Well, I'll be damned.......

[catweasel]

This is an update to my thread Dear Arctic Cat-

Found this-

January 11, 2012
Dear Arctic Cat Snowmobile Dealer,

It has been determined that the Service Bulletins BS201204, BS201205 and BS201206 (see below) concerning the reverse gear shift components does not completely address the root cause of the reverse failures on 2012 ProCross and ProClimb 1100 cc 4-stroke
model snowmobiles.

Service Bulletin BS201204 — 2012 F 1100, XF 1100, and M 1100 Models VIN range: 105986-116385;
Service Bulletin BS201205 — 2012XF 1100 Turbo Models and M 1100
Turbo Models VIN range: 116386-118569;
Service Bulletin BS201206 — 2012 F 1100 Models VIN range: 105809-105985 and 2012 F/XF/M 1100 Models VIN range: 800025-800030.

Effective immediately please discontinue installing Gear Shift Update Kit (p/n0637-361, 0637-362 or 0637-363) until further notice. We will be utilizing these kits in the future with an added replacement shift fork for all 3 kits that will become available soon.

We are sorry for the inconvenience that this has caused; Arctic Cat is diligently working with our supplier to resolve this situation and every effort will be made to expedite these parts to you as soon as possible. It appears that most of the 2012 ProCross and ProClimb 1100 cc 4-stroke models are not affected. If you have customers that have not
experienced any missed shifts, it is expected they would not experience a failure.

A letter is being sent to all registered owners to inform them to discontinue use of the
reverse function on their snowmobile if they have experienced any missed shifts until further notice. The 2012 ProCross/ProClimb 1100 cc 4-stroke snowmobile will perform as designed in forward gear without the reverse function utilized.

Thank you for your cooperation in this very important matter.

Sincerely,
Arctic Cat Sales Inc.

Hmmmm......now I want to beat my dealer ***. If he had just emailed or called me, I would have a running sled. He only sold 5 Turbos. How hard would it have been to send out an email to all of us? Of course, as of Friday, he had never heard of the issue.

Now, simply telling your customers before they damage thier machines or the letter from Cat arrives (which as of today, mine has not arrived) is just great service. Maybe they do not feel it is thier job or they don't read bulletins or they simply don't care. A dealership that takes the time out to immediatly contact affected owners they sold to, vs ones that simply don't care, is what seperates a mediocre or bad dealer from a good or even great one. It is simply called customer service. A little extra effort can really make a difference.

Well, my trust in Cat is being restored. They have acknowledged the problem, asked us to not use the reverse until an update is found (if it has not already been found), and are working on a solution. That is all I can ask. Thank you Arctic Cat. Now, send your rep to my dealership to kick thier *** please. Precision Performance in Idaho Falls.

 

[diggerdown]

They must have a real slow mailing dept. Glad to see they are addressing the issue, now if they get the belt thing figured out.
You're a paying member, I don't pay because there is very little benifit to padding someone elses pockets to share your or my knowledge with others. I waited to see the changes Christopher talked about but have not seen any. I thought putting a section in each catagory about manufactures recalls and updates was going to be part of it, that I would have paid for. Sorry for going off subject but this would have helped a lot of people on here. Very few dealers are "good dealers"

 

[snowmobiler]

carefull,the few good dealers out there will get all pissy and say your post offended them.

 

[catweasel]

Maybe a moderator can post a sticky on the Cat Bulletin. In any event, if you own a Proclimb M1100 or M1100 Turbo, I wouldn't use reverse until it is fixed. Like I said, I had mine in and out of reverse 8-10 times before it grenaded.

As for dealers, there are good and bad ones. I do think a little extra, like contacting owners who bought from them about bulletins and issues, makes a good one. Or, when you know a repair is going to be warrantied, but instead of waiting for days for Cat to ok it, go ahead and fix it. If you are on the fence about whether it will be warrantied, tell you customer it might be, it might not be, but see if he wants it fixed immediatly even if he might have to pay for it later so he can get back to riding. Stock alot of parts, especailly ones known to be problematic so customers don't have to wait to get thier seld fixed. Stock accessories, make sure you don't have to order everything when a customer wants it. Know your product inside and out. Be courteous. Keep your clients up to date on specails, sales, inventory clearance and financing specails.

This is just basic stuff every dealer should be doing. Some get it, some don't. Those that get it will sell more sleds, get more repair work, get more warranty work (yes, they get paid for labor and parts), sell more accessories and parts, and have more loyal customers who will buy time and time again from them.

I have seen dealers bashed and thrown under the bus on here and other forums. Most seemed to deserve it, although there are two sides to every story. Amazing how it seems to be the same dealers popping up on different forums. You would think they would change things so they don't get the bad press.

 

[catf1000s/p]

i heard about the shift fork thing back in december