HONDA PIONEER ENGINE STALLING

HONDA PIONEER ENGINE STALLING

Dear Sarge,

I have a 2018 Honda Pioneer 1000. Ever since I purchased it, there has been a random engine stall. Sometimes it is once a day, and other times it is once a month. During the warranty period, I took it to my selling dealer for repair. They could not find anything wrong with it and tried to infer that it was my imagination or something I was doing to it. Well, we have lived with it for a few years now, and the extended warranty is up. It seems like the Zooter knows it, because it is happening more and more now! I have replaced the ECM, fuel pump, spark plugs, wires and caps. Sarge, I don’t know where else to go from here. I am hoping that you can solve my problem, because I really like my Zooter and do not look forward to trading it in.

Bob Carter

Idaho Falls, Idaho

Boot, in the years you have owned your Zooter, did you ever take it to another, more qualified motor pool? You wait until the extended warranty expires then contact Sarge? I smell dereliction of duty here, Boot! Given what you have already replaced, my thought is the 2018s did have a history of the rear fuel-injector connector having an intermittent connection. Remove the breather box, grab hold of the rear fuel-injector connector and wiggle it with the engine running. If the motor stumbles and quits, there is your problem. It is usually the brown wire. It needs to be removed from the connector. Usually, it is so loose you can simply pull it straight out of the connector! Cut it back to some good copper and use a pick to push out the pin and re-crimp the wire to the pin. Then, re-install the pin into the fuel-injector connector. I will let the dereliction of duty slide, but you will be cleaning the parade deck with your scuzz brush! And, I don’t want to see a knee on the concrete, Boot! Dismissed!

See UTV Action’s full test on the Pioneer 1000-5 here: HONDA PIONEER 1000-5 LE – UTV Action Magazine

WHY DOES MY 2021 ROXOR LOOK LIKE A 1960s LAWNMOWER?

Dear Sarge,

I purchased a used 2021 Mahindra Roxor. It was at a good price, and I love the performance, but I just can’t love that lawnmower look. Do you know of any way to convert the 2021s to look like the 2019s?

Kevin Levin

Austin, Texas

Private Blue Jeans, I do agree with you. The 2021 and later Roxors do have that mid-century lawnmower look. And the previous year’s models looked like a green frog! Your problem all boils down to Fiat Chrysler complaining about the 2019 Roxor looking too much like a WWII Jeep, even though Mahindra has been licensed to build jeeps in India since WWII. Be that as it may, your running gear hasn’t really changed much since 2018, so requesting 2018–’19 hood, fenders, grill and headlights will “convert” your “lawnmower” back to a vintage Jeep. New will not be cheap. Used would be preferable. And be aware, Boot, the mounting points will most likely be different, but nothing that a resourceful recruit with a welder can’t fix. Also, www.ceccoracing.com has a complete line of components to transform the look and ability of any year Roxor. Dismissed!

LATE 2021 POLARIS GENERAL BUILD QUALITY STINKS!

Dear Sarge,

I was either fortunate or unfortunate, depending on your point of view, when I received my 2022 General. I was lucky to get it but unlucky to get a late 2021 build. It looks like it was assembled by a high-school shop class! None of the doors close correctly. I could not fit a receiver in the hitch without some major filing down of the welds. I think they were practicing “glob pass welding”! I understand the pandemic is slowing things down, but why the decline in quality?

Derrick Reynolds

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Private Reynolds Wrap, you are assuming the same people who were doing the job pre-pandemic are doing it during the pandemic. That is not always the case. Many people found they could make more money by staying at home and collecting their government check than by going out and working. Polaris, like many other businesses, had to find new workers. These new workers take time to train (assuming they can be trained to the level of the original workers). To ease production backlogs, I imagine some corners were cut. There was also the problem of supply shortages. Various Zooters were only partially built, waiting on parts. So, other Zooters were put into production that they had parts for. When the original parts were on site, the Zooters that had been set aside were dragged back into production and finished. Also, there are reports of Zooters being delivered to dealers lacking parts, and they could not be sold until Polaris sent the dealers the missing parts for them to finish assembling. So, is it so surprising that there are quality problems? Everyone has had to adapt to a different lifestyle the last two years, Boot. Suck it up. Adjust your Zooter’s doors and file the hitch! Be thankful you even have a new Zooter, because most people I know are still waiting! Since you are so concerned about quality, with your one hour of free time at night you will remove every mattress from every rack in the squad bay. Rotate them and replace. Remake every bed. You have one hour, Boot. No more! And, I better be able to bounce a quarter off any one I choose, Boot! That is a test of quality, Marine-style! And, it will be your turn to be on fire watch 0000–0200 hours and any other watch if a recruit thinks you didn’t put his rack back right! Dismissed!