P700 2021 Honda Pioneer 700 overheating

[Yaddio]

Thanks for the add.
I've never owned a SxS or even an ATV before, so this is new to me. I just bought a new 2021 Honda 700 Pioneer Deluxe last Tuesday. I chose Honda due to their reputation for reliability. Loved short rides on my 5.5 acres for a few days. So, I finally took it up to a ranch yesterday. Low 60's temp, a bit windy. Good weather for riding. I rode around on level ground for a couple hours and then took it up the hills. The ranch speed limit is 15 mph, so I wasn't working it hard. Just me and my buddy and our gear, so not over loaded. I noticed a red light on the dash, stopped in the shade and checked it out. I heard the radiator boiling over. Turned off the engine and let it cool off. I never heard the fan come on. Maybe its a quiet fan or maybe it didn't come on. Not sure. I waited until it was cooled off, filled the plastic radiator relief bottle with my drinking water and headed down the hill. Before heading back down the hill I consulted the manual and noticed it had info on the bars for level of heat. I monitored that down the hill. After hitting flat ground I noticed it climbed from 2 to 3 to 4 bars. I again pulled over to let it cool. After cooling I got back on the dirt road, but with the hood removed to help cooling. I had a pretty good cool head wind the rest of the way, so it stayed at 2 bars the rest of the way back to my truck. I took it back to the dealer today. Just curios if anyone else has had cooling issues. Hopefully this will be corrected by the dealer and I can post the remedy.
Yaddio

 

[Admin]

 

[Jerryg]

Seems to be a common issue lately, do a search, there are plenty threads.

Honda is no longer the reliable brand they used to be.

 

[Yaddio]

Seems to be a common issue lately, do a search, there are plenty threads.

Honda is no longer the reliable brand they used to be.

I'm thinking it's probably something simple.....hopefully

 

[Scoop]

I'm thinking it's probably something simple.....hopefully

A brand new machine just received from dealer-prep a week or so ago after being shipped across the country ... likely just an air pocket in the cooling system or simple for sure.

Yaddio, check this thread out. It's P1000 centric, but similar issues can cause overheating in almost any powersports machine:

P1000 - Overheating Hot Topic! - Issues, Problems, Solutions and more problems.

So the whole overheating thing seems to be a hot topic with the Pioneer 1000 models. I put together a quick guide based on what I have seen. (ignoring what may be flakey). Is something broken? Let’s face it when a P1k overheats everyone jumps to conclusions about the items below. If there is...

hondasxs.com

 

[Yaddio]

A brand new machine just received from dealer-prep a week or so ago after being shipped across the country ... likely just an air pocket in the cooling system or simple for sure.

Yaddio, check this thread out. It's P1000 centric, but similar issues can cause overheating in almost any powersports machine:

P1000 - Overheating Hot Topic! - Issues, Problems, Solutions and more problems.

So the whole overheating thing seems to be a hot topic with the Pioneer 1000 models. I put together a quick guide based on what I have seen. (ignoring what may be flakey). Is something broken? Let’s face it when a P1k overheats everyone jumps to conclusions about the items below. If there is...

hondasxs.com

Thanks, I'll check it out.

 

[Yaddio]

Thanks Scoop, very informative. My Honda is still at the dealer and the manual is in the Honda so I can't research this question.

Q: Is the fan supposed to come on when the bars go from 2 to 3 bars?

 

[Farmer]

Man, with all of the poor QC going on these day's you couldn't get me to buy a new anything. Workers are short staffed and mentally drained.

You're in the right place though.....you'll find plenty of help and ideas here. Welcome to the forum!!!!!!

 

[Yaddio]

Man, with all of the poor QC going on these day's you couldn't get me to buy a new anything. Workers are short staffed and mentally drained.

You're in the right place though.....you'll find plenty of help and ideas here. Welcome to the forum!!!!!!

Thank you Farmer!

 

[Glock21user]

X2 with @Farmer on the reliability. Also a big welcome from 48353.

 

[craig pettipas]

Had same issue a couple weeks ago-Fan wasnt coming on and overheating a few times during the day. When fan did finally come on the second day-it was noisy-replaced fan motor under warranty

 

[Yaddio]

This isn't good and can be down right dangerous. The guy I was with is 88 years old. I'm not sure he would have been able to walk out if we broke down. I'm reading threads 3 or 4 years old about similar problems with overheating. Honda should have made this cooling system bulletproof by now.

 

[DG Rider]

Thanks Scoop, very informative. My Honda is still at the dealer and the manual is in the Honda so I can't research this question.

Q: Is the fan supposed to come on when the bars go from 2 to 3 bars?

The temp the fan comes on and shuts off at is within the range of the second bar. A healthy 700 never goes over 2 bars except at heat soak a bit after the key is shut off.

Have you ever heard the fan? There were some a few years ago that simply didn't have the connector all the way in.

Honda quality is slipping. It's not JUST covid. My machine is a 2020 I picked up just after the shutdowns started, meaning it was probably made before anyone knew what the hell covid was.

 

[Yaddio]

The temp the fan comes on and shuts off at is within the range of the second bar. A healthy 700 never goes over 2 bars except at heat soak a bit after the key is shut off.

Have you ever heard the fan? There were some a few years ago that simply didn't have the connector all the way in.

Honda quality is slipping. It's not JUST covid. My machine is a 2020 I picked up just after the shutdowns started, meaning it was probably made before anyone knew what the hell covid was.

I can't recall ever hearing the fan. It was my first time riding this for any distance, only had it a week, so I don't know if the fan is loud or quiet. My guess is that the fan never came on. Since it's under warranty I brought it immediately back to the dealership. They were very surprised that it overheated and were quite inquisitive in asking the details.

 

[CajunPioneer_83]

I just bought a new 2021 700-4 last month as well, had the same problem. First day of riding every 10-15 minutes engine overheat light would come on if we were not moving faster than 15 mph. I never heard the fan kick on. I decided to do some trouble shooting myself before having to load back up to the dealership. My first thought was to test the fan to make sure it works with power to it, when I pulled on the fan plug it came right out without having to press the clip release mechanisms. So I inspected the plug adapters and noticed one of the male prongs was bent up, pulled the prong back into place and reconnected it, I heard it snap securely in place. Started the bike up within minutes I heard the fan kick on, since then my temp gauge never got over 2 bars.

 

[Yaddio]

Thanks CajunPioneer, it gives me hope that my problem is something very similar. The Pioneer is at the dealer and will be worked on NLT Wednesday. I'll post the results of their troubleshooting after picking it up.

 

[Farmer]

I just bought a new 2021 700-4 last month as well, had the same problem. First day of riding every 10-15 minutes engine overheat light would come on if we were not moving faster than 15 mph. I never heard the fan kick on. I decided to do some trouble shooting myself before having to load back up to the dealership. My first thought was to test the fan to make sure it works with power to it, when I pulled on the fan plug it came right out without having to press the clip release mechanisms. So I inspected the plug adapters and noticed one of the male prongs was bent up, pulled the prong back into place and reconnected it, I heard it snap securely in place. Started the bike up within minutes I heard the fan kick on, since then my temp gauge never got over 2 bars.

Jesus..... somebody fire the fan plug guy already. Did they hire JTW or what?

 

[Yaddio]

Well, my Honda SxS is ready for pickup from the dealer. I'll pick it up tomorrow, (Thursday).

The problem with the overheating is reported to be a bent pin on the connector that connects the fan. I'm glad it's something simple. I won't be able to test it out for a couple of weeks, but I'm pretty sure they found the problem. I'm a bit perplexed at the lack of QC with Honda on this subject. After some online searches it appears that this is a common problem. So, here it is, posted for posterity for the next guy with a overheating problem.
Thanks for everyone that helped.
Yaddio

 

[Yaddio]

I thought I'd close the loop on this. I finally got to take the Honda out for a full day of riding. The problem as diagnosed above fixed the issue, (bent pin). I never got above 2 bars and when the fan came on it was quite audible.

 

[HondaTech]

I thought I'd close the loop on this. I finally got to take the Honda out for a full day of riding. The problem as diagnosed above fixed the issue, (bent pin). I never got above 2 bars and when the fan came on it was quite audible.

We recently had a 700 with this same issue.

 

[Jerryg]

So is it a manufacturing issue or assembly issue?