disappointed with yamaha & warranty coverage (resolved)

[kinger]

Agree with RTX 100%, I NEVER check bolts on a brand new sled every ride, that is not why I would spend $10K+ so I turn the key and go. Come to think of it I'm not sure I would check those bolts in a lifetime.

What ever happened to cotter pins LOL

Good luck with the claim.

 

[Roadrider]

Let me get you guys on track here! The bolt for the upper a-arm connecting to a-arm to the subframe was a tech bulletin.....All machines were to be looked over and have the bolts replaced if needed.....Almost all dealers replaced the bolt, needed or not .... If this bolt is the bolt that goes to the top ball joint on the spindle there has never been a recall on it..... YES to a point everyone should keep an eye on the bolts ect.... But in saying that main bolts and nuts should not come loose unless they have been played with..... If the bolt that backed out was the recall bolt then you do have a leg to stand on (ONLY IF YOUR MACHINE HAS BEEN IN FOR SERVICE SINCE THE UPDATE HAD BEEN ANUONCED) A recall is no good if the machine never went into the shop to get fixed sorry for the rant guys

Does Yamaha (or any Manufacturer of Vehicles) make their tech. bulletins
widely accesible to the second hand buyers? Not that I have seen. If you
read on these forums you can glean all the info. I just bought a sled that
the owner swore was just updated by his dealer. It didn't show at my
dealer , seems to take a month or so to land in the system. I'm a mechanic so looking here for the info and at the machine I can verify
it was all done. The normal vehicle owner in this day and age should be able to punch in the vin on a manufacturers website and access the info.
You can't because it would cost them more money as more people would
get the corrections done. They'll get sued enough times to eventually bring it about.

 

[RTX]

Not sure if this is what happened or not but I started the following thread last year when I had some issues....

http://www.ty4stroke.com/viewtopic.php? ... le&start=0

Blu2U2
yes this is the exact same problem as you had. infact after comming across your post i became so furious i decided to write this post.

to anyone that is confused on which bolt came loose. it is the allen head bolt that bolts through the top balljoint/swivel and attaches the top a-arm to the aluminum spindle. this IS NOT the safety recall thay yamaha issued

the dealer is woodys in topsham maine. normally i have found them to be a reputable bunch of guys but right now im a bit disgusted with them. They should have went to bat for my friend but they didn't and in my opinion i blame them just as much as i blame yamaha.
woodys told my friend that the hole was egged/ovaled and the bolt had to be loose for a long time and he should have noticed it and tightened the bolt. basically agreeing with yamaha decision.
The problem is that we lost the bolt 25 miles from home. in order to get the broken sled home we were forced to install an allen wrench through the balljoint and the spindle and clamp it with a pair of vise grips to keep it from falling off. we then called the dealer from the trail to arrange a drop off on a monday, while the dealer was closed. We left the sled infront of the dealership without speaking to anyone and with the allenwrench and visegrips still holding the spindle and a arm together so the dealer would actually see what we had to do to get it home. Driving the sled 25 miles with an allenwrench being used as a bolt is what ovaled/egged the hole so bad. unfortunately woodys and yamaha disagree.

I am going to do the same fix that boat.man did to his spindles for my buddy and i guarantee this issue will never happen again.

what really irks me is that this sled is in mint condition with low miles. it should be brutally obvious to any intelegent dealer this sled is not abused and is very well maintained. it should also be brutally obvious to any human being that deals with motorized vehicles that steering components should not come loose on thier own and if there is any god d4m chance of them ever ever ever comming loose they should have a retainer such as a cotter pin through them.
yamaha blew it big time on this and its only a matter of time before this design causes a crippling injury or a death

 

[Roadrider]

File a small claims action against them. Usually just
2 pieces of paper to fill out. The other thing that works
in Mt. and may work where you're at is the insurance
commissioners office. They may legally deem a
separately paid for warranty as insurance. I get pissed
when someone steals from and go after things pretty
hard. Very few times have I ever been cheated, although very few times was it ever worth the time and effort. Just the principle of the matter.

 

[vector06]

Woodys does have a good rep here. Sad....

 

[RTX]

I know they do thats why im so upset.
its where i bring my sled for service when i cant do the work myself. (thats going to change)
I have been treated well by them and i recomended them to my friend.
now i wish i never said a word to him

 

[RTX]

File a small claims action against them. Usually just
2 pieces of paper to fill out. The other thing that works
in Mt. and may work where you're at is the insurance
commissioners office. They may legally deem a
separately paid for warranty as insurance. I get pissed
when someone steals from and go after things pretty
hard. Very few times have I ever been cheated, although very few times was it ever worth the time and effort. Just the principle of the matter.

its not my sled but from how pissed i am about the whole thing it might as well be.
my buddy dont have the same drive that i have when i feel ive been wronged.
He is just going to bite the bullet and pull it out of the dealer pay the evaluation fee and i will fix it for him.
If this was my sled this would be posted on yamahas facebook page. on my facebook on hcs on craigslist you name it. any free forum i could post it on i would be posting it. this would not end untill i got a recall issued. i would make it my lifes mission.
30+ sleds on just this site alone. plus think of all the people that dont use this site and the people that dont say anything and just bite the bullet.
this is sad

 

[RTX]

I know they do thats why im so upset.
its where i bring my sled for service when i cant do the work myself. (thats going to change)
I have been treated well by them and i recomended them to my friend.
now i wish i never said a word to him

 

[IAVECTORGT]

Not sure if this is what happened or not but I started the following thread last year when I had some issues....

http://www.ty4stroke.com/viewtopic.php? ... le&start=0

Blu2U2
yes this is the exact same problem as you had. infact after comming across your post i became so furious i decided to write this post.

to anyone that is confused on which bolt came loose. it is the allen head bolt that bolts through the top balljoint/swivel and attaches the top a-arm to the aluminum spindle. this IS NOT the safety recall thay yamaha issued

the dealer is woodys in topsham maine. normally i have found them to be a reputable bunch of guys but right now im a bit disgusted with them. They should have went to bat for my friend but they didn't and in my opinion i blame them just as much as i blame yamaha.
woodys told my friend that the hole was egged/ovaled and the bolt had to be loose for a long time and he should have noticed it and tightened the bolt. basically agreeing with yamaha decision.
The problem is that we lost the bolt 25 miles from home. in order to get the broken sled home we were forced to install an allen wrench through the balljoint and the spindle and clamp it with a pair of vise grips to keep it from falling off. we then called the dealer from the trail to arrange a drop off on a monday, while the dealer was closed. We left the sled infront of the dealership without speaking to anyone and with the allenwrench and visegrips still holding the spindle and a arm together so the dealer would actually see what we had to do to get it home. Driving the sled 25 miles with an allenwrench being used as a bolt is what ovaled/egged the hole so bad. unfortunately woodys and yamaha disagree.

I am going to do the same fix that boat.man did to his spindles for my buddy and i guarantee this issue will never happen again.

what really irks me is that this sled is in mint condition with low miles. it should be brutally obvious to any intelegent dealer this sled is not abused and is very well maintained. it should also be brutally obvious to any human being that deals with motorized vehicles that steering components should not come loose on thier own and if there is any god d4m chance of them ever ever ever comming loose they should have a retainer such as a cotter pin through them.
yamaha blew it big time on this and its only a matter of time before this design causes a crippling injury or a death

" They should have went to bat for my friend but they didn't and in my opinion i blame them just as much as i blame yamaha." I am going to chime in on this! First off, how can you blame the dealer????? Do they do the maintenance on the sled???? Does your buddy do the maintenance???? Why is this a yamaha issue???? Should've went to bat but didn't?????? How can you say they didn't go to bat for him if they said Yamaha isn't going to cover it!!!! That tells me someone had to make a call to Yamaha!!!! I work at a Yamaha dealership as a service manager and if something like this happens that causes consequential damage, a dealer needs prior approval for these damaging types of repair! Which means a phone call! If your buddy has the dealer do the maintenance, is it done by the maintenance schedule that yamaha publishes in your OWNERS MANUAL or is it just an oil change and doesn't want anything else done?? There is a HUGE difference here! His owners manual, should he have one, clearly states the following: Fittings and fasteners: make sure that ALL nuts, bolts, and screws are properly tightened. Tighten if necessary after the first month of use or 500 miles which ever occurs first. Than check them seasonally. You said you check them, with your eyes, fingers, or with actual tools? Do you know what the torque specs are?? If not, your dealer has all the information he needs to know if he performs his own maintenance. This clearly is not a Yamaha issue, just negligence on the owner's part if he does his own work on the sled! Or negligence on the dealer's part if your buddy has his maintenance done by the book at the dealer!

 

[Roadrider]

Say what you will, wheels falling off a front end
on a 90 mph vehicle can kill people. Yamaha would
never even let it get to court. They would settle for
big bucks out of court to keep it quiet if some one had
gotten hurt or killed. Bolts don't just loosen up. The
metal is weak and squashing enough to allow it to loosen or it is wallowing out while tight from loads. Bad
design either way. They don't want to cover it because it ruined a part. Sets a precedence if they do. IMHO it's the dealer that is the problem, not Yamaha.

 

[NY AttakGT]

Say what you will, wheels falling off a front end
on a 90 mph vehicle can kill people. Yamaha would
never even let it get to court. They would settle for
big bucks out of court to keep it quiet if some one had
gotten hurt or killed. Bolts don't just loosen up. The
metal is weak and squashing enough to allow it to loosen or it is wallowing out while tight from loads. Bad
design either way. They don't want to cover it because it ruined a part. Sets a precedence if they do. IMHO it's the dealer that is the problem, not Yamaha.

Lawsuits and lawyers and sue sue sue is all that is wrong with this country today. The "when in doubt, get an attorney involved" attitude is horrible.

And for the record, I do think Yamaha should step up. I do think the dealer should be going to bat for you. This is a known issue as I have ridden with 4 other Nytro riders who had this EXACT issue happen. For someone to say that every rider should be checking torque specs on every bolt before they ride a snowmobile is absolutely ridiculous! I mean, yea, look for obvious things..an iddler missing, something broken, track ripped, stud pull-through...yes..check all that. But proper torquing of nuts and bolts? C'mon. remember not everybody wrenches nor is willing to wrench in order to ride.

If your dealer has declined, then you need to take it to the next step and call Yamaha customer svc. Speak with them courteously and cool and level-headed and definitely be educated with the issue and other instances of this same issue occurring. I have had to do this a couple times to get them to make good on their product where they should have stepped up in the first place.

This spindle bolt on the Nytro coming loose is not an isolated incident and they should take care of it and any issues it caused , especially with the potential danger involved in the A arm coming loose and it being somewhat of a common problem.

 

[Roadrider]

If I owned one I would drill and cotter key it. Taking
good photos showing the parts were good. Then if
the spindle wallows out, no excuses. It's an under
built part unable to withstand the loads.

I agree about the lawyers, only used one twice in my entire life. But they
frown on carving out someones kidneys these days.

 

[ecopter]

Not sure if this is what happened or not but I started the following thread last year when I had some issues....

http://www.ty4stroke.com/viewtopic.php? ... le&start=0

Blu2U2
yes this is the exact same problem as you had. infact after comming across your post i became so furious i decided to write this post.

to anyone that is confused on which bolt came loose. it is the allen head bolt that bolts through the top balljoint/swivel and attaches the top a-arm to the aluminum spindle. this IS NOT the safety recall thay yamaha issued

the dealer is woodys in topsham maine. normally i have found them to be a reputable bunch of guys but right now im a bit disgusted with them. They should have went to bat for my friend but they didn't and in my opinion i blame them just as much as i blame yamaha.
woodys told my friend that the hole was egged/ovaled and the bolt had to be loose for a long time and he should have noticed it and tightened the bolt. basically agreeing with yamaha decision.
The problem is that we lost the bolt 25 miles from home. in order to get the broken sled home we were forced to install an allen wrench through the balljoint and the spindle and clamp it with a pair of vise grips to keep it from falling off. we then called the dealer from the trail to arrange a drop off on a monday, while the dealer was closed. We left the sled infront of the dealership without speaking to anyone and with the allenwrench and visegrips still holding the spindle and a arm together so the dealer would actually see what we had to do to get it home. Driving the sled 25 miles with an allenwrench being used as a bolt is what ovaled/egged the hole so bad. unfortunately woodys and yamaha disagree.

I am going to do the same fix that boat.man did to his spindles for my buddy and i guarantee this issue will never happen again.

what really irks me is that this sled is in mint condition with low miles. it should be brutally obvious to any intelegent dealer this sled is not abused and is very well maintained. it should also be brutally obvious to any human being that deals with motorized vehicles that steering components should not come loose on thier own and if there is any god d4m chance of them ever ever ever comming loose they should have a retainer such as a cotter pin through them.
yamaha blew it big time on this and its only a matter of time before this design causes a crippling injury or a death

" They should have went to bat for my friend but they didn't and in my opinion i blame them just as much as i blame yamaha." I am going to chime in on this! First off, how can you blame the dealer????? Do they do the maintenance on the sled???? Does your buddy do the maintenance???? Why is this a yamaha issue???? Should've went to bat but didn't?????? How can you say they didn't go to bat for him if they said Yamaha isn't going to cover it!!!! That tells me someone had to make a call to Yamaha!!!! I work at a Yamaha dealership as a service manager and if something like this happens that causes consequential damage, a dealer needs prior approval for these damaging types of repair! Which means a phone call! If your buddy has the dealer do the maintenance, is it done by the maintenance schedule that yamaha publishes in your OWNERS MANUAL or is it just an oil change and doesn't want anything else done?? There is a HUGE difference here! His owners manual, should he have one, clearly states the following: Fittings and fasteners: make sure that ALL nuts, bolts, and screws are properly tightened. Tighten if necessary after the first month of use or 500 miles which ever occurs first. Than check them seasonally. You said you check them, with your eyes, fingers, or with actual tools? Do you know what the torque specs are?? If not, your dealer has all the information he needs to know if he performs his own maintenance. This clearly is not a Yamaha issue, just negligence on the owner's part if he does his own work on the sled! Or negligence on the dealer's part if your buddy has his maintenance done by the book at the dealer!

Well said.....and dicated right out of the manual. I figured it was in there somewhere, just as I indicated earlier about the motorcycle manual. It may be a manufacturers way of protecting themselves.

Really, what do you all expect out of these machines? You ride them like hades, bangin', speedin', racin', etc, etc, etc,..... and don't fully go over critical parts? Hmmm.

Sure glad you're not flying helicopters.....

jf

 

[judger101]

while i would feel the same way if it happened to me, and no i dont check things over as well as i should, i agree that it is the owners responsibility to check things over. same thing as when you get new tires on your car. they make me sign a sheet saying to either check the lug nut torque myself or take it in to them.

 

[RTX]

Ecopter. Dont slam me pal. I have a right to my opinion just like you do. You dont need to act like a child and start with the hope u dont do this or that crap if u dont agree state it and stfu. Do u check your lugnuts on your car berore every drive. Do u check your steering linkage before every drive. I dont think u do and i think i know why. Because these critical parts should not fall off. 30 plus problems speak for themself. Hope your not next.