[purplewg]

850XP EPS Fire!

GF gave a kid for a ride last night. About two miles of easy trail. Got back and the kid said her butt was hot. Then came the flames out from under the right rear seat.
Got worse before I heard her calling. Ran got a hose and put it out. Nice flames but she ruined her jacket trying to put it out.

It is less than a year old and less than 20 hours on the bike. Looks to me like possibly a wiring short or maybe the plastic was touching something. All burns are in the rear right area.

 

[al53]

I would be pissed.....you did not rewire any thing there right....I would show your dealer and also be in contact with Polaris....that was no fault of yours..it was a defect that took time to show up...tell them GF coat caught fire and close to personal injury...looks in the exhaust area...file a case with the Recalls & Defects | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) let them investigate a possible defect....

good luck

 

[InRBigness]

Its from the exhaust pipe getting too hot and starting the plastic on fire. Other posts about melting them but first fire I have come across. Contact Polaris as they are definitely aware of it.

 

[FirstPolaris]

I'm wondering if the weight or where the rider was sitting pushed fender down on exhaust! I'm sorry this happen to your machine, hopefully you have warranty.

 

[WHS]

Bummer...
A few years ago my buddies and went out for a little adventure ride. He had a brand new 500HO. Anyhow, up one climb there was a downed tree across the trail and it required some tricky maneuvering and as he was going up and around, his big giant stupid box caught the tree and wedged him in... The side was pushed in slightly and as we were trying to figure how to extract him all of sudden "FIRE FIRE"!
Turns out that there is a wiring junction block there and the factory forgot to cover it... Consequently, when the side panel bent in it allowed a couple of bare wires to touch and poof! The nice thing... Polaris did not even bat an eye. They fixed it, replaced all the plastic and 5 years later its still good.

My advise, take it in... If it's legit factory defect and your still in warranty, don't sweat it, Popo will probably fix it right up. But give them the option first... I just hated it when people would go off all half cocked and start screaming and doing the asshole dance before you have even given the dealer/mfg a chance. I mean come on, calling the NHTSA! Your gf almost caught on fire! As far as I am concerned, thats bullshit advise.
Maybe if you get jerked around... But hey, right now you do not even know what started it. Heck, I have come in from a run and found my machine smoking, but it was from some dry weeds against a hot exhaust.
So, check it first and figure out what happened...

 

[GaleHawkins]

Thanks for the photos that adds to the impact of the danger. Glad no one got burned.

Going to beef up our underside with the heavy 2" higher temp foil tape from Lowes while the skin is off because it will reflect some of the heat so it all does not reach the plastic.

When riding below 10 MPH the heat build up can be huge.

 

[Treacherous]

I wonder if it was lacking some of the heat shielding from the factory? I don't think I have heard of a 550 having any of the melt issues IIRC..only the 850.

 

[purplewg]

Thanks for the replies guys. Yeah the bike is still under warranty. Just a real PITA to have to deal with something that seems to have been going on with bikes for several years. Will try to haul it the dealer this week and see what they have to say about it. Hard to tell exactly what caused it due to the massive hole burned in that area. I suspect the plastic must have touched something, melted onto the pipe which was probably too lean, and the plastic just caught. Had this happened in the woods, the bike would have most likely burned to the ground.

 

[purplewg]

Looks like we might be SOL. It appears the warranty is only 6 months on ATV's. This one is one year and about a week old.

 

[GaleHawkins]

Still talk with corporate office. Fires can to be a little in the minds of some makers in a legal sense. A rod through the block is rare but not unheard of. A fire issue can burn down a $250K home and two $50K vehicles in the garage driving up the risks the makers insurance company has assumed.

I have found calling corporate and just asking for the legal department concerning any major can help if finding any resistance.

You may not get any help in the end but every employee in every company knows they can loose their job if they do not push just a request to the CEO at once.

Could the rider been wearing a long coat that covered the area or anything that could have reduced air flow to the area? If you have to do it out of the pocket maybe you can find a wrecked ATV with no rear damage that you can buy and part out the rest after you get it restored.

A key action before pushing buttons is to make sure one has not contributed to a loss like this. Threats often just make things worse but just asking concerned questions as a customer often can result in a proper respond from the maker.

On the bright side it seems like the fire occurred in a place that could lead to long term issues. A fire in the electronics/engine area can be very hard to make right ever.

Keep us posted.

 

[swampdonkeyvt]

I had grass and mud built up on the muffler on my grizzly, could smell something burning. stopped to check it out just in time. it was starting to burn the grass. if i would have kept riding that bike would have burned up.

Wonder if something like that happened here. If polaris doesnt cover it, your insurance should.

 

[indy]

keep us informed

 

[Jakedg]

Here in Newfoundland Canada its required to have a fire extinguisher on your bike, if not and you get pulled over you can get a ticket. Is it like that anywhere else? Sorry to hear about your bike, definitely something that needs to be looked into by polaris.

 

[Squirty0]

I had the same problem in that burnt area except for mine didn't catch on fire but it did melt some plastic and seat and also burnt my calf area. I contacted The dealership and Polaris, They claimed it's the "first" time they heard of such thing. They know it's gonna cost a lot of fix it so it's their way of avoiding it by saying it's their "first" time of hearing about it.


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[ChickenHawk]

Here in Newfoundland Canada its required to have a fire extinguisher on your bike, if not and you get pulled over you can get a ticket. Is it like that anywhere else?

??? Seriously? That seems asinine. What's the law care if your wheeler burns? Forest fire?

 

[MustBeNice]

Glad to hear no one was injured..... also nice job on catching it and putting it out with the hose. Not everyone reacts with collected thoughts!

May I ask..... Did you have insurance on the bike? Hope you did, as that could be a costly repair bill with the rear plastics, seat, wiring harness and a jacket. Hopefully Polaris Corp will "make it (at least the bike) right". If not I'd claim it.

 

[Squirty0]

Even the Polaris corp said it was nothing they could do about this because I didn't have warranty on it even though the miles on my ATV is very low. Basically telling me "SOL".


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[Jakedg]

Here in Newfoundland Canada its required to have a fire extinguisher on your bike, if not and you get pulled over you can get a ticket. Is it like that anywhere else?

??? Seriously? That seems asinine. What's the law care if your wheeler burns? Forest fire?

Yea thats there concern if your bike ever caught on fire it could start a forest fire. I know first hand as i recived a warning ticket for not having one from a forestry officer

 

[GaleHawkins]

Jakedg that makes sense. Those of us who live where it is impossible for a forest fire to occur just do not think about that risk.

 

[purplewg]

Glad to hear no one was injured..... also nice job on catching it and putting it out with the hose. Not everyone reacts with collected thoughts!

May I ask..... Did you have insurance on the bike? Hope you did, as that could be a costly repair bill with the rear plastics, seat, wiring harness and a jacket. Hopefully Polaris Corp will "make it (at least the bike) right". If not I'd claim it.

No, we did not have insurance on it. Never really thought about it. Wasn't worried about theft or anything as we kept it inside. Never dreamed the dang would spontaneously combust.

We are taking to the dealer late this afternoon to see what they say. Being out of warranty I guess we won't have much recourse. Checked the hours and it is 12 1/2.