2022 Polaris RMK Pro Brakes Recall Didn't Work and Caused a Fire.

[Rivermountain155]

I wanted to share my experience with my 2022 Polaris RMK PRO 850, in case others are dealing with something similar.

My sled overheated and caught fire due to brake failure—even though the brake recall (CPSC Recall No. 23-751) was supposedly already completed by Polaris. The recall is supposed to trigger limp mode and display warnings when brakes overheat. That never happened. No warning lights. No limp mode. Nothing.

My sled had only 135 miles on it when this happened. I took it to my local dealer, and after submitting a warranty claim, Polaris denied it, claiming it was “rider error” and that I ignored warning signs.

But here’s the thing:
I wasn’t riding my brake.
I received no warnings or fault codes.
The same day, I rode my 2020 RMK the same way—zero issues, as always. That sled has 1,600 miles on it and runs great.

Now I’m sitting on $6,800 in damage with no warranty coverage. Polaris insists the recall was done, so the fault is mine. But if the recall was truly effective, my sled should’ve alerted me and entered limp mode, right?

I’ve already filed complaints with CPSC, but wanted to get this out to the community too.

Has anyone else had issues with the brake recall not functioning properly?
If you’ve had similar problems—or had success pushing back on Polaris—I’d love to hear from you. I think it’s time more riders speak up about this.

 

[shattuck]

My understanding is the recall only flashes the warning and detunes if you are physically riding the brake lever if you weren’t and had it failing for a mechanical issue in the brake system I don’t think it would trigger the warning.

 

[Rivermountain155]

Thank you for the info. I appreciate it. I keep telling Polaris and the dealership that I was not physically riding the brake lever. It's not how I ride. They are just going by the fact that the ECM Service reports says the following:

C2418 : Riding With Brakes On - power limit / Occurrence Count: 115 C2419 : Riding With Brakes On - vehicle shutdown / Occurrence Count: 91 Why would a trouble code occur 91 times saying vehicle shutdown but never went into limp mode or flashed a warning? They are saying that I ignored these warnings but they never came on my screen nor did my sled ever lose power or shutdown. Something isn't right and I can't figure it out to prove to them. Obviously the dealer and Polaris won't investigate this. They just keep saying the report says that I ignored all these warnings. Very frustrating.

 

[BeartoothBaron]

That's rough. I don't have an affected sled, but generally the problem of brakes overheating and potentially burning up sleds boiled down to riding with the parking brake on or some clear mechanical issue. I don't think I could move my sled with the parking brake on, and I think you could shoot down that argument from Polaris in court. You could probably prove the only way to ride such a nearly-new sled with the brake on is if the brake were defective (not suggesting you left it on, but that'd probably be their first argument, and it's your word against theirs).

Unfortunately, I think Polaris has the argument that continuously cycling the brake could overheat it without triggering it to limp. The problem with that argument is that you're pretty unlikely to fully release the brake when you're using it to control speed (and that's hardly "rider error"), and you've got your other sled plus many thousands of riders on Polaris sleds that ride the brake without causing issues. I don't think the recall alone proves your case, but it does prove Polaris knew there was a problem with the brake. Otherwise, why wouldn't it be necessary on older sleds?

It's a little mind-boggling that Polaris could take something they seemed to have pretty well figured out (the brake) and screw it up. For what my opinion is worth, it seems Polaris had some brake defects in that timeframe, and the flash was a band-aid, not a solution. If you do some digging, you'll find talk about sticky calipers on sleds like yours. Then some people disconnected the brake light circuit after the update because it made the sled such a nuisance to ride. And finally, at least one member here gave up and sold his sled (I think a '23) because the brake sucked so bad, despite the dealer replacing several components and bleeding it several times.

 

[line8]

I’m not sure if this helps, but one day earlier this season. I kept getting the limp mode and brake warning on the dash. The snow was a little heavy and very deep. This was after coming down in elevation where above it was much less dense. I was not riding the brakes but when I used the brakes I would get this. It happens 3-4 times. The last time I decided just to park it for 5 minutes and take a break. Never happened again that day or otherwise. The brake might have been iced and sticking. I’m not sure. I 100% was not riding them because I caught it and was watching it. It would happen the moment it braked. I didn’t look to see how hot they were.
Good luck.