POLARIS INDUSTRIES…PLEASE READ

[trackvs2wheels]

POLARIS INDUSTRIES…PLEASE READ

This letter went to Polaris Industries this morning via certified mail…


Dear Polaris:

This letter is coming to you from a true snowmobile enthusiast. I commend your company on bringing us winter enthusiasts the lightest, most purpose built stock mountain snowmobile on the planet – THE 2013 Polaris Pro RMK 800! I also commend you for continually pushing the limits on ingenuity and advancement of the snowmobile industry.

I have owned about every single sled your company has ever produced…going back to when I started snowmobiling in the late 90’s. I continue to purchase your products to date and currently own a 2012 Pro RMK 800 and just took delivery of my 2013 Pro RMK 800.

I have recently heard of 12 unrelated instances of drive shaft failures in model year 2013 Pro RMK’s. I have been following this issue closely over the past several weeks as I too have a 2013 for this season. I was one of the owners who believed that Polaris would not release something that wasn’t a “proven” component and that these failures must have been caused by the operator doing something he/she shouldn’t have been doing. However, this weekend I was notified by a couple friends that I routinely ride with that they had another 2 2013 drive shafts break on them. These drive shafts broke doing nothing abnormal with the sled. These failures are absolutely unacceptable to me as a consumer of your product for the past 13 years.

I am writing this letter to you as a very concerned customer who owns a $12,000 snowmobile and is absolutely afraid to take it into the backcountry! I truly don’t believe my 2013 Pro RMK will be able to get me back to the parking lot at night…other than behind the rope of another sled.

ALL I AM ASKING IS THAT POLARIS ADDRESS THE ISSUE, DETERMINE THE CAUSE, AND INFORM THE CONSUMER OF WHAT YOUR COMPANY’S RESPONSE IS. I refuse to sit around and wait until my drive shaft fails me. If that means looking to another manufacturer of snowmobiles then so be it, but as a loyal consumer of your products for many years I expect to see a resolution to these drive shaft failures in a time sensitive manner.

Sincerely,

 

[snopromod]

Could not have said it better myself..! Thanks for stepping up for the rest of us.

 

[skibreeze]

They are reading the threads, be assured of that.

 

[AKSNOWRIDER]

that is the one thing polaris doesnt do which I wish they did...have a presence on these forums..their presence on these forums would end about 90% of the headaches that come from owning a poo..I too have been a long long time poo buyer and cancelled my 2 13 snowchecks due to warranty issues on my 11 snowcheck sled...
PLEASE POLARIS..PUT YOUR GUYS ON THESE FORUMS..TALK TO US AND MORE IMPORTANTLY..LET US TALK DIRECTLY TO YOU...THERE IS NOTHING IN THIS WORLD THAT WILL MAKE POLARIS A BETTER COMPANY THEN UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL INVOLVMENT WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS...

 

[M7SLEDHEAD]

I would be very suprised if you hear anything from them. I'm sure they have heard about the problems and are working to right the issues. I have been following these problems very close myself as I'm going to be picking up a 2013 in the next month or two. I have always rode Cat and will be swicthing brands for the first time ever since I started riding. Even reading about the probelms I'm still going to buy one. I think this will be a limited problem and is getting blown way out of control on the forums.

On a side note if anyone has a 2013 PRO RMK 800 163 LE White they no longer want PM me.

 

[trackvs2wheels]

They are reading the threads, be assured of that.

That's great that they are READING...but how about PARTICIPATING!!!!

How many sled sales do they need to lose because of not communicating appropriately with their consumers before it would have been cheaper to just hire someone to PARTICIPATE on these forums???? Just curious...

Step up to the plate Polaris...and hopefully swing for the fences

 

[AKSNOWRIDER]

thats the thing..it would help their bottom line...sales profit to be on here..they dont need to hire anyone..they need to put their employees on here..open access, the engineers, the bookworms..all of them, even the ceo..why? because then we get honest info and they do to to the peeps that can answer our questions, and they get honest feedback that makes a better product..and makes them more money....if they want a look at a company that does this..and is extremely succesful with it..all they need to do is look at dell (aleinware computers)..they are extremely succesfull being on the forums with their customers..and it pays off..they are considered by all to have the best customer care in the tech industry......

 

[skibreeze]

There is no way that they would ever open themselves up to that. Look at how many vendors don't get on here, just because of the can of worms that get opened or just the time consuming part of actively being involved.

 

[AKSNOWRIDER]

dell had the same issue when they firt started..its amazing how quickly it came togeather and worked..and it does work extremely good, weather its a faulty product, a warranty issue, a modification or a conversion..their guys are there, they have the answers(and if they dont they get the guy who does on) it is very impressive..

 

[Scott]

I'm sure that Polaris still strives to have the best mtn sled on the planet. Whether they are participating out in the open on here or not, I'm sure they are paying attention and listening to make sure things don't go awry, as they have in the past.

 

[AKSNOWRIDER]

see..scott...you and eric..could be the pooo guys on here..answer everyones questions, get them the help they need...oh wait.....oh it was just gas..sorry.....

 

[Rev Kev]

I know of a couple of guys who are engineers at Polaris facility in Wyoming Minnesota, and they do follow these forums. The problem they would face of they had an open communication, same problem ski doo had over on dootalk, is needing to filter all responses through their PR dept. ended up being a pain, due to the long response times.

 

[trackvs2wheels]

My point is to draw attention to this and that Polaris needs to address it!

I didn't say it had to be on the forum, but a technical bulletin or some other means would be sufficient to let the end consumer know why we are seeing "the most flickable sled" on the snow become the "most tough sled to pull out of a gully with a broken drive shaft".

 

[ruffryder]

Polaris, best sleds out there, except for the driveshaft...

 

[skibreeze]

Polaris, best sleds out there, except for the driveshaft...

The best sleds out there..........left out there, in the woods.

 

[POLZIN]

The cause in this case is total lack of applied egineering principles. I for one think someone at Polaris needs to have there azz kicked. That drive shaft is no Doubt one of the most idiotic designs I have ever seen. I simply can not imagine how that POS made it to production.The belt drive is suspect the drive shaft is shameful!

 

[snowmobiler]

ask them for some more HP too. thanks

 

[aebsledder]

I have felt like writing a letter like that numerous times, as I have had horrible luck with my Polaris sleds. Luckily, my dealer has always been there to take care of me. I have a friend who has basically had the same sleds, and had nothing but good luck. Go figure. My own personal plan is to keep riding and breaking them as long as I have a warranty. I figure if they have to keep shelling out parts and paying for labor to fix my sleds, something will have to give at some point. That's just me though. Sometimes I feel like a tiny fish in a big pond though...

 

[Norway]

That's great that they are READING...but how about PARTICIPATING!!!!

How many sled sales do they need to lose because of not communicating appropriately with their consumers before it would have been cheaper to just hire someone to PARTICIPATE on these forums???? Just curious...

Step up to the plate Polaris...and hopefully swing for the fences

Well, I'm no genius but I'd say they would have to stop selling out all their pro models year after year for starters...

Messin with ya bro , but there is no way they would chime in here. Read and take notice? You bet, but never participate.

Everyone wants more power/less weight etc, but no one wants to own the model they failed to evaluate correctly. When that happens it is lynch time and polaris/cat/doo/yammie don't have a good engineer between them.

All the trolls and kids here would come out and spew gall and acid to their hearts content, hiding behind their keyboard anonymity.
It's just a game you can't win.

I own a -11 pro and for sure, I'm thinking like crazy about that piston/cylinder clearance and how to get my dealer to cover it if it is bad.
It gets me mad like everyone else and sometimes I want to scream for justice and new top-ends for the world.

But in the end, if I were Polaris I would not touch these forums with a long stick. Sorry.

 

[edavis0202]