Well, i had the small melted hole in the area above where the left motor cover latch is that some other 2011 owners had and upon doing some more inspection i found something else melted.
The vent lines for the rear diff and the transmission, where they go thru a plastic loom on the motor under the exhaust header were melted almost flat and fused together. They were not melted completely thru yet but this could be a disaster for somebody if they did and you hit water or mud holes getting that into the diff and trans. So you might want to check things out. Mine did this with only 50 miles.
yes its the vent lines, just look about 6'' above the rear diff and you will see where they pass thru the holder attached to the motor, they melted right in that spot.
Thanks for the HeadsUP!!!! I just checked mine and they were melted shut! Nothing could get in or out. I only have about 75 miles on mine and only riding in cool weather. I will be talking to the dealer tomorrow about both melting issues.
glad to help, every 11 owner should check for melting issues. It seems to be located where ever there is a open spot on the header not covered by a heat shield.
Just got back from the Dealer and they were very surprised at the damage. They are contacting Polaris to see if they have a "fix" for these problems but they agree it's a warranty issue and a safety issue. I ride mostly woods and could you imagine the cost of a forrest fire that they would be responsible for if they know about this problem and do nothing to fix it. Anyone who has a 2011 should check their ride ASAP and report their findings to their Dealer and Polaris.
im good, looks to have good heat shields. Oh the rear diff, its the thing behind your tranny, makes your rear wheels spin. also located between the rear axles. if your still lost just look for clear hoses and check them.
Just checked the vent hoses on my 2011 RZR s and they are melted shut.
I have 78 easy miles on logging or fire roads.
I wonder if using rubber gas line would work or a piece of copper or aluminum tubing wrapped with a fireproof material.
This afternoon I checked with my dealer and they had not heard of the problem. I don't think that I will wait for Polaris to figure this out.
Thank you to everyone for the heads up on this.I would never have found it on my own.
yea, me too. to take to my dealer would be a hassle, the tubing to fix it was only 2 bucks and im going to run it thru a piece of car heater hose which is highly heat resistant and im not going to put it so close to the header.
In thinking about this some people may say that when it gets hot enough it will just melt the tubing, the tubing will fall off where the melting occurred,then the tube will be open again and problem solved. That would be your best scenario if it happened that way when you were riding. Most likely 99% not the case and those vent tubes serve a purpose.I throw that out there as someone may be thinking it but did not want to ask it.
Just my opinion that you need to make the fix or drop it off at Polaris if you don't want to do it yourself...
I could easily fix this myself also. That is not the issue. This is a design flaw that Polaris created and they need to fix it. If you do it yourself and something were to happen and a injury happened to you or someone else or your ride goes up in flames it's now your problem. I'm just say'n
If there was a major issue then I would agree with what you said. Since this is just a pair of simple ventilation tubes I don't think you have anything to worry about causing any of those scenarios you mentioned.
Most likely I will fix it better then my Polaris dealership ever would, and quite honestly I don't think they have a warranty replacement part to fix this issue planned out if I dropped it off. So by the time they consulted on what part, materials, labor rate and negotiated with Polaris on how they would get reimbursed for payment the 2012 models would be on the floor.:rofl3::rofl3::rofl3:
Well I must not me as mechanical as I thought as I dont see a plastic loom on the motor under the exhaust header on the 2011 RZR 4. Does anyone have a picture of where it would be in relation to another part.
Squale183 please read the WHOLE post. If this was ONLY about the melting vent lines I would agree also. The major issue that started this post is about the exhaust melting a large hole in the back of the engine cover behind the passenger seat. If it's hot enough to do that it's hot enough to set the back of the seat on fire if this is not caught in time and I don't know anyone that wants to be in the HOT SEAT(lol). Do you?
Dez Rat, I'm not sure how I missed that part. You're right I spaced that first line! I guess I saw the picture and read from there.
Yes that's more of a manufacturing concern/issue then a couple of rubber vent lines. Polaris should be informed.
I will still not take mine back since it's not a internal drive train, frame, or suspension issue. I consider every issue at hand before I would determine ever taking it back to the Polaris dealership. Since Polaris has not issued a recall with a proper part predetermined by their engineers for this fix. Until that happens I'm not going to leave it in the hands of someone to come up with a resolution, who does not care about me as much as I do.:scared2:
anyone ever just wrap the whole header with header heat wrap? we did my brothers gsxr 1000 because of his aftermarket exhaust melting his plastics and it worked perfect, no problems since, and im sure that 1000 gets hotter than these!
I also have a 2011 RZR S LE. After hearing about this melting issue I checked my ride--which has about 20 hrs on it now. I have a 2 inch hole melted through the panel behind the passenger seat---you have to take the engine access panel off and it is just up and outboard of the quick release attach. It is close to melting through the area around the attach hole. I also have the melted vent lines. The really frightening thing about this location is that I have been carrying two 1.5 gal spare fuel cans (plastic) on the baggage shoulder just above this point.
This IS a safety issue and an engineering oversight on the part of Polaris. Even if you intend to fix it yourself it would be helpful for you to contact your dealer and let them know---otherwise Polaris won't have the problem frequency necessary to prompt corrective action.
Just took the bed off my 2011 S and found all the same issues I read about here. Melted vent lines and 2 holes melted in the panel behind the passenger seat. I have wrapped the headers, installing the heat shield from ATV Inc lined with heat reflective tape. Will also add heat resistant padding to the panel behind the passenger seat. They need to have a recall on this shit before something catches on fire.
Yes Polaris needs to know, and i will tell my dealer but to have to take my rzr in and go thru the bullshit and i can bet like said before they wont fix it as good as i will im going to do mine myself for now. This is not a super big problem to correct, Of course if you do nothing it could be. On the melting above the motor covers right latch i slid a piece of aluminum in behind it to act as a heat shield. On the vent tubes i bought 4 ft of new 3/8'' clear hose and will run it thru a piece of 3/4'' heater hose in the area where it melted. Then these issues will be taken care of. The problem is created by the new style header and the melting is isolated to areas close to a part of it not covered by a heat shield.
is this only happening on the s model? im in the process of picking up a 2011 eps le, non s model this week. just want to know what im in for. thanks for any info.
I agree Gunrunner that this isn't really a big problem. It's just that when I send $15,000 on something, I don't want it to melt away in the first 20 hours....lol.
I agree, but when things change sometimes there are glitches that dont get caught till it reaches the consumer. polaris had a similar problem when they came out with the new 800 sportsman in 05, side cover melting, fixed mine with some metal tape. And never had anymore issues. So long as the word gets out and you either fix it yourself or let the dealer do it im sure polaris will add some heat shielding to these areas in the near future. Just everyone who reads this be sure to tell any 2011 owners you run into about it cause everyone doesn't read the forums or might not read this topic. Maybe the mods can sticky this topic now that so many are finding they have this going on.