Beware of muffler falling apart

[brian90]

I was at a Canadian sled show today. I had a good chin wag with a Yamaha district service manager. He says Yamaha corp. Is aware of the problem and a new/replacement muffler is in the works. He said dealers should be aware by now.

Some Yamaha Reps as well as some dealers claim they know nothing about muffler failures.

 

[sfraser]

I was at a Canadian sled show today. I had a good chin wag with a Yamaha district service manager. He says Yamaha corp. Is aware of the problem and a new/replacement muffler is in the works. He said dealers should be aware by now.

Some Yamaha Reps as well as some dealers claim they know nothing about muffler failures.

I went in with a list of questions (the Viper is on my spring order short list). When the muffler question came up , he acknowledged it and stated a new model was on the way. It took me by surprise actually, but that is what he said. I asked him why no seems to know about it, he said they should. He was as straight forward character, not the type to BS, kind of refreshing actually. I am going back tomorrow, I will ask if there will be a recall, or replace upon failure warranty item only. My gut tells me the latter, common sence tells me it should be a recall. Anyways 2015 will have the new ones.

 

[cannondale27]

This is good news hope you are right.

 

[NOS-PRO]

Same here

 

[12pointer]

that sounds great since mine is on order!! 2015 LTX-SE White and Blue!! Hope the other items are corrected also

 

[sk-rx1]

It's good news that at least they recognize the issue. I guess I will pay to extend my 1 year warranty in the fall. But although I appreciate that they will take care of it under warranty I really would like to know that my sled will not have the meltdown out on the trails somewhere next season. I know typically the only cover what's broke, not what might break, but I can hope.....

 

[sfraser]

So I clarified the situation this evening. No recall, just replace as needed with new part and part number. Apparently there have not been that many failures, my take on the situation is this, likely they had a bad batch of mufflers, probably a small number of owners will ever be effected. Again, the rep did not actually state this, just my take on the situation.

Hope this helps, I know it made me feel better.

 

[brian90]

Well I ask my dealer about the viper issues sent my concerns onto the Rep. The rep responded to the dealer "to try to convince me that Yamaha is a quality product". Rep stated he is unaware of any muffler issues.

 

[NOS-PRO]

My VIN ended in 000344 if that helps, muffler replaced 3/3/14 under 2000 miles.

 

[allyammies]

Mine is 001350

 

[brian90]

So if Yamaha Corp knows of this muffler problem why do the Reps claim no knowledge of it.

 

[MCApex44]

So if Yamaha Corp knows of this muffler problem why do the Reps claim no knowledge of it.

There is a communication breakdown somewhere. I think for the most part their job is to get the sleds sold. So...at a snowmobile show I would assume they are instructed to play dumb on any issues. On the flip side...I find it odd that many of these "snowmobile reps" have limited knowledge of the product. I run into a good one here and there but for the most part they are very limited on what they actually know of the product/snowmobile.

 

[sk-rx1]

So where do we go from here? Since it does not look like Yamaha is going to replace all mufflers should we take ours apart and try and determine if the muffler is thin or starting to burn through? It appears from the one pic posted that it will burn right near the center rivet. Sure would like to avoid any major issues on the trails next year. Do we have any idea what causes the issue? Maybe an improperly welded piece inside that lets the exhaust get where it can do damage.

 

[BIG BLACK WARRIOR]

MCApex44 has it right. Most of these reps at the snow shows know very little about the product they represent. I truly believe they hire most of these reps locally the day before the shows start. If they know that snowmobiles ride on snow they figure they know enough to man a booth.

 

[YamahaTim]

MCApex44 has it right. Most of these reps at the snow shows know very little about the product they represent. I truly believe they hire most of these reps locally the day before the shows start. If the know that snowmobiles ride on snow they figure they know enough to man a booth.

Agreed!! They know they just won't tell you, play dumb is correct! They say what they need to, to sell the sled. And they only know the good things!