[farmcon]

Are most of these issues on 2017s and older? anyone having issues like this with 2018s? for the few of us that havent bought one yet...

 

[Sitgreaves101]

I just took delivery on a blue 2018 General on Dec 17. Mine has the CV joints on the prop shaft, so I don't get the marbles in a can sound. But it does have horrendous whine from the front differential, which I assume is gear mesh noise from a sloppy, poorly fitted ring and pinion set. These gears free wheel until the 4WD demand system locks the sprag clutch inside, meaning there is little or no load on the gear teeth for most driving. Since Polaris did not make any changes to the diff, I doubt we can expect any difference here. This is apparently the same diff design they've been using for years across their ATV product lines, and people have been complaining about it for years.

I have driven a friend's 2017 General and his makes no noise at all. His came from the factory like that. So I suppose it could be a build quality issue with the diff suppliers?

I would recommend test driving any unit you're thinking of buying, and keep trying different machines until you find a quiet one. Of course this time of the year the diff oil might be cold, so it might sound quiet at first.

If you do buy a unit that makes noise, it can be a long road to getting it fixed, as this forum shows. Good luck! Other than the noise, my 2018 has been great!

 

[WC-Ranchr]

The change from u-joints to CV's was a '17 mid-model year change. Based on my discussions with Polaris it probably happened around May '17. It seems that their service bulletin VIN cutoff is not aligned with the production cutover since my VIN was actually past the service bulletin date but still had u-joints. It just took a call from the dealer and Polaris approved the swap.

 

[Bloomboy]

I took my 2016 in for the steering recall and the dealer ran the VIN and called me to tell me that they changed out the prop shaft with the new cv design. The mechanic said my u-joints were loose and noisy so this should fix it. Haven't drove it a lot since the new prop shaft since it's been so cold but it seems quiet. The funny thing is the dealer took the initiative and called Polaris for me. They said not everyone gets a service bulletin update in the mail so they just did it under my VIN. I guess some dealers are better than others.

 

[Spggy]

I just took delivery on a blue 2018 General on Dec 17. Mine has the CV joints on the prop shaft, so I don't get the marbles in a can sound. But it does have horrendous whine from the front differential, which I assume is gear mesh noise from a sloppy, poorly fitted ring and pinion set. These gears free wheel until the 4WD demand system locks the sprag clutch inside, meaning there is little or no load on the gear teeth for most driving. Since Polaris did not make any changes to the diff, I doubt we can expect any difference here. This is apparently the same diff design they've been using for years across their ATV product lines, and people have been complaining about it for years.

I have driven a friend's 2017 General and his makes no noise at all. His came from the factory like that. So I suppose it could be a build quality issue with the diff suppliers?

I would recommend test driving any unit you're thinking of buying, and keep trying different machines until you find a quiet one. Of course this time of the year the diff oil might be cold, so it might sound quiet at first.

If you do buy a unit that makes noise, it can be a long road to getting it fixed, as this forum shows. Good luck! Other than the noise, my 2018 has been great!

I had my 2017 G4 (build date April 2017) prop shafts changed to the CV versions in July but still get a front diff noise when the Hilliard kicks in/out to engage front wheel drive. My plan is to get the Hilliard "improved" by JJ & A Racing Products..

 

[bluesbass]

If you just took delivery of a General, check or have your dealer check the fluid level in the front diff. My 2016 barely had any fluid in it. I think they are shipped this way and your dealer is supposed to top it off. They didn't do mine.

 

[Pirate]

Yup, there is no doubt that a lot of dealers do a very poor job of Pre Delivery Inspection...so its very worthwhile to check everything yourself!!


If for some reason you can't do your own...get a PDI checklist from the dealer for your machine...VIN number too! That way if something goes wrong...they signed off checking it on your machine...so they own it!!

Pirate

 

[EdgeXXL]

Mine was just like Bluebass and had practically no oil in the front Diff. I checked my machine out thoroughly before I ever drove it. That is when I found the front diff empty. I am not sure if this issue has caused a lot of people to have front end noise. My machine has never made any noise I would not call normal from the front diff. I just had the drive shafts replace with the CV joint shafts anyways just in case. My dealer was good with doing it and never even asked me about noise or anything. I just mentioned the service bulletin about it and they ordered the parts and changed them.

 

[brcrowell]

I just received a recall letter from Polaris and they are replacing the old shaft with the new CV shaft for free.

 

[Slow Motion]

You guys obviously have good dealers ,my dealer not so good he says that Polaris was going to RELEASE SOME TODAY ,,so I don't have a clue it's a wait and see thing for me there are two dealers within a couple hours from me ,one is bad the other worse.

I know this is nuts ,But,a technician / mechanic ,no one in management just a worker actually told me ,the dealers openly think if you cannot afford to fix one on your own you would not buy one.

I fish Bass Tournaments locally and a notion came over me a few years back to buy a Ranger Bass Boat. That was a bad experience after four dealers they had me thinking I did not even deserve a Ranger Boat and believe it or not it nothing to do with price they didn't care if I was paying cash man those guys were a mess Attitude !!.

I like my General but darn I wish Polaris would just Do a little better .

 

[Txemax]

Cv shaft in General'16

Hi guys,
I have a mental breakdown on these problems. I have been looking for a correct answer, but my poor english is a trouble...

So, i have a question for all the people who improved their shaft to a new cv shaft in their General: the new 2018 cv shaft (piece ref: 1333917 ASM-PROPSHAFT,FRONT + 1333918 ASM., PROPSHAFT, REAR) can be installed in the 2016 models?
As per Polaris parts, these pieces are only compatible for 2017-2018 models !!
Also, the old non-cv shafts references are different in 2017 models and 2016 models. I don't know what are the differences...??

Anybody installed the new cv shafts in a 2016 General?

Thanks for your help!!

B.Regards from Spain!

 

[Bloomboy]

Txemax,
I have a Blue 2016 and the dealer did indeed replace my old non cv with Part # 1333918 rear and #1333917 for front.
Hope this helps.

 

[Txemax]

Txemax,
I have a Blue 2016 and the dealer did indeed replace my old non cv with Part # 1333918 rear and #1333917 for front.
Hope this helps.

Thanks for your answer Bloomboy. I will visit my local dealer to do this replacement.

 

[allcavalry]

Welcome to the forum, would love to 4 wheel in spain, how is it?

 

[Txemax]

Welcome to the forum, would love to 4 wheel in spain, how is it?

Hi Allcavalry,
Spain is different (people says so)...we can drive our utvs onroad and offroad anywhere as they are street legal,except out of trails or tracks, neither in the beaches. After all is not so bad, as we have many trails everywhere and we can use them to cross the whole country if we want. Just, we must becarefull not to drive into a particular trail or zone, but they have a plate or a chain indicating it's not allowed to cross in.
Of course, we don't have the minimal aftermarket accessories or parts as you in USA. I bought my fenders to Grizzztech, just an example...

Regards!

 

[Patty B 57]

The rattle can noise, as I call it has been addressed by recall# RSA-17-03. Dated 12/22/2017. They say this is an optional service advisory, I took my 17 General 4 back to my dealership shortly after delivery to bitch about noise in driveline. Got this recall and took my General 4 in for a completely new CV type prop shaft. I did spend the bucks on the Polaris Super carrier bearings. Problem seams to be solved, no more “rattle can”!!

 

[Sitgreaves101]

2018 General, Front Diff Noise

This is a follow up to my 12-31-17 post (post #82). My 2018 blue General had a loud whining sound from the front differential. I had driven a friend's 2017 General that was perfectly quiet, came from the factory like that. And his prop shaft has U joints, not CVs. So of course I thought why can't mine be like his? Started a case number with Polaris and took it to the dealer at the end of January. Over a period of 68 days they replaced the front differential twice and the CV type prop shaft once, and now it sounds worse than ever. At any decent cruising speed the front diff sounds like a hail storm on a metal roof. Based on zero for three on getting a good front diff, I have officially given up. Polaris and their crummy design and inconsistent quality have won again. And it's a shame, because I love everything else about the machine. It would just be so nice to have a quiet ride to boot.

And yes, I did check and my state's (Arizona) lemon law does not apply to off road vehicles. Even if it did, I understand you usually have to hire a lawyer to get a manufacturer's attention. Finally, if they gave me a new unit, what assurance would I have that it would be any better?

So if you have one of the noisemakers (maybe 50% of units?), based on my experience it can take a long time to get any action, and the outcome may not be any better than what you started with. Dealers will not do any warranty work without prior Polaris approval, and Polaris won't approve any work without information from the dealer such as videos and preliminary inspection reports. Parts shipments can take a week or more. And you are at the mercy of the dealer's availability of technicians. So all of this back and forth can take weeks or months.

Fortunately my dealer was 100% behind me, and it was off season so he had techs available. Still, it took 68 days to get nowhere. At my request, Polaris did extend my OEM warranty for another six months, which is good considering how many times the unit was torn apart. Who knows what newly introduced failure modes are lurking up front?

While the Hilliard differential may be a very clever design to achieve instant 4WD when the rear wheels slip, for the other 99.9% of driving all it does it sit up there and make noise. Polaris will likely never change the design as long as they continue to sell every unit they make for MSRP or close to it. It is a good old Yankee triumph of marketing over design or quality. Until they get some competition from somebody with quieter and maybe cheaper vehicles, the noise will probably persist. Reminds me of the complacency of the big three in Detroit in the 70's, when the Japanese began to eat their lunches...

 

[camo man]

Sorry to hear this. I had to take mine in 2 or 3 different times. First time I was given a new front dif. The second time a new front shaft with u joint. The 3rd time it was the CV jointed shafts. Problem solved! Sure hope they can solve your issues.

 

[Spggy]

This is a follow up to my 12-31-17 post (post #82). My 2018 blue General had a loud whining sound from the front differential. I had driven a friend's 2017 General that was perfectly quiet, came from the factory like that. And his prop shaft has U joints, not CVs. So of course I thought why can't mine be like his? Started a case number with Polaris and took it to the dealer at the end of January. Over a period of 68 days they replaced the front differential twice and the CV type prop shaft once, and now it sounds worse than ever. At any decent cruising speed the front diff sounds like a hail storm on a metal roof. Based on zero for three on getting a good front diff, I have officially given up. Polaris and their crummy design and inconsistent quality have won again. And it's a shame, because I love everything else about the machine. It would just be so nice to have a quiet ride to boot.

And yes, I did check and my state's (Arizona) lemon law does not apply to off road vehicles. Even if it did, I understand you usually have to hire a lawyer to get a manufacturer's attention. Finally, if they gave me a new unit, what assurance would I have that it would be any better?

So if you have one of the noisemakers (maybe 50% of units?), based on my experience it can take a long time to get any action, and the outcome may not be any better than what you started with. Dealers will not do any warranty work without prior Polaris approval, and Polaris won't approve any work without information from the dealer such as videos and preliminary inspection reports. Parts shipments can take a week or more. And you are at the mercy of the dealer's availability of technicians. So all of this back and forth can take weeks or months.

Fortunately my dealer was 100% behind me, and it was off season so he had techs available. Still, it took 68 days to get nowhere. At my request, Polaris did extend my OEM warranty for another six months, which is good considering how many times the unit was torn apart. Who knows what newly introduced failure modes are lurking up front?

While the Hilliard differential may be a very clever design to achieve instant 4WD when the rear wheels slip, for the other 99.9% of driving all it does it sit up there and make noise. Polaris will likely never change the design as long as they continue to sell every unit they make for MSRP or close to it. It is a good old Yankee triumph of marketing over design or quality. Until they get some competition from somebody with quieter and maybe cheaper vehicles, the noise will probably persist. Reminds me of the complacency of the big three in Detroit in the 70's, when the Japanese began to eat their lunches...

I had noise coming from my 2017 Gen 4 Hilliard Diff when it kicked in. I was going to get the Diff reworked/improved but on my last service they added Gear Oil Treatment to the diff fluid and it is now much better.

 

[Pirate]

Spggy,

Got any idea how much of that tube they put in the diff?

If I recall correctly, it only takes about 14 oz of lube. So too much and you have to get the Passenger side a couple of feet in the air or it all runs out the fill plug hole.

Thanks,

Pirate