2020 Honda pioneer 700 problems

J

Jgilroy

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Jun 14, 2021
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Hey all, I bought a new pioneer 700-4 last April and one year later it is blowing white smoke. The spark plugs had a ton of carbon built up on them. My last oil change I only recovered about 3 quarts of oil. There was standing oil in the air filter box. After leaving the machine idling for a few hours I noticed oil spots on the ground below the exhaust. I took the machine to a dealership and they are saying it needs a new top end. This machine only has 700 miles on it so needless to say it is a tough pill to swallow!!! Any ideas fellers?
 
DG Rider

DG Rider

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Hey all, I bought a new pioneer 700-4 last April and one year later it is blowing white smoke. The spark plugs had a ton of carbon built up on them. My last oil change I only recovered about 3 quarts of oil. There was standing oil in the air filter box. After leaving the machine idling for a few hours I noticed oil spots on the ground below the exhaust. I took the machine to a dealership and they are saying it needs a new top end. This machine only has 700 miles on it so needless to say it is a tough pill to swallow!!! Any ideas fellers?
Ever sunk? Was the oil changed at around 100 miles? Air filter ever cleaned?

The 700 is usually very durable.
 
J

Jgilroy

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Jun 14, 2021
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Utah
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  1. 700-4
Yes I have changed the oil 3 times in the machine. First oil change was at 100 miles for the break in period. I just put a new air filter on the machine this last service
 
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DG Rider

DG Rider

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Yes I have changed the oil 3 times in the machine. First oil change was at 100 miles for the break in period. I just put a new air filter on the machine this last service
What did the air filter look like? In these parts a filter is pretty done around 300 miles, but that varies. The only other thing I can think of is if it was run low of oil? Did you check it regularly by the procedure in the manual?

At the end of the day, maybe you just got a bad one. Hit your dealership up. Maybe they will goodwill a fix. Worst they can do is say no.

And you never answered my question about ever being sunk...
 
Mudwing

Mudwing

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If it needs to be rebuilt then it has to be rebuilt. I would be more curious of how it happened so it doesn’t happen again. Loose intake boot? Improperly seated filter? If they won’t warranty it, it would be cheaper to do it yourself if you can. Sucks otherwise.
 
Remington

Remington

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Welcome from Michigan.
Sorry to hear about your issues. If its that new, Id take it back to the dealer for warranty. Somethin don't seem right.

Also, we’d like to see the machine for various reasons you know!
Pics Or It Dint Happen! #POIDH
 
Jerryg

Jerryg

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The tech should be able to tell you the cause of the failure. Was it a lack of lubrication? Dirt ingestion?

If you don't know why it happened, it may happen again.
 
sporttrac4x4

sporttrac4x4

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Did you over fill the oil. Or they may of Built it on Monday. Sounds like a blown head gasket. A lot of possibilities assembled wrong broke in wrong maintenance done wrong. Not letting it warm up before going on a ride.
 
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ByronM

ByronM

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  1. 700-4
White smoke would mean cooling system issue, should be able to pressure test the cooling system to tell. May just need a head gasket. Did they do a compression or better yet a leak down test? (compression test will be low due to engine design but there is a sec in the service manual)
Just wondering,why did you let it idle for a “few hours” ?
 
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J

Jgilroy

New Member
Jun 14, 2021
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Utah
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  1. 700-4
The machine has never been sunk. The filter did have quite a bit of oil on it. I let it idle for a few hours to see if it would clean up after changing the plugs and air filter. The dealership told me the warranty was up in April so no help there.
 
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Jerryg

Jerryg

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Just saying it needs to rebuilt is bull, how about some failure analysis?
 
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Adam490

Adam490

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Was it left on its side or stored vertically?? I think we're missing quite a bit of information here... I don't think it just blew the top end sitting in the garage.
 
J

Jgilroy

New Member
Jun 14, 2021
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Utah
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  1. 700-4
Yes I hang it in the garage from the front bumper. easier to store that way! I was driving it down a dirt road and it started smoking out of the exhaust. When I got it home to unload off of the trailer it acted sluggish and started blowing smoke again. I’ve serviced it, changed spark plugs, changed air filter, drained the fuel and put new fuel in it.
 
Jerryg

Jerryg

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Yes I hang it in the garage from the front bumper. easier to store that way! I was driving it down a dirt road and it started smoking out of the exhaust. When I got it home to unload off of the trailer it acted sluggish and started blowing smoke again. I’ve serviced it, changed spark plugs, changed air filter, drained the fuel and put new fuel in it.
The exhaust could be full of motor oil, was a compression test done?

How do they know you need a rebuild if they don't know whats wrong?
 
Adam490

Adam490

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Yes I hang it in the garage from the front bumper. easier to store that way! I was driving it down a dirt road and it started smoking out of the exhaust. When I got it home to unload off of the trailer it acted sluggish and started blowing smoke again. I’ve serviced it, changed spark plugs, changed air filter, drained the fuel and put new fuel in it.
You never know what people do with these things... Only time I've had the airbox on my Rubicon get oil in it was after winching up a steep bluff for 30' or so where it was almost vertical. The crankcase vents into the airbox so if it is on it's side or at a steep enough angle, it will drain oil into the airbox via the vent.
 
DG Rider

DG Rider

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  1. 700-2
Yes I hang it in the garage from the front bumper. easier to store that way! I was driving it down a dirt road and it started smoking out of the exhaust. When I got it home to unload off of the trailer it acted sluggish and started blowing smoke again. I’ve serviced it, changed spark plugs, changed air filter, drained the fuel and put new fuel in it.
Sir, sarcasm is my job...if you don't mind.

You gotta understand...people come on all the time with stories like this where the machine has only been driven to church on Sunday by grandma, but a rod came through the side Of the block. And it's "Honda sucks" and "f*** Honda".

Then you drill down and the rest of the story comes out: been sunk 3 times...or driven through lakes...or never had the oil changed...or overheated numerous times. So you can see why you are being met with skepticism.

The 700 is normally a very sturdy machine. Maybe a ring broke or something. It's not common, but unfortunately, it happens. The only way to know for sure may be to take it apart.
 
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