Polaris UTV’s, reliability, warranty, etc

[RCF71]

Ok, some background… I have always been a Yamaha guy (Big Bear 400, Kodiak 400, Grizzly 700, Wolverine 850 and a FZ1). 20+ years of ownership, and no major issues - just routine maintenance and minor repairs.

Well, I decided I wanted a “sport-utility” 4 seater. The Yamaha RMax4 has no bed (well, it didnt when I was shopping anyway…), so it ended up between the Polaris General and CanAm Commander. I decided on the General XP4 1000. Well, 10hrs in and the transmission is leaking. Took it in 2 weeks ago, and they let me know yesterday it was repaired ($2500 but covered by warranty). I have a month left on the factory warranty, and I’m questioning the reliability of this thing.

Anyone ever buy the Polaris extended warranty? Anyone recommend a 3rd party utv warranty company?

 

[LSnTX]

That sucks man, hope someone has an answer

 

[MO_ZR2]

Ok, some background… I have always been a Yamaha guy (Big Bear 400, Kodiak 400, Grizzly 700, Wolverine 850 and a FZ1). 20+ years of ownership, and no major issues - just routine maintenance and minor repairs.

Well, I decided I wanted a “sport-utility” 4 seater. The Yamaha RMax4 has no bed (well, it didnt when I was shopping anyway…), so it ended up between the Polaris General and CanAm Commander. I decided on the General XP4 1000. Well, 10hrs in and the transmission is leaking. Took it in 2 weeks ago, and they let me know yesterday it was repaired ($2500 but covered by warranty). I have a month left on the factory warranty, and I’m questioning the reliability of this thing.

Anyone ever buy the Polaris extended warranty? Anyone recommend a 3rd party utv warranty company?View attachment 15325

That sucks. We’ve ran Polaris Rangers on the farm for a decade now. Currently have five in service on the farm, oldest is our original unit from 2014. Never needed extended warranty to be honest…and my old man is hard on $hit too - we’ve replaced a belt or two, a couple batteries, and do the typical maintenance. Hopefully that’s all you gotta deal with and it settles into a solid machine.

 

[8ball_99]

I've not had a General. I have a few friends who has had them. I have had three different polaris RZRs though. Then a honda pioneer 1000-5 and now I have KRX 1000. Polaris aren't bad machines. Just in my experience it's constantly something. Couple months ago on a ride with friends we had several polaris machines break down. Front diff, bad water pump, ect. One guy with a general purchased a complete new steering rack from a shop close to the campground because his is shot. I think he had 1800 miles. Mind you this is all trail riding people and not exactly easy trails.

Like everything, all brands can have problems. But just IME, polaris stuff is built pretty cheaply. I kept a large storage box full of spare parts when I owned my RZRs. I've changed almost every part you can on one of those. My uncle has a 2020 ranger. He's never had a problem with it. He just drives it around his yard though, picks up tree limbs, ect

I had extended on a couple of them. They are hit or miss like most extended warranties. They always paid for themselves though. It doesn't take much. One primary clutch, one front diff, ect. As you just seen you don't have to blow a motor to have a 2k repair, lol.

 

[RCF71]

My previous quads were mostly used around deer leases, etc. I bought this one (over a Ranger) intending to use it around our place in central TX (haul grandkids to the creek, removing tree limbs, rocks, etc), hunting and some trail riding in retirement (12-18 months out) in TX, OK, AR.

Yamaha just came out with a 4 seat RMax with a bed, may just have to take my losses on this one and pick up one of those.

 

[8ball_99]

Like said, not saying they are bad. I wouldn't be scared of it. Depending on how you ride, it could just require a little more maintenance. It's also a good idea to john a few Facebook groups. That's the same with any of them. Pretty easy to figure out the common failure points. Often times you can do some preventive stuff to avoid problems. KRX is supposed to be one of the tougher machines. Before mine even left the yard I did several things to beef up the known weaker points.

 

[RCF71]

I’m pretty tame honestly. I had a lifted jeep with big tires when I was young, got that mudding bug taken care of back then. For hot rodding, I have the Camaro in my signature. And I take care of stuff!

Picked it up from dealer today. They had to R&R the transmission, split case, clean and reseal. When I dropped it off I mentioned it was hard to shift in and out of park, and that it squeaks like crazy. Nothing on paperwork about fixing either, but driving around my place just a bit this afternoon tells me both issues are absent now.

I really want to be happy this thing - great features and specs! Fingers crossed!

 

[AXE]

Yeah, I might get the extended warranty and run it a while longer. Hard to beat the Japanese rigs for reliability, but they aren't infallible. I see a lot of Polaris rigs running hard in the desert and dunes. They have to be decent to handle what I see them doing.

My Can Am Maverick had been really good, but you can find some lower quality welds, hose clamps, fittings if you look. Never seen that on my Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, and Yamaha rigs. That being said the only ATV I've ever owned with a major mechanical was a Kawasaki with a broken reverse gear. Had to split the case for repair, also warranty.

 

[44sixpack]

The Polaris machines do seem to be the least reliable of all of them. I always get the extended warranty and it always pays for itself.

My newest one is a '24 Ranger trail boss and so far nothing major wrong with it. I would buy a different brand but nobody runs Polaris any competition on the type of machines I want. and there's a dealer in every town so that's nice. the 25's are a significantly better machine, but they're about the same size and price as a ZR2 so at some point what's the point.

 

[Tdbmd]

Ok, some background… I have always been a Yamaha guy (Big Bear 400, Kodiak 400, Grizzly 700, Wolverine 850 and a FZ1). 20+ years of ownership, and no major issues - just routine maintenance and minor repairs.

Well, I decided I wanted a “sport-utility” 4 seater. The Yamaha RMax4 has no bed (well, it didnt when I was shopping anyway…), so it ended up between the Polaris General and CanAm Commander. I decided on the General XP4 1000. Well, 10hrs in and the transmission is leaking. Took it in 2 weeks ago, and they let me know yesterday it was repaired ($2500 but covered by warranty). I have a month left on the factory warranty, and I’m questioning the reliability of this thing.

Anyone ever buy the Polaris extended warranty? Anyone recommend a 3rd party utv warranty company?View attachment 15325

We have owned about 4 of the Polaris UTV, starting with the original 500cc Ranger. Never had one of the 4 seat versions but mechanically the same. We have had nothing but good luck with the Ranger models. Admittedly, we do not beat them up. They are used for farm/ranch/hunting and not mud bogging/dune jumping but nothing but good things to say about the Ranger models.