Well, we had some bad luck Saturday. We took the ADV2 Northstar out for the first time this year Saturday afternoon. We only rode about 3 hours and threw a rod through the block. No prior indicators of any issue. I change oil every 25 hours, and there haven't been any signs of an oil leak.
Was just starting back to the parking lot to go home. Running about 30-35mph in high range on a smooth dirt trail when all hell broke loose. There was a momentary jerk that almost felt like an abrubt downshift. My wife said she smelled something burning, but I never smelled it. Immediately, it sounded like the exhaust manifold had fallen off.
I slowed down to about 10mph, not realizing what had happened and hoped to limp it back to the parking lot. Within about about 500 ft. the engine died and that was it. Done Over.
A fellow came along and pulled me back to the parking lot, where I winched it up on the trailer. When we got home, I decided I'd blow it off with the pressure washer, so I could maybe see what was going on. While washing it, a chunk of metal blew out on the deck of the trailer that turned out to be the bigger of two pieces of block that had blown out. We took off the rear skid plate, and found a big chunk of the rod embedded in the plate...melted right through it in one spot. We gathered up all the broken bits and pieces we found, including part of a ring and what I believe is one of the bolts used to torque to the rod. The bolt was bent and had red rust in some of the threads and had the thread worn off on one side.
I'm pretty confident the rod wasn't properly torqued and that's why she blew apart. I ordered mine the very first day they were available to order, back in 2023. So I'm a year out of warranty. I showed the parts to the Service manager at the dealership, and he agreed it sure looked like a bolt from the rod. And the dealership manager confirmed if that rod wasn't properly torqued, that could sure account for why it blew apart.
So I guess now is when I find out if Polaris will cover it or not. Out of warranty or not, I'd hate to think they wouldn't cover it with only 103 hours on the engine, and 1448 total miles. We just don't use it that often. Just over 700 miles a year.
I'm not much into buying extended warranties, and am willing to accept some risks. But if the rod wasn't torqued right to begin with, that's just outright negligence and I'd like to think Polaris will take care of that. I've read on this forum and other boards of a few others who had rods blow through the block. So feel sure there were some issues with the early-production machines, no longer than these things have been out and available.
I'll sure as hell be ticked if Polaris decides I have to eat this catastrophic failure. With a $40K base price, and another $15K in add-ons before I ever took delivery (more than 6 weeks at the dealership being customized), I'd sure like to think quality control wasn't that bad, and if it was, that they'd not stand behind it. I've spent about $120K on 3 new machines since 2019 with the same dealership. But I know they can only do so much for me, and that it will be up to Polaris in the end.
I've had good luck with both Honda and GM covering issues outside of warranty on things that should have never occurred. So hopefully, the same will be true this time. I'm never one to whine about what I pay for something up front. I will bitch and complain, however, if I get a lemon. This one is tasting pretty bitter at the moment.
Was just starting back to the parking lot to go home. Running about 30-35mph in high range on a smooth dirt trail when all hell broke loose. There was a momentary jerk that almost felt like an abrubt downshift. My wife said she smelled something burning, but I never smelled it. Immediately, it sounded like the exhaust manifold had fallen off.
I slowed down to about 10mph, not realizing what had happened and hoped to limp it back to the parking lot. Within about about 500 ft. the engine died and that was it. Done Over.
A fellow came along and pulled me back to the parking lot, where I winched it up on the trailer. When we got home, I decided I'd blow it off with the pressure washer, so I could maybe see what was going on. While washing it, a chunk of metal blew out on the deck of the trailer that turned out to be the bigger of two pieces of block that had blown out. We took off the rear skid plate, and found a big chunk of the rod embedded in the plate...melted right through it in one spot. We gathered up all the broken bits and pieces we found, including part of a ring and what I believe is one of the bolts used to torque to the rod. The bolt was bent and had red rust in some of the threads and had the thread worn off on one side.
I'm pretty confident the rod wasn't properly torqued and that's why she blew apart. I ordered mine the very first day they were available to order, back in 2023. So I'm a year out of warranty. I showed the parts to the Service manager at the dealership, and he agreed it sure looked like a bolt from the rod. And the dealership manager confirmed if that rod wasn't properly torqued, that could sure account for why it blew apart.
So I guess now is when I find out if Polaris will cover it or not. Out of warranty or not, I'd hate to think they wouldn't cover it with only 103 hours on the engine, and 1448 total miles. We just don't use it that often. Just over 700 miles a year.
I'm not much into buying extended warranties, and am willing to accept some risks. But if the rod wasn't torqued right to begin with, that's just outright negligence and I'd like to think Polaris will take care of that. I've read on this forum and other boards of a few others who had rods blow through the block. So feel sure there were some issues with the early-production machines, no longer than these things have been out and available.
I'll sure as hell be ticked if Polaris decides I have to eat this catastrophic failure. With a $40K base price, and another $15K in add-ons before I ever took delivery (more than 6 weeks at the dealership being customized), I'd sure like to think quality control wasn't that bad, and if it was, that they'd not stand behind it. I've spent about $120K on 3 new machines since 2019 with the same dealership. But I know they can only do so much for me, and that it will be up to Polaris in the end.
I've had good luck with both Honda and GM covering issues outside of warranty on things that should have never occurred. So hopefully, the same will be true this time. I'm never one to whine about what I pay for something up front. I will bitch and complain, however, if I get a lemon. This one is tasting pretty bitter at the moment.
USAF 76-80
