Is AC listening, Who's in, Class action for belts

SaberKitty said:

If Arctic Cat sent the following letter, would you be good with it?

Dear 2012 owner,

We apologize for the reduced belt life experienced with your new ProClimb this season. This does not meet your expectations or ours for having the best machine on the side of the mountain.

As an interim containment action, we have released a new -084 belt and two will be provided to you at no cost. This belt will not fix the problem but will be incrementally better for some riders and conditions. If you have continued belt reliability issues, please return the failed belt to your dealer for a no questions asked free replacement.

For the permanent corrective action, our engineering and product support teams have worked with key mountain dealers and ProClimb owners over the past two months to understand the root cause, develop and validate the solution.

Now that the problem is understood and solution validated, Arctic Cat is pleased to announce that an update kit with new parts XYZ will be provided and installed free of charge to all ProClimb owners. With the lead time of releasing new engineering drawings and procuring new parts from our supply base, unfortunately the kits will not be available before June 1.

When you bring in your sled for the summer update, please enjoy picking out that new riding gear accessory at your dealership with the $100 in Cat Cash we are including with the update kit.

Thank you for your past and future business,
Important Arctic Cat name here

P.S. The moose were the root cause

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That would be nice. Maybe make it more believable and have it say " To get warranty on the belt you must return to a Artic Cat dealer and have the next one installed by a certified tech to verify updates and adjustments".

To me that would say they care and give them a chance to deny warranty if it is customer abuse (as many have hinted to on this site, you know the whining thing).

"Some have experienced belt problems but many are not" Here's a bunch of 200 dollars belts to everyone anyway; (chose one) 'cause we're nice guys and feel your pain; we like to waste money; if we only gave the belts to the belt burners the others would feel bad; we have a dealer show coming and have to face them. What a crock of s**t!
That statement in the letter, that came with the belt, from Mr. Darling left me wondering if they are ready to tell the truth. Or maybe, and this is scary, they don't have a fix and have known that for 4 yrs and AC hoped that someone out there would give them the answer that their sit down engineers (I use that term loosely LOL) could not.

Who out there, if this was your company, would not send a real team to one dealer and take one belt burner and it's owner and solve that sleds problems. If, and a big if in my mind, "some are experiencing belt problem but many are not", why would you (as the company CEO) allow a very expensive bandaid (084 belt) to be recommended from that team.
Would you not demand a reason from your employees (cause bad PR is bad PR) as to why the 083 works on one PC 800 and not another? If it is a bad clutch or clutches, the supplier pays except for labour (and good to know for 2013). If it's chassis mis-alignment, a new belt will not fix it (as we are starting to see). If only a "few" are having belt issues why not just fix them??? Take a good one and a bad one and put them side to side and figure it out! It's your company and product, it's your responsibility! Or is that too " old school". You know, honorable.

I say (MO) that statement in the nice letter to us with the free belt is a lie to cover "THE LIE". The dealers got the technical version of the lie to cover "THE LIE". The belt was being "squeezed to death" by some, not by all though. I guess some got the Swartzeneger clutches and many did not.

Wyo, don't you yanks have a gov. agency that protects consumers from misleading (politically correct, I call it a lie) ads and manufacturer false claims. I think you could find enough evidence to get them to open a case file anyway. Then maybe some lawyer would start a class action himself to make a buck.
I'd be happy just to get AC to take that claim of "longer belt life, fatter wallets" off their web site and brouchers. It really bugs me because I believed it. That would be a small victory for the consumer.

I have to wonder (now that it has happened to me) what happened to all the RMK 900's and their owners. I know of 2 that never sled anymore and one that to this day wouldn't buy another Poo "even if they fricken weight 250lb" LOL.

And to think, not 18 months after Poo started producing the Pro everything is forgiven over there! Lol

And guys, all kidding aside, I'd rather blow 5 or 6 belts in a season than fail a motor. Motors mean tow outs, or worse, lift outs, and ruin your whole riding trip, require two trips to the dealer, a second breakin, etc.

I can sympathize with riding all the time wondering if your belts going to go on a climb though. That has to suck. Get through the season and see what Cat has for you in the fix.

I agree if im feeling bad about my proclimb i just stop by the poo section for a quick reminder why i went with the cat. Lol but in the poo section when they cant fix the bog they are throwing part after part at it trying under warranty.... we can all work with them trying stuff, but making us pay for a belt and then having them tell us "cat said not to do anything" leaves me questioning cats real desire too fix these problem sleds. FIX them cat, the few problems sleds you have are staining the chassis and sending an ora of bad rep on your new sled that really is a reliable machine other then that. if poo can efford to give a 4 year warranty and replace motor after motor with no questions then why cant you atleast try throwing clutches at us, or atleast checking motor alignment??? anything!!!!


-Aksnopro

Wyo, I am sure this thread has got someone's attention at AC and is probably a buzz thru the upper management! But with the '13 being tested and being finalized for this upcoming season, what did they really do to "FIX" the problem? New engine mounts, alignment, new secondary, geared down so they can overload the system more with a 2.6" gripper? Does this track have less rolling resistance to get 5 mph. better "claimed" climbing speed? Will they admit that it stops better going down hill as opposed to the 2.25 version? If there is no design changes to the torque link assy. including jackshaft and bearings then it really was not the culprit! So for me to get a '13 I need to know what was corrected to make it so I could sleep at night! What did they do to correct the side panel wear and hood removal system? Is the slop corrected in the adjustable post? Are the skis the same or improved? Only the HCR gets the lighter brake rotor and non of the rest? Is the fuel tank cap enlarged, how about the plastic cooling lines? What has really changed besides the larger track? Basically a sharper, more vertical steering and narrower suspension system that should have been included with the '12's. What does anyone think a dealer will give for a trade in?

Mike

CatRpillar said:

And to think, not 18 months after Poo started producing the Pro everything is forgiven over there! Lol

And guys, all kidding aside, I'd rather blow 5 or 6 belts in a season than fail a motor. Motors mean tow outs, or worse, lift outs, and ruin your whole riding trip, require two trips to the dealer, a second breakin, etc.

I can sympathize with riding all the time wondering if your belts going to go on a climb though. That has to suck. Get through the season and see what Cat has for you in the fix.

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I drive 10 hours to get to the mountains. If I buy a Polaris and the engine blows up, for not much more than the retail on a Cat belt, I can rent a sled and have Polaris fix the sled under warranty. Spending a grand in belts a year is ridiculous! My M7 has never blown a belt. If I were to pay $12k for any sled, I would expect it to be reliable...not the best on the mountain by any means, but at least not eat a belt a day. It is for that reason I have not snowchecked a 2013 Cat, even though I'm due to upgrade.

Pretty sad cat will not warranty Belts in 08 i bought an xp for the 900 miles i owned it i blew 16 belts and not one of them cost me a dime but i still had to drive an hour and a half to get them and or get my sled fixed after every ride prob cost me $75 in diesel round trip and that got old really quick hence the reason i only had it for one season

I own a M1100T. Cat sent me a letter extending my warranty for an additional year due to the reverse issue. Yes, I blew out my gears and since fixed I have not used reverse all winter. Not a big deal, never even had reverse until my M1000.

They stated kits will be available this fall. I am pretty pleased. Another full year bumper to bumper warranty is pretty sweet.

Funny they would jump on this, but look the other way on the belts. I think not even acknowledging they have a problem would be a slap in the face if I owned an 800.

While I think any legal action is last resort, maybe everyone is getting to that point. I would be pissed about the belts, but more pissed that my 800 would be worth butkiss trying to sell it. Even if it did not have belt issues, it now has the rep.

I would like to see Cat fix it and give everyone who had issues some Cat cash or some belts. If they can't fix it, then take it back and give you a comparable 2013. It is just what is right.

Here in Sweden the 800 m:s costs about 21100 and for that kind of money you could get a nice car that would function without problems for years. But then there is cats sleds, some of us cant even make it 15 miles before a belt blow to pieces and the dealers deny everything and says its our fault, all of us doesnt even get the new belt it seems.
Ive had zero belt problems unlike many others but ive had other problems, like the hole for the bolt on the ski beeing drilled to high so the rubber could fall out and make me fly over the handlebars a couple of times and the stickers falls of when i carves in the snow, my right front shock sags, it needs severals expensive upgrades like bumper and vents. Its also bogging when i give it some throttle on take off and it took 3 guys and about 20 mins to start it when is was about -25°C, it was harder to start then any triple weve ever encounter.

If cat within a couple of weeks presents a solution to these problems i definatly gonna get a new cat but otherwise im going with the poo or doo. Love my hcr but i just cant deal with this s***t. Sorry arctic cat but this is not okey for that kind of money.

rumors are new engine mounts that make it more sturdy so if doesnt move in the chassis so the 2013s are supposed to be fixed dont know if there would be anyway to fix the 12s unless someone made and aftermarket fix for it

Thanks for everyone posting.
At the end of the day this is the kind of stuff that helps us determine what sleds to buy (or not buy next) and that is what gets the manufacturers attention - sales.
I'm very happy with my 2011 M8's but I won't buy a newer AC until the problems are fixed....as evidenced by our members posts.

Schism said:

I drive 10 hours to get to the mountains. If I buy a Polaris and the engine blows up, for not much more than the retail on a Cat belt, I can rent a sled and have Polaris fix the sled under warranty. Spending a grand in belts a year is ridiculous! My M7 has never blown a belt. If I were to pay $12k for any sled, I would expect it to be reliable...not the best on the mountain by any means, but at least not eat a belt a day. It is for that reason I have not snowchecked a 2013 Cat, even though I'm due to upgrade.

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If you're not even riding one yet and you're talking worst case like it's a sure thing, that's up to you. In that case maybe you should go to Home Depot and buy a tobaggan.

If I take the worst case then Yammies shouldn't even be allowed in the mountains, you will fall off the face of the earth when you sidehill a Doo and the Poo- well let's just say if I believe everything I read I will be able to walk on water and don't even need a motor because it's so light - which is good because they just break pistons, rods, cranks when you just look at them.

Doodoctor is looking into a fix for the 1100T. May work/help here??
http://www.hardcoresledder.com/foru...rs-floated-secondary-arctic-cat-xf-turbo.html

stephenr_65 said:

Pretty sad cat will not warranty Belts in 08 i bought an xp for the 900 miles i owned it i blew 16 belts and not one of them cost me a dime but i still had to drive an hour and a half to get them and or get my sled fixed after every ride prob cost me $75 in diesel round trip and that got old really quick hence the reason i only had it for one season

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I bet your dealer ate most of those belts.. dealer here got screwed for 9000 in belts when doo refused his claims

Insaneboltrounder/sjohns said:

I bet your dealer ate most of those belts.. dealer here got screwed for 9000 in belts when doo refused his claims

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Great dealer but sad reflection on the part of Doo. One of the reasons I buy Cats is because of my dealer. Will still let guys work in his shop on their own sleds and tells you what he knows without sugarcoating it.

CatRpillar said:

If you're not even riding one yet and you're talking worst case like it's a sure thing, that's up to you. In that case maybe you should go to Home Depot and buy a tobaggan.

If I take the worst case then Yammies shouldn't even be allowed in the mountains, you will fall off the face of the earth when you sidehill a Doo and the Poo- well let's just say if I believe everything I read I will be able to walk on water and don't even need a motor because it's so light - which is good because they just break pistons, rods, cranks when you just look at them.

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I'm not taking the worst case. I'm taking the experience I have with the sleds ridden in my group. I drive a dodge diesel so I know what having a good engine in a less than stellar chassis is but yet I'm still unwilling to take a chance on the new cat. I'll sit this one out until corporate decides to address the issues.

Any pics of the bad belts? Are they wearing weird/getting hot, or just breaking? Glad i didn't didn't buy a PC this year for the belt reason, but haven't lost that much faith to get a pro yet.. I'd be pissed at putting that many belts on, but if the clutches are getting extremely hot, will it be blown motors from a bad crank seal next year!?! Waiting to see how this all shakes out.. op2:

I'm just sitting here racking my brain to understand what kind of jack-tard votes for no fix, no warranty... nothing.

It blows me away that there's some people on here with their heads SOOOO far up their own aZZes that they can't see that this is BIG, REAL problem for some people. WOOOONDERFUL that you're lucky enough to not be one of them, that's great for you, here's your cookie for being so special, but why be such an azz as to wish this on others???

Those votes may be ProRMK owners...

Even if it is just 10 people with belt burners (but it is many more) Cat needs to fix it.

They have not yet and dealers can't do Cat's research. They have not even admitted to a possible mechanical issue with some sleds. Just "some have had problems but many have not" here's a friggen belt, shut up we got a dealer show coming. Then at the dealer show they told your dealer the poor 083 was being squeezed to death but heeeere's the 2013's order, order, order please. What a bunch of BS to me.

So if you have a belt burner what are your options? Nothing! Nothing except whine! (that`s the whole point of these threads) That`s sad after you put out the cash believing Cat`s lie about better belt life and fatter wallet. Putting out your cash believing your warranty is more than just a piece of paper.
All you moderates out there. Is this not a warranty issue? If it was your sled eating a belt in 15min., would you not want it fixed or would you just keep stocking belts in your garage. " Hi Joe (freindly parts guy at your friendly dealer). Hows the wife and kids? Give me 6 today I'm going on a sleding vacation. Any news from Cat? No. Oh well it's only money and at least I don't own a Poo Ha Ha Ha. Really think this is the way you would be? Some of you come across like this would be your attitude. Not ME.

I would also like to point out to dealers and purchasers. If it ends up being only 10% (could be 40% we don`t know) of the sleds that are belt burners and Cat has done nothing to date to fix these few. They have only pointed out that "many are not having these issues".

WOULD YOU TAKE THE CHANCE ON A 2013? Are the odds good enough for you and do you still believe in Cat coming to the plate for you? Should buying a sled be a roll of the dice?