[66deuce]

Customer service is an absolute joke! I bought a 2005 Sportsman 500 HO, which I found out is under recall for ECMs going up in smoke, which is exactly what mine did. I contacted them, was told to contact local dealers. OK. According to dealers, the part is 6+ weeks backordered. Well, I use this thing for pushing cars and plowing snow, so I need it running, period.

I called Polaris back and offered to buy the part cash if they'd just get it to me. They refused. So I searched and found one on my own and fixed my ATV. Annoyed with how they handled it, I decided they needed to reimburse me for the cost of this recalled part, which was only $150. They refused, even when I told them that I would file complaints and take them to small claims if they didn't cover the cost of the recalled part that they refused to supply directly to me or to local dealers. I gave them every opportunity to handle this right, and they basically told me to go f*** myself

My next move is taking them to small claims. They have until I file to square up with me for $150, or I'll be suing for lost time as well.

I can tell you I will never, ever buy another Polaris product after this debacle. I do like their products overall, but that kind of (non-existent) customer service is unacceptable, and I'm far from the first person to experience such frustration with Polaris Industries.

My next ATV or UTV will be Arctic Cat or Yamaha.

I warned them that I would squak loud and often if they didn't take care of this, so that is exactly what I'm doing.

So be advised, if you are thinking about buying any Polaris product, this is the kind of ugliness you face if you have a problem with it.

[Suburbancharlie77]

Keep the thread active for it to be most productive!

[wired]

Uh, you have a real polaris quad and you are complaining about it on a forum for kids ride on toys? Yep, you're pretty mad.
I hope you get reimbursed.

[Rob222]

Why would they reimburse cash for anything for a 11 year old quad ? That won't happen. Not how a recall works.
Wait 6 weeks and get the back-ordered ECM free under the recall and keep it as a spare. Or sell it .

[66deuce]

Uh, you have a real polaris quad and you are complaining about it on a forum for kids ride on toys? Yep, you're pretty mad.

I'm putting my grievances up anywhere and everywhere, just as I warned them I would. I expect quite a few members here are into grown up toys like ATVs as well, and might appreciate knowing how Polaris treats people.

Why would they reimburse cash for anything for a 11 year old quad ? That won't happen. Not how a recall works.
Wait 6 weeks and get the back-ordered ECM free under the recall and keep it as a spare. Or sell it .

In the automotive world, when a manufacturer has a safety recall and parts are backordered, they get to give out loaner vehicles or pay for rentals. And it doesn't matter how old the vehicle is; safety recalls are not the same as warranty, they don't expire. In retail, the manufacturers promptly replace or refund the defective item. But Polaris? Nah. They'll just treat you like dirt once they have their money. I'm far from the only person who has had serious CS issues with them. We wouldn't even be having this conversation if they hadn't shined me on repeatedly and refused to even sell me the part. I don't think there's gonna be too much trouble getting a magistrate to agree that they screwed up.

As for reinstalling the smoked ECM and having it replaced under recall; I bill $65/hr. It's not worth my time to load the quad, take it to the dealer, drop it and then repeat that trip a few days later.

This is not about money. $150 is chump change. I drop that much on ammo for one afternoon at the range. Financial hardship is not my angle for going after them. It's the principle.

[Rob222]

If you brought your 11 year old quad back to the dealer, they offered to exchange an electrical part for free under recall if you would wait until they actually had the back-ordered OEM part on hand. This sounds reasonable to me.

[66deuce]

If you brought your 11 year old quad back to the dealer, they offered to exchange an electrical part for free under recall if you would wait until they actually had the back-ordered OEM part on hand. This sounds reasonable to me.

Maybe you missed this part in my OP:

I use this thing for pushing cars and plowing snow, so I need it running, period.


And I remind you that they also refused to deal with me when I offered to buy the part outright from them, cash. That's what really chapped me.

This thing isn't a recreational OHV. It's not a toy for me, and having it down is more than an inconvenience. I don't know what you do for work, but imagine the item you were going to be without for 6 weeks minimum was something you use on a regular basis to do your job, and that those tasks can take more than ten times as long and risk personal injury without the implement. You probably wouldn't feel that time frame was very reasonable.