Some of you have been wondering why Supertrax/SNOWTRAX didn’t release comments and info on the Polaris recall and “stop ride” announcement circulated about 10 days ago.
Simply put, we knew we would be face-to-face with the key people from Polaris Engineering and Marketing this past weekend at Hay Days. While the previous announcement described in very generic terms what the issue is, we knew we could get all the info from Polaris staff at Hay Days.
The Potential Problem
The issue at play here deals with static electricity building up inside the current polyethylene fuel tanks used in MATRYX, AXYS and certain Pro-Ride models dating from current back to MY 2013. There have been very few (30 incidents where fuel tanks have ruptured and/or caught fire as a result of sparks from static electricity build-up in the fuel tank.
The specific conditions this may occur under are an extended storage period combined with “old” or “stale” gas in the tank. Obviously, this is not a good thing and Polaris has gotten in front of this issue by notifying customers who own affected models to not ride – or even start their sled if it is on the affected model list.
Second, Polaris has instructed its dealers to not sell (or deliver) any affected models until updates can be performed. Polaris has indicated if you own an affected model and it must be run the owner should not do so until they have filled the fuel tank of their sled with fresh gas.
How Many Sleds?
According to Polaris, the number of units affected is approximately 230,000 sleds globally. This is not an inconsequential number by any stretch of the imagination. In no uncertain terms, Polaris made it clear it is working non-stop with its vendors to get the necessary parts to correct this problem.
If our understanding is right, we believe at this writing, a new fuel pump may be central to the fix. Polaris is confident after exhaustive testing that it does have the fix and the recall will completely deal with this issue.
How Do I Know If My Sled Is Affected?
Polaris will be notifying customers with affected units directly, as well as contacting the original selling dealers. Obviously, with a recall of this size there will be many affected units in the hands of second and third owners.
If you’re concerned your sled might be in this category, Polaris dealers will be able to help you find out what you need to know to ensure your sled (if affected) is included in the recall.
How Long Will It Take?
At this writing we have no specifics on the time required to facilitate the fix and when you will be able to schedule an appointment with your dealer. What we are quite sure of is this: Polaris wants to have this issue resolved and the “Stop Ride” order removed as fast as possible, so owners can safely enjoy the upcoming riding season on their Polaris snowmobiles.
