Almost Stranded

[dguisinger]

I was 150 miles from home on a nice day trip today, and I went to start my 2012 RS-S ...
At first everything seemed normal...

But pulling the throttle back, the engine would jump to 2000RPMs, then immediately return to idle...
No matter how many times I twisted the throttle, the engine did the same thing.
It also wouldn't switch out of first to neutral or reverse, though when I turned off the spyder it definitely was in neutral even though the computer listed it as in 1st when it was turned on.

I turned the key on and off several times, as well as the emergency off switch.
After about 10 attempts, the Spyder finally started up normal and never showed another sign of trouble.

Any ideas what I was dealing with? Has anyone else seen this?

 

[NancysToy]

Without the active fault codes it would be hard to even hazard a guess. Your dealer can pull up the occurred fault codes and hopefully pinpoint the problem. These problems often get worse as time goes on. I would not hesitate to see your dealer.

 

[dguisinger]

Without the active fault codes it would be hard to even hazard a guess. Your dealer can pull up the occurred fault codes and hopefully pinpoint the problem. These problems often get worse as time goes on. I would not hesitate to see your dealer.

Would there be a fault code in the system if it never triggered an engine light?

I had a different problem in the spring that also never registered codes... I would back out of the driveway and the spyder would refuse to shift gears until after I powered it off and back on. It probably happened a total of 20 times but eventually stopped happening and nothing was found at my last service visit.

 

[NancysToy]

Would there be a fault code in the system if it never triggered an engine light?

I had a different problem in the spring that also never registered codes... I would back out of the driveway and the spyder would refuse to shift gears until after I powered it off and back on. It probably happened a total of 20 times but eventually stopped happening and nothing was found at my last service visit.

Yes, there can be a fault with no check engine light or limp mode.

 

[billybovine]

I was 150 miles from home on a nice day trip today, and I went to start my 2012 RS-S ...
At first everything seemed normal...

But pulling the throttle back, the engine would jump to 2000RPMs, then immediately return to idle...
No matter how many times I twisted the throttle, the engine did the same thing.
It also wouldn't switch out of first to neutral or reverse, though when I turned off the spyder it definitely was in neutral even though the computer listed it as in 1st when it was turned on.

I turned the key on and off several times, as well as the emergency off switch.
After about 10 attempts, the Spyder finally started up normal and never showed another sign of trouble.

Any ideas what I was dealing with? Has anyone else seen this?

I am assuming your Spyder is an SE5. It appears that your Spyder was stuck in 1[SUP]st[/SUP] gear or thought it was. When The Spyder is unable to shift gears while stopped, it will try 3 times to shift by revving the engine to 1800 – 2000 rpm to engage the clutch. This will move the gears in the transmission and aid in allowing the gears to sync up.

Now if you are correct and it really was in neutral it could be a GPS sensor problem and this may or may not leave a code. If it was stuck in first and it happens again. Release the parking brake and remove your foot from the service brake, if safe to do so. This will allow the gears to move and shift more easily. This is expected to happen on rare occasions and will not leave a code. If it happens often there could be a lot of causes. The most frequent cure is an oil and transmission filter change.

 

[dguisinger]

I am assuming your Spyder is an SE5. It appears that your Spyder was stuck in 1[SUP]st[/SUP] gear or thought it was. When The Spyder is unable to shift gears while stopped, it will try 3 times to shift by revving the engine to 1800 – 2000 rpm to engage the clutch. This will move the gears in the transmission and aid in allowing the gears to sync up.

Now if you are correct and it really was in neutral it could be a GPS sensor problem and this may or may not leave a code. If it was stuck in first and it happens again. Release the parking brake and remove your foot from the service brake, if safe to do so. This will allow the gears to move and shift more easily. This is expected to happen on rare occasions and will not leave a code. If it happens often there could be a lot of causes. The most frequent cure is an oil and transmission filter change.

Thanks Billy,
yes, it's an SE5... I've been wondering if I have a lemon, I've had transmission troubles since the day I bought it.

A month after I bought it I started getting check engine lights that ended up being a faulty gear position sensor.

then this spring I had the month of it refusing to shift while warming up which magically disappeared before I got it to a dealer.

now this issue...

it just went through a full 9300 mile inspection and oil change a week ago when I added the HID lights, fog lights, 12v charger port, flash2pass and hindle exhaust... They just looked over every square inch of this thing...

 

[dguisinger]

So much for "rare occasion", it happened again while sitting in my garage last night.
It still indicated 1st gear, but I could freely roll it forward and back.
I came back to it this morning and it was working just fine, I nervously rode it into work....

 

[billybovine]

So much for "rare occasion", it happened again while sitting in my garage last night.
It still indicated 1st gear, but I could freely roll it forward and back.
I came back to it this morning and it was working just fine, I nervously rode it into work....

All SE5's will roll freely in any gear when the engine is not running because the centrifugal clutch doesn't engage until the rpm reaches approximately 1800 rpm. That's why it beeps when you shut it off without setting the parking brake because it could roll away. So being able to roll it back and forth is no indication of it being in neutral.

Like I said in my previous post it is normal for the Spyder to rev itself to 1800 to 2000 on rare occasions to assist in changing gears but if it happens often it is a sign that something needs to be fixed.

 

[dguisinger]

Like I said in my previous post it is normal for the Spyder to rev itself to 1800 to 2000 on rare occasions to assist in changing gears but if it happens often it is a sign that something needs to be fixed.

To clarify, its not revving to 2000 on its own when I ask it to change gears.
Its revving to 2000RPM when I pull the throttle, and it immediately revs down to IDLE even though I still have the throttle pulled back.

 

[dguisinger]

To clarify, its not revving to 2000 on its own when I ask it to change gears.
Its revving to 2000RPM when I pull the throttle, and it immediately revs down to IDLE even though I still have the throttle pulled back.

Just my luck, the tech at the dealership can't duplicate the issue and the computer isn't recording any codes

 

[dguisinger]

Well, that figures, my dealer just told me that they assume the malfunction I was having was heat related due to the hot weather a week ago and it appears to work fine and they never reproduced it....

They then went on to mention the hindle can cause stuttering (I'm sorry, how does the engine running at IDLE when I have the throttle FULL OPEN get communicated as a stuttering????)

I'm rather pissed, I consider the problem still unresolved, and the dealer an hour out of the way for both myself and anyone I ask to coordinate a ride with...

Unreliable piece of ****, and BRP never responded to the customer service email I sent them over a week ago either. Terrible customer service.

 

[MikeinGA]

Just my luck, the tech at the dealership can't duplicate the issue and the computer isn't recording any codes

It may be a bug in the system software or a solar flare from the sun.

Mike

 

[dguisinger]

It may be a bug in the system software or a solar flare from the sun.

Mike

Got the spyder back today, its working "fine". The dealer seems to think it was related to ambient temperature though they don't know since it never reproduced. I don't know, it was a very hot pair of days... but I live in Minnesota, you would think it would be more reported from other places such as Arizona....

Not really thrilled with that answer....