Throttle Body update 2011-7

[Mr. White]

Scotty, while we are on the subject, how do we know about recalls, upgrades, etc. Most companies send out notices by mail, but it doesn't seem BRP does this. I would have never known about the -7, -8 or -9 if Lamont and others had not posted the information here.

I guess the BRP policy is you get the upgrades at the dealer when you go for maintenance. Okay, fine, but many here do their own oil/filters and don't go to their dealer that often.

I consider thses present upgrades to be important and serious improvements. I think BRP has a way to go in their lack of notifications of upgrades.

Is there any web site we can go to see all upgrades.... I wonder what 2011-1 through -6 are?

Lots of room for improvement here by BRP!

:spyder2:

 

[NancysToy]

Scotty, while we are on the subject, how do we know about recalls, upgrades, etc. Most companies send out notices by mail, but it doesn't seem BRP does this. I would have never known about the -7, -8 or -9 if Lamont and others had not posted the information here.

I guess the BRP policy is you get the upgrades at the dealer when you go for maintenance. Okay, fine, but many here do their own oil/filters and don't go to their dealer that often.

I consider thses present upgrades to be important and serious improvements. I think BRP has a way to go in their lack of notifications of upgrades.

Is there any web site we can go to see all upgrades.... I wonder what 2011-1 through -6 are?

Lots of room for improvement here by BRP!

:spyder2:

Registered owners are notified of recalls by mail. Recalls are safety issues. This is the law. No manufacturer I know of notifies owners of Technical Service Bulletin issues, though, although sometimes it would make good sense...like with the throttle body campaign. TSBs are passed on to the dealers, who are expected to implement them either
a.) if you tell them you have the problem they mention, or
b.) if they hook your vehicle to the computer and it says you need the update/repair.
This is standard practice. TSBs are seldom available to the consumer. Even if an owner does his/her own maintenance, it pays to stay in contact with the dealer to see if there are blanket TSBs that concern you. Paying for a diagnostic periodically is another possibility. Please noter that hooking the Spyder up to BUDS is part of the specified maintenance schedule. Owners that do their own mechanical maintenance should have this done regularly, in addition to the work they do themselves.

Too many owners would interpret the TSBs wrong, not noticing that a particular one didn't apply to their particular machine. Others would become repair "hypochondriacs", imagining that every possible problem was happening to them. It is a can of worms! TSBs often do not apply to all vehicles manufactured, or to all vehicles in the list of those possibly affected. We have a hard enough time with Spyders lingering in the shop and with overworked techs, without everyone beating down their doors every time a new service bulletin was issued. Many owners do not have the skills to understand if a particular TSB applies to them. They do usually know when things are not working right, however. That is the time to visit the dealer. The tech will then look to see if any TSBs apply to the problem. JMHO

 

[Vyperyder]

I would have thought in BRP's interest to have these "little problems" sorted before they became "BIG problems".
It's a lot quicker, easier and more convenient to hook the machine to BUDS for 5 minutes and reset than replace a screwed up throttle body.
OK the park brake spring is a little different, but in my opinion, a safety issue particularly for SE5 owners.
It's not like there's thousands of these puppies out there...

George....I can't tell if I'm hearing the throttle body whistle or if my ears are playing a tune (tinnitus) after 30 years working in 747's et al.
Or maybe it's just one of the voices in my head whistling to cheese me off... :roflblack::roflblack::roflblack:

 

[GeoffCee]

I would have thought in BRP's interest to have these "little problems" sorted before they became "BIG problems"....
....OK the park brake spring is a little different, but in my opinion, a safety issue particularly for SE5 owners.
It's not like there's thousands of these puppies out there...

With most new vehicles there are bound to be teething problems, post production, and the RT has its share. I get the feeling that a longer, more rigorous testing program by BRP prior to launching the 2010 model would have improved reliability in some important areas. We all know which areas.

The 2012 models may have some reliability improvements but from outward appearances next year appears to be mainly a colour styling exercise. And from the colour schemes it plans on using BRP must think its next customer base is located somewhere near a school for clowns. Yuk! :joke:

 

[liketoride2]

Boot Failure on Startup??

Scotty,

Thanks for the info on hot startup failure. From your description, and also due to my RT being a 2010 and not a 2011, it appears I have a different startup problem. I attempted a search on this but turned up nothing, possibly because I didn't know the exact terms to use.

Intermittently, about every half dozen starts or so, immediately after startup the rpms do no go down to the normal 1500 but remain at about 2200. The engine then acts like it has a rev limiter operating and will not rev above about 3000 and the Spyder won't proceed above walking speed. It will also not shift into reverse. If I turn off the ignition key and immediately turn it on again an orange low oil screen appears, even though the oil level is normal. If I turn off the key and leave it off for several seconds the normal screen seen at startup appears and most of the time a normal start-up follows, like the system has rebooted and is now normal.

I know that some highly computerized motorcycles do no allow any throttle whatsoever at startup and I've adopted a procedure where I do not touch the twist grip at all when pushing the start button. It may be my imagination but this may have reduced the frequency of this problem but it still occurs.

I'm wondering if somehow the rev limiter for reverse is being activated incorrectly and causing this - just a guess on my part. The Spyder is currently at my dealer awaiting replacement of a broken exhaust pipe and I've asked them to also check on this (they had never heard of the problem).

Any input will be greatly appreciated. I also greatly appreciate all of your many contributions to these forums, and also that of everyone else who contributes. Although I am an old veteran two wheeled rider (for over 40 years and 50+ bikes), I am finding the Spyder the most difficult machine I have ever owned to "learn" mechanically, and find myself quite perplexed at times. However, my wife and I do love the machine.

Mike

 

[NancysToy]

Scotty,

Thanks for the info on hot startup failure. From your description, and also due to my RT being a 2010 and not a 2011, it appears I have a different startup problem. I attempted a search on this but turned up nothing, possibly because I didn't know the exact terms to use.

Intermittently, about every half dozen starts or so, immediately after startup the rpms do no go down to the normal 1500 but remain at about 2200. The engine then acts like it has a rev limiter operating and will not rev above about 3000 and the Spyder won't proceed above walking speed. It will also not shift into reverse. If I turn off the ignition key and immediately turn it on again an orange low oil screen appears, even though the oil level is normal. If I turn off the key and leave it off for several seconds the normal screen seen at startup appears and most of the time a normal start-up follows, like the system has rebooted and is now normal.

I know that some highly computerized motorcycles do no allow any throttle whatsoever at startup and I've adopted a procedure where I do not touch the twist grip at all when pushing the start button. It may be my imagination but this may have reduced the frequency of this problem but it still occurs.

I'm wondering if somehow the rev limiter for reverse is being activated incorrectly and causing this - just a guess on my part. The Spyder is currently at my dealer awaiting replacement of a broken exhaust pipe and I've asked them to also check on this (they had never heard of the problem).

Any input will be greatly appreciated. I also greatly appreciate all of your many contributions to these forums, and also that of everyone else who contributes. Although I am an old veteran two wheeled rider (for over 40 years and 50+ bikes), I am finding the Spyder the most difficult machine I have ever owned to "learn" mechanically, and find myself quite perplexed at times. However, my wife and I do love the machine.

Mike

Sounds to me like you have an electrical/electronics issue. Water in a connector, or damaged/bad wiring could cause this type of unrelated problems, as could a faulty computer module, among other things. A bad battery or loose or dirty battery connections could, too, but the fact that you can reboot tends to eliminate that likelihood. You need to see your dealer and have a good tech work on it, with help from BRP dealer tech support, if needed.

 

[Mr. White]

BR1 had all of his updates today and loves them. I got the oil and filters changed, 2011-7 throttle body, (could tell no difference, but the tech said it was an important update) 2011-8, gromets replaced and 2011 -9, parking brake spring replaced. Tech adjusted the belt and now no vibs around 72-75, just smooth... installed spyderpops heat shield and it sure helped in the 102 temp coming home. It still got hot, but not near like it was without the shield.

My dealer had a local welding shop build a set of extensions for the Kwel foot pegs...I can now adjust them 52 ways to suit my riding. BIG improvement. He only built one set and I am trying them out...


:spyder2:

 

[spyder3]

I'm not sure if its related or not, but i had some intermittent stalling happening after idling for a while and after filling up with gas. After the throttle body update, it has not stalled at all. FWIW

john

 

[Mr. White]

I'm not sure if its related or not, but i had some intermittent stalling happening after idling for a while and after filling up with gas. After the throttle body update, it has not stalled at all. FWIW

john

John, I have not had any problems with my 2011 RT except there was a DPS problem on the screen and the dealer changed out a small magnet, which fixed the DPS orange light problem. I have not had any stalling or hard to start problems, but got the update (2011-7) becasue Scotty said it was important and so did my tech today when I was there having it done. I turned 3,500 miles today.

 

[NancysToy]

I'm not sure if its related or not, but i had some intermittent stalling happening after idling for a while and after filling up with gas. After the throttle body update, it has not stalled at all. FWIW

john

One of the initial signs of trouble with the 2011 throttle body issue can be intermittent stalling...at least it was with mine. Could well be related. Another benefit to the update (and new throttle body) on mine has been that the cruise control holds speed much better, and is more responsive. I am very pleased. If we can ever get a gauge cluster that works properly, things will be almost perfect.

 

[spyder3]

One of the initial signs of trouble with the 2011 throttle body issue can be intermittent stalling...at least it was with mine. Could well be related. Another benefit to the update (and new throttle body) on mine has been that the cruise control holds speed much better, and is more responsive. I am very pleased. If we can ever get a gauge cluster that works properly, things will be almost perfect.

thats good to know scotty, thanks....i haven't tried the cruise yet and my gauges seem to be working fine so far. Although the gas gauge def. seems to go down to fast

 

[NancysToy]

thats good to know scotty, thanks....i haven't tried the cruise yet and my gauges seem to be working fine so far. Although the gas gauge def. seems to go down to fast

My cluster issue was unrelated...just taken care of at the same time. Not to worry!

 

[JimBob]

Scotty,


Intermittently, about every half dozen starts or so, immediately after startup the rpms do no go down to the normal 1500 but remain at about 2200. The engine then acts like it has a rev limiter operating and will not rev above about 3000 and the Spyder won't proceed above walking speed. It will also not shift into reverse. If I turn off the ignition key and immediately turn it on again an orange low oil screen appears, even though the oil level is normal. If I turn off the key and leave it off for several seconds the normal screen seen at startup appears and most of the time a normal start-up follows, like the system has rebooted and is now normal.


Mike

Mike,

Sorry for the late post about your issue. I had this exact problem on my 2011-RTs. My dealer knew exactly what the problem was and has since corrected the problem. The problem being that your throttle bodies are starting to fail. My RT-S would do this, especially in cooler weather. At first it would only happen occasionally, but soon it would fail everytime I tried to start it, normally on a cold engine. Seemed to be OK if the engine was hot, but then started failing then too. My dealer told me if it happened when the engine was cold to go ahead and start the enging an let it warm up to the point that the fan was running on the radiator. Don't worry, this didn't take hardly anytime at all to warm the engine with the throttle body malfunctioning. After the warm up, turn it off, and try a restart. Most of the time the engine has warmed the throttle bodies up enough that they started working again. My dealer immediately ordered new throttle bodies for replacement and updated the software to match. I haven't had this problem since. He also told me that BUDS had reported every failure. So if your dealer says he didn't know what was wrong, he needs to get current on the BUDS information. I know you said you have a 2010, but I think the fix is the same according to my dealer.
-Jim

 

[liketoride2]

Jim,

Thank you very much for this info. I just got the Spyder back from the dealer and he reset the TPS with BUDS. I haven't had a chance to ride it enough to see if the problem persists. If it does I will take the machine back to dealer with your info.

Thanks again for sharing your experience.

Mike

 

[cougar]

thats good to know scotty, thanks....i haven't tried the cruise yet and my gauges seem to be working fine so far. Although the gas gauge def. seems to go down to fast

I also have a faulty gas gauge. I get the gauge to read "F" but it refuses to stay there. Definitely bad gauge!!

 

[effgjamis]

This is not to allow the throttle to work better. Owners of 2011 RTs need to have this done without hesitation. The 2010 RTs had a problem with hot restarts. To address this, BRP programmed the ECM to hold the throttle body on the 2011s closed after shutting the Spyder down. Some of you have noted the high pitched whine after shutting the Spyder off. Unfortunately, this is causing some of the throttle positioners to fail. BRP has revised the programming, and has issued the update as part of Warranty Bulletin 2011-7. To prevent possible damage to your throttle body, and the possibility of the Spyder being rendered inoperable, you need to have this update done if you own a 2011 RT. If BUDS shows the throttle body may have been damaged already, you will need a new throttle body, too. Mine was replaced this week. The update should not affect how the throttle operates or how the Spyder performs. I noticed no difference on mine.

If you don't get it done you may get caught out on the road far far from home base in LIMP mode....

That is what happened to me outside of Rawlings, WY, however, I was lucky enough to get out of limp mode until I arrived in Salt Lake City, UT,, where they replaced the throttle body, as it was damaged.

 

[Todd&Cat]

Throttle Body replaced

Had the 600 mi. service performed July 6 and they did software update for the throttle body. Last
Thursday we rode downtown old town Knoxville (35 mi.) and returned home and Friday afternoon was going to ride Spyder and when trying to start got Limp mode spyder would not go 3 mph. Finally got it on the trailer and to the dealer. Throttle body had to be ordered for replacement. Spyder has 864 mi. Told them no rush, do it right. :thumbup:

 

[spyder3]

Had the 600 mi. service performed July 6 and they did software update for the throttle body. Last
Thursday we rode downtown old town Knoxville (35 mi.) and returned home and Friday afternoon was going to ride Spyder and when trying to start got Limp mode spider would not go 3 mph. Finally got on the trailer and to the dealer. Throttle body had to be ordered for replacement. Spyder has 864 mi. Told them no rush, do it right. :thumbup:

I think the last thing you want to tell a can-am dealer is "no rush" :roflblack:

 

[Todd&Cat]

No Rush

I'm not like most Spyder owners. I've own enough bikes in my life that for me what's the rush. I have faith In my dealer that he treats me with good service. We worked together in the nuclear industry for 25 yrs. I knew when I purhased the Sypder there would be bugs and things would have to run their course. As an individual I'm not the only customer and there will be those ahead of me. Venting, rudeness, etc. gets you no where. :thumbup:

 

[Questions]

I'm not like most Spyder owners. I've own enough bikes in my life that for me what's the rush. I have faith In my dealer that he treats me with good service. We worked together in the nuclear industry for 25 yrs. I knew when I purchased the Sypder there would be bugs and things would have to run their course. As an individual I'm not the only customer and there will be those ahead of me. Venting, rudeness, etc. gets you no where. :thumbup:

I have to agree with the statement that the spyder has bugs to be worked out...All I ask is that BRP owns up to the problems that exist and tell us their sorry and will do anything to make it right. But instead we get... "We (brp) have never heard that before" and "That's normal"... for intermittent warning lights, gas smell, limp mode, and loss of power steering assist. Why did we pay BRP $30K to be part of the research and development department? BRP if your listening...please treat us like you care about us and want us to tell friends and family what a great experience owning a Spyder is. Instead we have to explain to everyone the reason our Spyder is a different color now is that our Spyder is in the shop again and we now ride a service loaner. Work out the bugs..that's ok...please treat us like you appreciate our business.