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For Everyone with an 08-10 D8 Please Read

General Feelings on 08-10 Polaris D8


  • Total voters
    727

WyoPro

Well-known member
Lifetime Membership
Sep 19, 2008
652
295
63
39
Laramie, WY
So...I've logged many hours on my 09 D8 163, most of which were spent pushing snow with the hood as I've become a bit of a fair weather (sunny skies and new powder) rider and am fortunate enough to live in a location that provides me with this option!! I've changed a few plugs and gone through 3-4 of the spendy 321115 belts but never had any major problems to speak of. I'd like to know if I'm the minority (these threads would leave you to believe that I am) or if there are others that share my good fortune. I've comprised a list from the minor to major problems to see just where everyone sits. As a list of everything that has went wrong with every individual sled would be not only hard to compose but lengthy as well I've limited it to the most common in my opinion....
 
2

2strokes_are_awesome

Active member
Dec 8, 2007
180
32
28
Flat and Boring
Overall I'm very happy with my 08 D8. I've had a little trouble with the midrange bog, not much, and the plastics aren't what I would call the best/most durable.

I'm more upset about buying the sled this last fall because the pro rmk just came out than because of any problems I've had with it.
 

AndrettiDog

Well-known member
Lifetime Membership
Dec 23, 2007
6,329
2,478
113
Colorado
That's a misleading poll because some items are checked on conditions of another checkbox.
 

thefullmonte

Well-known member
Premium Member
Nov 26, 2007
1,844
630
113
Rapid City
From a prior poll, I would guess that you have close to a 1/3 of the owners that have problems or are not completely satisfied with their sled. There has been quite a bit of buyers remorse when it comes to these.
You have only included a fraction of the issues that a person can find on these sleds. Some run great and others don't, but it is far from the 2% failure rate they should have. Polaris just can't seem to get a handle on it.
A lot of the issues stem just from how Polaris has chosen to deal with the problems. Rather than doing the right thing and taking back or replacing the problem sleds Polaris just sits and watches the consumer squirm. The dealer is left clueless, and Polaris won't acknowledge the customer. They try one thing after another to fix it constantly inconveniencing the consumer. The customer spends $10,500 and feels like giving up the sport because his sled hasn't been right in 3 years.
When I started my sled for the first time this year it said 705 miles and you don't want to hear all the problems I found with my sled and motor. I spent an easy $1200 this season making my sled reliable. That doesn't include my own mishap that turned out to be my saving grace.
I don't mean to sound negative and I am truly happy for those of you with great running sleds. However, the impression that Polaris has left on me is that they don't care about the customer. They could have handled these situations in a much better manner. Instead they chose the route that would inevitably lead to lost customers and sales. They are more worried about the almighty dollar than producing a quality product. They have it backwards, if they build a quality product the dollar will come. Quality control is non existent within Polaris. It really says something about a company when your product doesn't even meet your own tolerances and specifications when it leaves the assembly line.
Sorry, I'm done now.
 
P
Dec 8, 2007
99
11
8
Alberta
Unfortunately i have to agree. I've been riding Polaris on and off for 14yrs and my 09 Dragon is not very reliable. Every second ride it ends up in the shop for programming. The reflashes just don't seem to work. It will run good for a few days then engine light comes on and goes into limp mode. Doesn't matter if i'm on the throttle or not. I'm scared to do anything performance wise to it because of warranty and reliability. It's in the shop again and waiting to hear from Polaris to see what they want to do next. Too bad because i like the chasis.
 

WyoPro

Well-known member
Lifetime Membership
Sep 19, 2008
652
295
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39
Laramie, WY
That's a misleading poll because some items are checked on conditions of another checkbox.

If you're referring to the check boxes that you check if it was under warranty or not I'm not sure how that misleads anything. I did, however, consider the fact that the people checking for example 2-3 Engine Failures would have had 1 engine failure as well so it depends on if the individual checked 1 and 2-3?? In theory I was thinking that if you had 2-3 engine failures you would not check 1 engine failure and the combination of the two (i.e. total amount of people in 1, 2-3, and 3+ out of total votes) would give you an estimate as to the percent of people that have had at least one engine failure. I guess all I'm really looking at here is that I know a lot of individuals are having issues regarding this 800 CFI, and they have every reason to be unhappy with their sleds and with Polaris in general in the way that they are handiling this situation. I'm also of the opinion that people are much more vocal when they have issues regarding something such as an engine failure than if they haven't had any issues at all....
 
J

Jkinzer

Well-known member
Nov 27, 2007
2,752
628
113
Lewiston, Idaho
I am another one with thousands of miles and pretty much no issues... 4600 all boosted miles to be exact. i did have a regulator failure... only one though and it was after 3800 miles so i'm not to upset by it. sled has been great pull and go since day one. my dad rides an 09 RMK 800 which has also been issue free... has around 2000 miles on it with no problems other than the stock pipe heat shield splitting which was warrantied and replaced. My girlfriend now has around 1400 miles on her slightly modded 09 D8 which had 1000 miles on it when i got it. Her sled as well has been 100% trouble free. We got some of the good ones!:)
 

snosfun

Well-known member
Lifetime Membership
Premium Member
Nov 26, 2007
379
120
43
N of Great Falls, MT
Sheeesh, 4600 miles, wow.

Mine has 1400 miles, no problems. Didn't really want to do the 2010 update because it was fine to start with, but it still runs great with the update too.:face-icon-small-hap
 

Dazzler

Well-known member
Lifetime Membership
Oct 24, 2009
267
145
43
Cochrane Ab
I had a 08/800/163 (sold to good friend now) with over 4000 trouble free miles, changed belt every 1200 miles just because. 2010 update, it developed a mid range stumble, the second flash for the update fixed it. I also have a 09/800/155, 1200 miles 0 problems. This sled runs very strong, absolute blast to ride. Just had update done, test rode and it seems good. I bought a second 09/800/163 this winter to replace the 08, it came with update kit. This sled was disappointing to start with, but after a little research on snowest and a little T.P.S. knowledge, we now have 600 trouble free miles and the sled pulls hard. I have never blown a belt or fouled any plugs on any Dragon and I do ride them hard. I did install slp hyperfax on the 163's as stock sliders did not last. I think Polaris has stepped up to the plate to resolve issues as I am receiving engine update kits that I do not need, obviously some of you are having a lot of trouble so I can only hope that you have as good a dealer as we have, I have seen him pull parts off new sleds to get you out on the snow. I live at 4200 feet and go up from there, my sleds see very little below that so maybe that helps. I will not be jumping ship any time soon. Love the new Pro RMK look but a little concerned with weight loss program.
 

chumbilly1

Well-known member
Lifetime Membership
Dec 7, 2007
1,278
245
63
47
love my dragon!

I am another one of the"lucky ones". 08 163 800 with p.a. 12.5-1 head,slp single, cold air intake, v- force, attitude box,wiseco pro-lite pistons, never an update and lots of advice from Fastrax. Never a failure, except having too much fun and bending holz a-arms left and right(literally). This is by far the best mtn. sled I have ever been on. I ride from 2500 and up, but sled doesn't get run hard till 5500+. I run premium nonethenol fuel with lucas octane boost, and I run it rich until I get to the big hills then I lean out the top-end till the rpms get to 8400. If I hadn't ridden one of these with the HM turbo kit, I would of thought mine was perfect, but now I am ruined and need some more power. I think these sleds are better suited to true mtn.riders with mod expierience, the failures I see are either related to regulators or they are low elevation road racin types who don't understand lean midrange and varying throttle positions to keep egt down. I personally feel polaris builds the best mtn sleds... And I am considering a pro rmk but i think i will spend 7 grand on turbo first and see if I can afford a pro rmk in 155 as back-up sled. (pipedreaming!)
 

WyoPro

Well-known member
Lifetime Membership
Sep 19, 2008
652
295
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39
Laramie, WY
So far somewhere right in the neighborhood one out of four 800 CFI having a failure of somekind. That is disappointing.......
 

Timbre

Well-known member
Premium Member
Nov 1, 2008
2,812
2,504
113
Southwestern Idaho
Love both of mine

Absolutely love my sleds (2 - 08 163" D800s) One boosted, and one stock. Had zero problems with either one. Guess im one of the lucky ones too...? :)
 

rockinmranch

Well-known member
Premium Member
Nov 29, 2007
873
744
93
I had 4 800's (stock) as part of my rental fleet last year. Two burned down once, one twice and one never, sold that one with over 4000 miles. That is a 75% failure rate on four stock sleds. Polaris should have taken that sled and studied why it made it under the same conditions and the other three didn't. The guys claiming no troubles but there sleds are under 1000 miles just have not hit that critical point yet. Most of mine had problems between 1000-2000. This is the time of the year last year that the dealers started filling up with sleds. There are now enough new sleds out there with higher miles. I heard our dealer is getting a few. Are other dealers seeing the failures? I hope it's fixed. The 800 is my sled of choice. I was forced into other options for rentals until I am confident the Polaris motor issue is resolved.
 
L
Jan 26, 2010
47
25
18
N. IL.
09 Assault, no problems before the update, no problems after the update. 2200 miles overall. Installed PCV right after the update. Everyone should buy a PCV and disregard EPA intrusion into our sport, just like the motorcycle industry has done! We all know why they have driveability issues, don't we? Stop blaming Polaris and put the blame where it belongs! The FEDS! Start voting the right way and lets get the goverment out of our lives.
 
N
Dec 23, 2009
35
16
8
09 Assault, no problems before the update, no problems after the update. 2200 miles overall. Installed PCV right after the update. Everyone should buy a PCV and disregard EPA intrusion into our sport, just like the motorcycle industry has done! We all know why they have driveability issues, don't we? Stop blaming Polaris and put the blame where it belongs! The FEDS! Start voting the right way and lets get the goverment out of our lives.

Now that's a crock of ****, granted nobody likes the EPA, but Polaris is the only one to blame. In stock form the 2010's and 2011's seem to be running okay. There is no way Polaris should have released the 800, especially the way it ran in '08 and '09, totally disappointing to say the least. Once again Polaris never had a solution to their own problem, Power Commander was the solution and Polaris should have included it with the recall, but they didn't and guys were forced to shell out another $400 on a sled that has lost an incredible amount of value thanks to nobody other than Polaris. Polaris has lost this customer for a long time and they have also convinced me that they are more concerned about atv's than they are sleds.
 

05900

Embrace the BRAAAAAAP!
Lifetime Membership
Nov 27, 2007
10,692
4,556
113
Where the Buffalo roam
And to think this all started back in 2005/2006 with a one year (700) and two year
(900)! No matter how pretty and sparkly the new 800 is I think I would not fall for the
"snocheck" B.S. and wait till it is proven (yeah thats it).
I am sure they are anxiously awaiting my trade in !
 
L
Jan 26, 2010
47
25
18
N. IL.
So much whining and crying goin on at this web site! Good thing you'all don't own Yamahas! Suicides and self mutilations would be witnessed by all! So, you never had to rejet your brand new WR250/450 just to survive the first test drive? You never put a chip in your car/truck to get the performance you expected? You never replaced the clutch in your 60's muscle car all by yourself, just after installing the new cam and carb (which you had to rejet)? Did you ever install a roll cage or a ladder bar rear suspension? What I'm saying is, you might be in over your head.
 
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