Problems with 2014 RT Limited Spyder

[MrRabbit]

MAJOR ISSUES WITH THE 2014 RT LIMITED SPYDER...

This letter is written in order that I document to BRP the issues involved in my ownership of one of your products, namely the 2014 Can Am RT Limited Spyder.

My ownership of your product has seen many thousands of dollars spent by me and more importantly also almost resulted in possible injury or worse for both myself and my daughter where we were seconds away from dying due to a major faulty part on my motor cycle. This has caused me to have a very large level of mistrust in the product and has made me very angry and upset that, according to the dealership, BRP are not standing behind the product that they sell.

My original Can Am RT Limited was purchased from a dealer in Brisbane in June 2013 and I have subsequently upgraded to the Can Am RT Limited 2014 due to major heat issues on the right hand side.

The purpose of this communication is to attempt to find a solution to the historical problems that I have had with your product and also the ongoing issues that I continue to encounter to this very day.

If you speak to the dealership you will find out that the dealership are well aware of my issues and you will also find out that I have regularly serviced my Can Am at the dealership and also been back for any non-warranty problems.

I will outline the history of when I purchased my first RT Limited Spyder and why I changed it just after 12 months of riding it and what I lost in the change over to the next model. At this point I believe my concerns have not been taken seriously by BRP… the Springwood dealer for the bike has been more than helpful all the way along and has also provided me a loan bike at no change while my bike was in the shop for an extended period of time being tested and fixed time and time again.

Major Issue one with the RT Limited 2013 Model purchased June 2013.
1. Aerial Broke off – Replaced no charge
2. 16/10/2014 LH Side Pannier Cover Broken hinge – Replaced no charge
3. Heat shielding added to prevent the bike from blowing up – Manufacturer recall – Fixed no charge.
4. Heat Issue on right hand side of bike… the air was so hot on the right hand side of the bike and blow directly onto my right leg… it was so hot that you could almost cook an egg on my leg from the heat, so I had no choice but to upgrade the bike to the 2014 model. Interestingly it looked like the problem was corrected as there were no longer any heat issues in the 2014 model.

As a result of the changeover I lost more than $15,000 in the changeover after just one year… I wasn’t happy about that but I was willing to wear the cost as I love riding the RT Limited Spyder almost as much as I love my wife…

Major Issue Two with the RT Limited 2014 Model purchased June 2014
1. 16/10/2014 Aerial Broke off – Replaced no charge
2. 11/3/2015 Hand brake not holding where it got to the point I had to carry a block of wood with me to ensure the bike didn’t roll away from where I parked it each time – Replaced no charge
3. 21/04/2015 Front end was hitting on the ground constantly and unstable around corners so I had a sway bar and adjustable front end suspension fitted to fix this issue… not warranty related but I needed the bike to be more stable on the road due to me driving it every day.
4. 11/01/2016 Replaced LH Side Headlight Bulb – Paid by me
5. 15/02/2016 Replaced RH Side Headlight Bulb – Paid by me
6. 11/04/2016 Both Front Discs and brake pads completely shot and had to be replaced Bulb also fell out of the instrument panel and had to be replaced – Paid by Me
7. 13/12/2016 Seat split apart on the front near fuel tank and LH Hand grip broken – both replaced no charge
8. 13/12/2016 Both headlight covers cloudy – Replaced no charge
9. 20/12/2016 Front end is bouncing on road and gets worse as speed increases – Issue Still unresolved
10. Also found out that the compressor that automatically adjusts the Air suspension has also failed – Still unresolved
11. Hatch on the back of the bike was very weak during the 12 months under warranty but stayed up most of the time… however as time progressed it is now at the point where I need a piece of wood to hold the door open so I can put items in the back without the door closing on my hand to avoid injury – Still unresolved.
12. 21/01/2017 Rear wheel locking up problem. This had happened once or twice about 12 months ago but I didn’t think much of it at the time as it didn’t happen again until now. It happened once when I was breaking at a set of lights and once around a corner in the wet… I was very lucky that I was in front of all the traffic and was able to get away first. If I was in the traffic when the back wheel locked up then I believe my daughter (who was sitting behind me) and I, would have been injured or killed in the accident. I had taken off as normal from the lights and as I accelerated the back wheel locked up with no notice and span the bike 180 degrees into oncoming traffic. I was far enough away from the oncoming vehicles for them to see me and they where able to stop just in time without hitting us but it was very close to a major accident with multiple vehicles. If this accident had occurred with injury or damage you would be communicating with my lawyers right now. You have been lucky it hasn’t gotten to that point yet.
13. Since the first time the bike started locking up the back wheel has locked up 30 times in 30 corners…to the point where the bike shop wouldn’t let me ride the bike because it was unsafe to be on the road. – Paid by me

It has now gotten to the point that I am unwilling to put my children on the back of my bike due to the fear that I might kill them. I personally don’t feel safe on this bike any longer. There are still unresolved issues at this point that I am no longer willing to spend more money on just to wait for the next major issue to happen.
When you spend $41,000 on a new top of the range bike to have to change it because it’s burning your leg to the point you have to wear fire proof clothing, it is an issue, and then to have the added insult into injury of losing over $15,000 to upgrade to the new model to fix one issue to only find the problems have multiplied ten fold and are still ongoing is unacceptable. The worst of this all is your company has not taken these issues seriously… which has upset me more than anything.

I would like to know how you are going to resolve these issues before it becomes a legal matter… I have already contacted my lawyers and have completed an affidavit that in the event of my death on the RT Limited Spyder, that they conduct a full investigation in to the cause of the accident… I have also provided them the entire history and a copy of this letter incase this matter needs to progress to legal representation. I hope it doesn’t have to go that far but your response will determine this path.

I really do love riding my RT Limited but I do not feel safe on this bike… I do believe the problems are specific to my bike only at this point however I do not know if this is part of a wider issue. My proposed solution to this is to either:

1. Replace my bike with the current model at no charge (and brand new warranty) OR
2. Full refund and I will purchase a bike from another manufacturer

I can understand if there were only a few issues as nothing is perfect but this is now beyond a joke and there are still more pending issues that are unresolved and I believe more problems to come.

I don’t expect you to accept blame for these issues but I do expect the problem to be resolved. I have been more than patient till now but that time has run out now.


BRP Response... Refer to you warranty... See ya... in other words we don't care about our customers and take no responsibly for safety issues related to our products ... if you get killed we don't care... is what i got from there response..

Brisbane Australia RT Limited Ex Rider now... i will never by another BRP Product as long as i Live

[dndfindley]

BRP has had 10 years to fix this. They have made some improvements but nowhere near enough. It is not enough that some of you have ridden for tens of thousands of miles with nary a problem. That there are still problems out there like this one makes the entire line suspect.

[Don in E Texas]

See you are just now getting involved here on the Forum. First Spyder purchase June, 2013 - . There are a lot of folks here on the Forum that could/would have offered aid and help over all those years - - and I'm sure there will be some tips coming your way.

Just my observation.

Welcome to the Forum.

Don

[Highwayman2013]

A little late for help. Sorry you had so much trouble.

[Chupaca]

I see this is your first post. From what has transpired there is fault with all parties in this relationship. Set aside all the little known stuff, antenas, bulbs, heat, seat, suspension etc the main issue is the rear wheel locking up. Not having seen this before it is scary to see that you and your daughter after surviving near misses spinning head long into oncoming traffic would have continued in more than 30 occasions. Glad you are both well and totally understand your not wanting to ryde any longer. Do hope you, your dealership and brp can come to a amicable solution...

[Sam Mac]

It would be nice to see BRP step up and correct your issues but I wouldn't hold my breath.

[Jeriatric]

So you traded one nightmare for another. And took the loss associated with doing so.

To the unload it and move on crowd. He did!

How did that work out?

[samewok]

all of your problems were over a period of time.
you have not said how many miles on bike.
are they factory brakes on the rear and how many miles on them?
you need to give more info if you going bad mouth the bike.
This is just my opinion.

[Jeriatric]

all of your problems were over a period of time.
you have not said how many miles on bike.
are they factory brakes on the rear and how many miles on them?
you need to give more info if you going bad mouth the bike.
This is just my opinion.

I too wish he would post copies of everything the dealer has done and when, along with mileage and final resolution. If any.

I'd be more than happy to do that with mine.

[2dogs]

When BRP was first contacted about my spyder's vibrating belt issue, I received almost the same answer as MrRabbit received. The dealer had made three attempts at adjusting the belt to cure the vibration but to no resolve. I was standing next to the shop manager while he was on the phone with BRP explaining to them about his attempts to cure the vibration problem when he received this answer, "live with it that's just the way it is." We all know the f3s' received attention but not 14RT's. I think LAMONSTER may want to rename this site from SL to SL&H.
No, seriously if it were not for this site there would be a lot of frustrated spyder owners out there with many unresolved issues. My thoughts are that BRP owes a deep debt of gratitude to the many on this site who come to the aid of others and help them over come their problems with BRP's spyder line of products.

[MrRabbit]

I see this is your first post. From what has transpired there is fault with all parties in this relationship. Set aside all the little known stuff, antennas, bulbs, heat, seat, suspension etc the main issue is the rear wheel locking up. Not having seen this before it is scary to see that you and your daughter after surviving near misses spinning head long into oncoming traffic would have continued in more than 30 occasions. Glad you are both well and totally understand your not wanting to ride any longer. Do hope you, your dealership and brp can come to a amicable solution...

The near miss was in wet weather ... every time you accelerated coming out of a corner the back wheel would lock up... the other 30 times was to prove that the ABS system was malfunction and not just broken... BRP don't care about the safety of their customers... when i bought the 2014 RT Limited the park brake failed so much that i needed to use a block of wood to stop it from rolling into traffic then the front discs failed after that the suspension compressor failed then the ABS system failed... there are all major safety issues that they don't seem to care about...

[MrRabbit]

all of your problems were over a period of time.
you have not said how many miles on bike.
are they factory brakes on the rear and how many miles on them?
you need to give more info if you going bad mouth the bike.
This is just my opinion.

i have done 30,000 klm and replaced the disc pads 3 times in this period over 2.5 years... regardless there are some major safety issues that just shouldn't happen like the park brake failing within 6 months, suspension compressor failing within 18 months and the abs system locking the back wheel when accelerating out of of corner... this is not bagging... this is fact... and BRP don't care about their customers... how would you feel if your daughter was killed do to a manufacturer fault... what would you tell your family and friends bad luck?

[ARtraveler]

You have mentioned in your letter that you have lawyered up. That is usually the point at which BRP no longer communicates. They let their lawyers deal with yours.

At this point, I am sure that you will never buy another based on all that has happened. I have not seen an incident before where the same safety issue happened 30 times and finally it was suggested to not ride the machine.

Without much in-between information and, a first post with a number of problems listed with two separate machines, I am not sure what to suggest. For now, I have to see what transpires.

[bmccaffrey]

Sorry for your problems

If your waiting for BRP to pull a rabbit out of their hat good luck

That's why I bought RS bullet proof

[Chupaca]

It is looking a lot like you did not have a very good crew working on your rydes. If both were handled by the same dealer one could see things are not going to get better. You did point out that warranty covered you were applicable. Hope they can find the cause of the locking rear wheel..can only suspect the vss as it is the only way to stop only one wheel. Do let us know what they find...

The near miss was in wet weather ... every time you accelerated coming out of a corner the back wheel would lock up... the other 30 times was to prove that the ABS system was malfunction and not just broken... BRP don't care about the safety of their customers... when i bought the 2014 RT Limited the park brake failed so much that i needed to use a block of wood to stop it from rolling into traffic then the front discs failed after that the suspension compressor failed then the ABS system failed... there are all major safety issues that they don't seem to care about...

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

This is the first ABS failure I recall hearing about.

[Bob Denman]

I'm sorry that you've had trouble with your bike, but why waste time posting that in here?
We're not going to fix it, and BRP only keeps a small presence in here that doesn't actually fix bikes either.
You either need to get your dealer on board, or go directly to BRP through customer service.
But as far as hyperbole and exageration go: you write a very entertaining letter!

[Buckeye Bleau]

Perhaps this will not lead to any solution or resolution, but I want to offer my observations.

I believe that most of the wheel lock incidents were stated that the road conditions were on wet roads or curves. If this is the case could it be that the Stability control system, Nanny, took a part in this as she sensed something? Perhaps you were driving very agressively and she tried to shut you down? I am not implying that you did anything wrong, I am only trying to figure out what happened.

The fact that the parking brake is not working should not be a big issue for a dealer to resolve, that is rediculous, I believe that it is simply an electronically initiated mechanical actuator that sets the brake, anyone at the dealer should be able to fix that.

The vast number of other issues is very disconcerting, but the compressor should have been changed by warranty, mine was just two weeks ago. If the dealer is unskilled he may take a pass it is a HUGE deal to replace it and in turn blame the factory. I would assume, dangerous word there, that when I look at the sum total here, I believe that a huge part of this resides with the dealer.

Just my worthless $0.02.

Joe

[JerryB]

Hi Bob,

Re: why waste time posting that in here?

Simply because that is what forums are for.

Jerry Baumchen

[Bob Denman]

It's a pretty ineffective use of the place...

[Cruzr Joe]

i found it amusing that he claimed the broken antenna was a "Major Issue". Brp has corrected that issue with a smaller sturdier antenna.

Not poking fun at him or anything but i do not consider a broken antenna as a major issue or a safety issue, more of an annoying issue,

And the brakes locking up on wet pavement could be driver error very easily, or the nanny doing her job to stop the forward motion of the Spyder.

Some of his other concerns are real and felt by many others


Cruzr Joe

[Kwalsh]

once you threaten lawyer to anybody they will then stop assisting you in any way and let their lawyers handle you, i guarantee they have better and more expensive lawyers than you do. you may have hit the "nuclear" option and have no way of going back

[Tazzel]

I have owned 2 spyders and both have been solid machines. No major issues.

[vided]

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[Bob Denman]