11-12' 800 Pro Reliability

[dirtymax]

call suzuki then whatever it takes just give us amotor that works

 

[PalousePoo]

My short block arrived today, it's being installed as I type. Eng was ordered march 5th, so that's pretty good time. However, I've read on here some say the short blocks are on backorder.

 

[Old Scud-doo]

I would say closer to 100% of sleds will blow a motor at some point....sleds are likely the most unreliable and maintenence-intensive piece of equipment you will ever own.

I agree 100%, however I don't want to have to have a blown motor more often than a guy who rides a Doo or a Cat. I think the ratio would be quite high if one was to look into it. I really hope, no, I extremely hope Polaris is reading all this and makes some changes to atleast get us up there with the same level of reliablility in the motor that Cat and Doo owners get. Is that asking too much?

By the way, if RK Tech and some others can figure out the problem and fix it, according to them, why the hell can't a multi-million dollar company do the same? I just sit back and wonder how come we are still essentially dealing with Dragon motors with two less injectors. Maybe Polaris should purchase RK Tech instead of investing in electric scooters company's in France.

 

[Jaynelson]

Oh I totally agree....I just don't know if any of the others are really much better. I think it's totally a crap shoot with sleds whether or not you get a good one in a good year from whatever manufacturer has it figured out at that particular time. Maybe I'm jaded from owning an 07 Rev as my last sled....my pro is the picture of reliability by comparison lol.

 

[Old Scud-doo]

I don't know. I spent a little time in the last few weeks lurking in the Ski-doo and Cat sections to see if there was any insight into the 2013 sleds from the respective company's. Other than a lot, and I mean alot, of people complaining about belts, there really was not the big engine issues like what we are seeing on the Pro8 motor.

Honestly! I wish it was the others with problems and us with only belt issues. That is fixable at some point. Hell my old RMK 9 ate belts like crazy to start with than I could get a whole season out of them in the end. That's the kind of stuff that is quick and easy to fix. Skirts busting off, rings flaking and chipping,.....no easy fix to that.

 

[Going West]

Grass is always greener on the other side. I'm at $1500 worth of belts and $300-400 in clutching, and thats just in 500 miles on my PC and I have tried just about everything short of replacing both clutches (kind of seem cheap now but who would have thunk). And Im still no closer. When you have to buy 10 belts for a 7 day trip you get fed up real fast. At least I have warranty on the Poo side.

 

[50stang]

'12 Switchback Pro-R 800 - 890 miles with no issues.

 

[Going West]

Official stat right form a Polaris dealer. He looked up all major engine failures for 2011, came to 10%. Half form cylinder skirts and the rest made up of crank and piston issues.

 

[skibreeze]

My '12 has 600 miles on it and it is currently in the shop for a new motor due to the oil line fitting coming out of the pump.

 

[Pro-8250]

It is really a sad state of affairs when people brag about not having any mechanical failures on a snowmobile with less than 2000 miles. That really demonstrates just how poor snowmobiles are made(all 3 brands)! My god, how much lower can our expectations for longevity and reliability go? Next, people will be bragging that it made it out of the parking lot for the first time when new.

I couldn't agree with you more on the reliability of all three brands. But don't think of people here as bragging, their just responding to this poll.

 

[aebsledder]

This poll is interesting, but don't think for one minute that there hasn't been some Cat and Doo, guys over here messing with the numbers.... you know who you are!

Who knows what the real numbers are but I wouldn't trust these results good or bad.

The failure rates don't represent what I have seen in my area. There has not been a single engine melt down here that I have heard about and I know a lot of the PRO riders here. There have been issues for sure, just like with all brands, but nothing real major that I have heard about or witnessed.

True, but I am also not having many illusions as to how many Polaris guys are checking the "no problems" boxes, even if they had some. So far it seems like the percentages have been hovering near the same for failure vs. non failure. May or may not be an indicator of how accurate the poll is. IMO over a 10 percent failure rate at these kind of mileages are absolutely unacceptable. Although they may not be, since all of our dumb azzes (me included) keep buying them. I can't remember where, but I read a post in here about how one of the forum members (aksnowrider?) had a conversation with the Polaris engineers and their main talking point was how they would stop at nothing to be the best. Wanna be the best Polaris? Give us a machine with a 3 season life span. Make it unusually rare for a person to hear of an engine related problem on one. Keep putting the power to the track. Keep making them strong and light. Terrain Domination? Try Market Domination if you make that happen.

 

[nuggetau]

True, but I am also not having many illusions as to how many Polaris guys are checking the "no problems" boxes, even if they had some. So far it seems like the percentages have been hovering near the same for failure vs. non failure. May or may not be an indicator of how accurate the poll is. IMO over a 10 percent failure rate at these kind of mileages are absolutely unacceptable. Although they may not be, since all of our dumb azzes (me included) keep buying them. I can't remember where, but I read a post in here about how one of the forum members (aksnowrider?) had a conversation with the Polaris engineers and their main talking point was how they would stop at nothing to be the best. Wanna be the best Polaris? Give us a machine with a 3 season life span. Make it unusually rare for a person to hear of an engine related problem on one. Keep putting the power to the track. Keep making them strong and light. Terrain Domination? Try Market Domination if you make that happen.

I have come to the reluctant conclusion that unreliable motors are a necessity for the dealers(service department) and financially beneficial to the snowmobile companies(Parts sales). Snowmobile dealers survive through their service departments, without unreliable motors I don't think the dealer network(all 3 brands) would be able to survive?

 

[jim]

Cat & Doo have the motors, Polaris the chassis and clutches. Anyone put a cat or doo motor in the Polaris Pro? Seems the ideal thing there. But, yeah, it's discouraging that the newer sleds are failing like they do. The early 2000s were the best for sled reliability. My 2003 Polaris Edge went 4000 miles with pipes...on a second motor and second owner now...probably another 2000 miles. All hard powder riding...thing just doesn't break down. Doesn't go like my M1000 (which is melted down) but still runs great and pulls it's own weight. Am I just having rosey memories or was it really that way?

 

[aebsledder]

I have come to the reluctant conclusion that unreliable motors are a necessity for the dealers(service department) and financially beneficial to the snowmobile companies(Parts sales). Snowmobile dealers survive through their service departments, without unreliable motors I don't think the dealer network(all 3 brands) would be able to survive?

I was kind of thinking the same thing. Although, at what point does Polaris start to lose money chunking out 3700 dollar shortblocks to dealers to fix on Warranty? I would be VERY INTERESTED to see the profit margin on one of those little nuggets. Trust me, if Polaris had an assassin, he would be after me. The amount of warranty work done on my Polaris sleds would come dangerously close to the retail amount of a BRAND NEW Pro RMK!

 

[nuggetau]

I was kind of thinking the same thing. Although, at what point does Polaris start to lose money chunking out 3700 dollar shortblocks to dealers to fix on Warranty? I would be VERY INTERESTED to see the profit margin on one of those little nuggets. Trust me, if Polaris had an assassin, he would be after me. The amount of warranty work done on my Polaris sleds would come dangerously close to the retail amount of a BRAND NEW Pro RMK!

I think you and I are the exception, most riders don't actually get to ride very much, so they can own a sled for 2-3 years and only put 1000-1500 miles on it. So the average out of pocket warranty costs are probably around $500-800(which is factored into the MSRP). That is a total guess, based on how the manufacturers value the warranty against accessories (the choice they ask us to make when snow checking).

Guys like me who ride 4-5000 miles a year can thank the other riders for paying for my warranty costs. Thanks guys!

"if Polaris had an assassin, he would be after me", Skidoo does have an assasin, and he knows my name! Between the 08 XP and the 11XP I rode 15,800 miles, 6 motors under warranty. 5 crank bearing failures, 1 piston/ring failure that resulted in a 6th crank bearing failure. I could count on the crank bearing to fail at 2500 miles(plus or minus 150 miles) like it was on a timer.

 

[harps500]

50 miles no issues so far Great thread though. Gives a much more clear picture on the actual failure rate. 1/8 not very good but it seems a lot worse with all these threads out there.

 

[Polarisrider1]

2012 with 1100 miles, all hard earned. no issues.

 

[doorandt]

question for those that have had failures?

question for those that have had failures?
Before you lost a piston or cyl skirt, could you
Hear any knocking from the engine? I'm thinking
Maybe you could hear a knock when engine is
Running, before it's at operating temp.
Is there any warning?

 

[aebsledder]

nope

question for those that have had failures?
Before you lost a piston or cyl skirt, could you
Hear any knocking from the engine? I'm thinking
Maybe you could hear a knock when engine is
Running, before it's at operating temp.
Is there any warning?

No warning on mine, just bang. I did ride it out of the woods though, even with a hole in the case.

 

[whittaker727]

s I don't

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think the dealer network(all 3 brands) would be able to survive?

Funny, you're the second person to mention "3" brands. You can throw Yamaha out of the boondocking category, but not reliability. Even their 700 triples are bullet proof.