. Maybe the battery wasn't charged when I got it I say. I head down the road and uh-oh, still shifting funny. About a 1/2 mile from his house I slow down to make a turn. When I go to accelerate, nothing, like I'm in neutral. As I roll to a stop, the disappointment starts to set in. However, not as much as it did when it just died about 20 seconds later. I've had numerous Hondas all the way back to when I was 4 years old and had a 1977 ATC 70, probably close to 20 of them. None, I repeat, none have ever left me stranded because of the machine itself. A couple times from my stupidity during my teenage years, but never a faulty machine. So as I sit looking up at an almost full moon, I think about the thousands of dollars I just spent on this Honda and I realize that my Ranger never left me stranded. As a sickening feeling overcomes me, I get out and check the battery cables, they're a little loose but not too bad. I go ahead and tighten them anyway. I try to start it again and it just flashes lights and cranks really slow. I text my buddy and I ask if he can tow me back to his house. As he pulls up, I try one more time and it STARTS! YAY! Yeah, don't get too excited, it dies about 20 seconds later. Above all else, guess what is towing me back to his house, yep, a Polaris. Should have taken a picture and posted it on Honda's Facebook page and website. After leaving the Pioneer outside for the night in my buddies driveway, I'm kinda hoping someone steals it before I get there with my trailer the next morning; no such luck though. At about 18 hours into the ownership of my new Pioneer, I'm checking battery voltage; 11.6V. I charge to battery to about 12.6V, reinstall and start it. So far so good. I now check the running voltage; 12.5V. The sickening feeling returns. I ride it around the yard, no change, no charge. The shifting was fixed but that's it. Checked some wires, connections, and a few other items, then call to see if the dealership will grant me a 24 hour money back guarantee. Again no such luck. The salesman assures me they'll take care of it, but all I can think about is some mechanic that I don't know is going to take apart my brand new $18000 Pioneer engine. I'm not happy and my wife is furious. The service manager calls in a few minutes and says there will be someone at my house Monday (tomorrow) morning to pick it up and they will take care of it. I'm glad they're confident. How difficult would it be for Honda to check this on every machine once it's built? I mean it took me like 5 seconds. I've read that other people have had the same issue, but no one posted follow ups on if they were satisfied with the repair. All I know is that for a machine that costs triple that of any Honda I've ever purchased, I had an expectation that it would be of the same quality of the previous Hondas I've had. I've never had a Honda that leaked/seeped oil so this engine better not when I get it back. And you can bet I'll be looking. I am SO sorry to say I would take my Polaris Ranger back in a heartbeat right now.
 
joeymt33

joeymt33

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Sorry for your troubles @JMac74. Welcome to forum though.

This issue does seem to be one that has been common. I agree that there is a loose ground connection or another connection somewhere that has not been snapped tight.

I wouldn't sweat it too bad, it's not a reflection of all Pioneers out there. When they get it fixed, you will be extremely happy with your new Pioneer.
 
Crow_Hunter

Crow_Hunter

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May 18, 2016
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Please let us know when you find out what happened. I notice you are in Southern IL. Did you get it at Abernathy's?
 
franzw

franzw

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Jan 2, 2016
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  1. 1000-5
Please let us know when you find out what happened. I notice you are in Southern IL. Did you get it at Abernathy's?
Sorry about your emotional pain and it is sad that some are not checked out thoroughly before on the showroom floor? But never fear, someone will get it straightened out, its under warranty. Hang in there buddy.
 
J

JMac74

New Member
Jun 20, 2016
3
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3
Southern IL
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  1. 1000-5
Please let us know when you find out what happened. I notice you are in Southern IL. Did you get it at Abernathy's?

I got a price from Abernathy's but SI Motorsports in Carbondale matched their price, I couldn't believe it. Saved me a 2 hour drive. However, a different one may not have caused these issues.
 
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sthomp54

sthomp54

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Jun 11, 2015
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Could these issues have been caused by the dealer when they swapped out the roll cage? Maybe they didnt tighten up a ground somewhere or pinched a wire. I would wait to see the what the problem is before getting too upset at Honda.
 
Stauvo

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Welcome to the club JMac74. I understand your gut pain and hope your back up running soon. About your friend though.......I'm afraid it will never matter what machine you own now he will never forget.;)
 
Jbird

Jbird

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Jan 6, 2016
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I'm sure they will get you fixed up. Sorry you had to endure the tow of shame.
 
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Eltobgi

Eltobgi

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When you get your machine back from the dealer make sure you take a day off work and thoroughly test it on the most enjoyable trail you can find. Ask your friend to accompany you with his Polaris just for piece of mind. If everything goes well and the dealership did a good job, you will feel differently! I put over a hundred miles on mine the first ride and smiled for week;)
 
PioneerPete

PioneerPete

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sounds like one of those loose ground issues. hopefully they get you fixed up quickly and you get to actually enjoy your investment.
 
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CumminsPusher

CumminsPusher

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I'm sure they will get you fixed up. Sorry you had to endure the tow of shame.
What jbird said and especially by a popo. You know Sharp is correct you'll get your moment soon enough. But seriously I'm sorry you're having any kind of trouble but this does sound like one of those stupid fixes hope you're back up soon!!
 
M

MackyD

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Apr 3, 2016
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S.W Arkansas
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  1. 1000-5
I had a similar issue with mine right after I bought it. It ended up being a bad ground on the engine I couldn't get to without taking a lot of the plastic off. I had already talked to service department over the phone and told them what all I had checked before I brought it up there. That made the techs job a lot easier when he went searching for my problem. He found a ground that the bolt hole had bad threads. He contacted Honda headquarters for the solution. He ended up putting a helicoil in the bad bolt hole on the motor. I have had no problems since then.
 
Delton

Delton

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Very slight chance it's a charging issue (Honda has had horrible luck with stators since the early 80s) but as mentioned, it's probably a ground. Fuel injected vehicles live and die by the ground. Throw in the trans these have in them and there's an even bigger need for a good ground connection. Sorry you're having trouble man. If I were in your shoes I'd be feeling the same way (and I'm a diehard Honda fanatic). They'll get it straightened out.
 
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Crow_Hunter

Crow_Hunter

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May 18, 2016
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Riding a Canned Ham.
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Any indication if this was an "early build" ie start of the model year or if this was of a more recent vintage?

I think there were some training issues on the initial units build. (Grounds not right, clutches not right)

I was hoping they had sorted most of this out in the later units since we haven't really been hearing anything about it recently.
 
Eltobgi

Eltobgi

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There is a lengthy checklist they conduct prior to sale. I noticed when I purchased mine that process was not followed and that check list was not completed. I did a basic check myself prior to taking possession. But QC on the parts of the dealerships may be a little relaxed due to the reputation Honda has!
 
500

500

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May 14, 2015
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  1. 1000-5
Any indication if this was an "early build" ie start of the model year or if this was of a more recent vintage?

I think there were some training issues on the initial units build. (Grounds not right, clutches not right)

I was hoping they had sorted most of this out in the later units since we haven't really been hearing anything about it recently.
I specifically requested the newest unit available for this reason (Though as you know dealers hate not dumping aged inventory due to floor plan - which you will get if you don't request newest inventory). Mine was delivered from Honda to dealer 1st week of June. It has been flawless. Doing initial break in service today - 100 miles in first week. I wanted to make sure I had the most recent model to reflect any changes in the parts fish diagrams i.e. the washer/spacer on the main trans shaft I saw on here. I remember when the P500 first came out (I bought first year model of that also) some people were having issues with shifting/ not shifting due to battery/ground issues. Now everyone would testify to them being drop dead reliable for the most part. I agree with you on your assessment. The only difference on the 1000 is that without proper advisement from the dealers, people who are ignorant to them having an actual clutch will drive them like they don't and may have issues. I drive mine like it has a clutch, just like a Jeep or Sammy, and it has been great.
 
J

JMac74

New Member
Jun 20, 2016
3
5
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Southern IL
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  1. 1000-5
UPDATE!!

First I posted a similar write up on Honda Motorcycle and ATV's Facebook page. They replied in a couple hours and wanted all my info via personal message sent to them and then said they would have customer service rep. review the info and call me. That was yesterday.

Called the dealership today since I hadn't heard anything. I figured a day and half was enough time to at least narrow it down a little. They actual say it is fixed. According to them, it was "one of the connectors going to the rectifier". I sure hope so! At this point I'm just glad they didn't have to take the engine cover off. I'm not real sure how long it took to find it, the service manager just said it could have been brought back to me today but he didn't have an available driver. I could have went and got it myself. A phone call would have been nice but whatever. I'll just be glad to get it back so I can forget this ever happened. Thanks everyone for your input and encouragement. If anything changes I will definitely keep everyone up to date. Looking forward to getting to ride this thing!
 
PioneerPete

PioneerPete

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UPDATE!!

First I posted a similar write up on Honda Motorcycle and ATV's Facebook page. They replied in a couple hours and wanted all my info via personal message sent to them and then said they would have customer service rep. review the info and call me. That was yesterday.

Called the dealership today since I hadn't heard anything. I figured a day and half was enough time to at least narrow it down a little. They actual say it is fixed. According to them, it was "one of the connectors going to the rectifier". I sure hope so! At this point I'm just glad they didn't have to take the engine cover off. I'm not real sure how long it took to find it, the service manager just said it could have been brought back to me today but he didn't have an available driver. I could have went and got it myself. A phone call would have been nice but whatever. I'll just be glad to get it back so I can forget this ever happened. Thanks everyone for your input and encouragement. If anything changes I will definitely keep everyone up to date. Looking forward to getting to ride this thing!
glad they got you straightened out... give it hell... these machines actually prefer to be driven hard!
 
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