P1000 Clutches burnt up

[itsleo]

Honda power sport called and told me they were getting clutches in on Monday and would over night my clutch packs to my dealer. Next Friday (April1st) there is a mud fest I was planning on going to hopefully Honda can stop giving me a hand job and fix my s***!!

 

[Admin]

 

[P1k5d_rg]

Does not appear to be any correlation to build date or VIN, but most issues reported were done so within the first 200 miles, or right after the initial oil change. Seemingly random in who it affects even with how the machines are used.

Mine didn't mess up until 500+/- miles. And the colder the machine is the worse..

 

[Buckrocker]

Mine didn't mess up until 500+/- miles. And the colder the machine is the worse..

Just wondering when the oil was changed, what color/odor may have been noticed from it? Did you service it yourself?

 

[P1k5d_rg]

Just wondering when the oil was changed, what color/odor may have been noticed from it? Did you service it yourself?

The oil was what seemed pretty dark and broke down... there wasn't any viscosity left. I saved some for honda.

 

[dale5740]

Mine didn't mess up until 500+/- miles. And the colder the machine is the worse..

worse it slipped?

 

[rockytop]

I've been reading threads on this forum long before I bought a p1000-5 deluxe and picked up alot of useful info. I've got roughly 35 miles on my machine and noticed yesterday while riding the kids up the road that under medium/heavy throttle the rpm's would increase while shifting. Like right in the clutching zone I would notice a increase of 200 or 300 rpm's before it caught the next gear. I didn't not notice this issue unless I was in the throttle fairly hard. Thing seemed to shift perfectly under light throttle. Guess my question is, could this be the first sign of a potential clutch failure?

 

[PioneerPete]

I've been reading threads on this forum long before I bought a p1000-5 deluxe and picked up alot of useful info. I've got roughly 35 miles on my machine and noticed yesterday while riding the kids up the road that under medium/heavy throttle the rpm's would increase while shifting. Like right in the clutching zone I would notice a increase of 200 or 300 rpm's before it caught the next gear. I didn't not notice this issue unless I was in the throttle fairly hard. Thing seemed to shift perfectly under light throttle. Guess my question is, could this be the first sign of a potential clutch failure?

could be, but hard to say for sure. I'd recommend going ahead with the first oil change, and then do it again at around 150 or 200 miles.

 

[JACKAL]

I've been reading threads on this forum long before I bought a p1000-5 deluxe and picked up alot of useful info. I've got roughly 35 miles on my machine and noticed yesterday while riding the kids up the road that under medium/heavy throttle the rpm's would increase while shifting. Like right in the clutching zone I would notice a increase of 200 or 300 rpm's before it caught the next gear. I didn't not notice this issue unless I was in the throttle fairly hard. Thing seemed to shift perfectly under light throttle. Guess my question is, could this be the first sign of a potential clutch failure?

A 200-300 RPM jump is nothing, it is just shifting, a 2000+ RPM jump / spike in shifting is an entirely different matter. I wouldn't worry about your machine just drive it and have fun.

 

[sharp]

I've been reading threads on this forum long before I bought a p1000-5 deluxe and picked up alot of useful info. I've got roughly 35 miles on my machine and noticed yesterday while riding the kids up the road that under medium/heavy throttle the rpm's would increase while shifting. Like right in the clutching zone I would notice a increase of 200 or 300 rpm's before it caught the next gear. I didn't not notice this issue unless I was in the throttle fairly hard. Thing seemed to shift perfectly under light throttle. Guess my question is, could this be the first sign of a potential clutch failure?

The more I read about clutch issues the more I thought I had a problem but no I just needed to learn the machine. Yes it does make strange sounds, weird vibrations a slight shutter at slow speeds on hills when it's new and not broken in so I just kept on learning the machine and kept on riding. After the first service the machine was a whole new beast it was a lot quieter and shifted smoother and quieter. I Still kept on learning. After a few days on the trail I noticed that I was finally getting used to this thing an man is it awesome! It seems like It runs different at times depending on how warmed up it is now that I getting to know the machine. If it seems like it is shifting too early on a rough trail in high it is, but if you put it in low and learn how to use the paddle shifters then you are in control of the shifting and there is no one to blame on shifting but yourself. I check the oil often it is like the day I put it in there I have couple hundred miles or so on it. It also seems like it adjust to my riding style through out the day and shifts quiter espacally when I do a long down hill decent in about 3rd and let engine breaking shift it back to first. I would consider myself a pretty hard rider on the machine if I want to punch it I do, if I want to hit a mud hole fast I will or jump it, haul with it I do etc. Now it is better than it has ever been. All I can say is go learn the machine for yourself. I traded my 900xp ranger and glad I did the honda is faster,stronger and better made. Plus the polaris thing is kinda played out. Sorry for the rambling

 

[Null]

The more I read about clutch issues the more I thought I had a problem but no I just needed to learn the machine. Yes it does make strange sounds, weird vibrations a slight shutter at slow speeds on hills when it's new and not broken in so I just kept on learning the machine and kept on riding. After the first service the machine was a whole new beast it was a lot quieter and shifted smoother and quieter. I Still kept on learning. After a few days on the trail I noticed that I was finally getting used to this thing an man is it awesome! It seems like It runs different at times depending on how warmed up it is now that I getting to know the machine. If it seems like it is shifting too early on a rough trail in high it is, but if you put it in low and learn how to use the paddle shifters then you are in control of the shifting and there is no one to blame on shifting but yourself. I check the oil often it is like the day I put it in there I have couple hundred miles or so on it. It also seems like it adjust to my riding style through out the day and shifts quiter espacally when I do a long down hill decent in about 3rd and let engine breaking shift it back to first. I would consider myself a pretty hard rider on the machine if I want to punch it I do, if I want to hit a mud hole fast I will or jump it, haul with it I do etc. Now it is better than it has ever been. All I can say is go learn the machine for yourself. I traded my 900xp ranger and glad I did the honda is faster,stronger and better made. Plus the polaris thing is kinda played out. Sorry for the rambling

Mine seems to shift smoother now that I did the first service and learned a few things that are different from the old belt system on my other buggies. Did you put synthetic oil in yours or regular oil. It seems like on my Rincon I was told not to use synthetic, which I didn't. I realize this is a different type transmission than the Rincon. Is it OK or advantageous to use synthetic?

 

[sharp]

Mine seems to shift smoother now that I did the first service and learned a few things that are different from the old belt system on my other buggies. Did you put synthetic oil in yours or regular oil. It seems like on my Rincon I was told not to use synthetic, which I didn't. I realize this is a different type transmission than the Rincon. Is it OK or advantageous to use synthetic?

I used the regular Honda oil it recommend. You could use the synthetic but it is usually recommend to use regular when breaking in. I may switch to synthetic in a few hundred hours or so

 

[Delton]

I've been reading threads on this forum long before I bought a p1000-5 deluxe and picked up alot of useful info. I've got roughly 35 miles on my machine and noticed yesterday while riding the kids up the road that under medium/heavy throttle the rpm's would increase while shifting. Like right in the clutching zone I would notice a increase of 200 or 300 rpm's before it caught the next gear. I didn't not notice this issue unless I was in the throttle fairly hard. Thing seemed to shift perfectly under light throttle. Guess my question is, could this be the first sign of a potential clutch failure?

Mine does the exact same thing, and I thought the exact same thing. It's normal. You are still under throttle and the rpms are gonna spike slightly when clutch is engaged. Mine has gotten so much smoother since it was new. Stop worrying and enjoy your machine.

 

[Hawk53]

Does not appear to be any correlation to build date or VIN, but most issues reported were done so within the first 200 miles, or right after the initial oil change. Seemingly random in who it affects even with how the machines are used.

Thanks Jackal. Should be picking up my new machine within the week. This trans issue has got me a little nervous. My buddy runs a polaris 900 and I would have a hard time living it down if he has to tow me.

 

[sharp]

Thanks Jackal. Should be picking up my new machine within the week. This trans issue has got me a little nervous. My buddy runs a polaris 900 and I would have a hard time living it down if he has to tow me.

You will love it!

 

[Hawk53]

A 200-300 RPM jump is nothing, it is just shifting, a 2000+ RPM jump / spike in shifting is an entirely different matter. I wouldn't worry about your machine just drive it and have fun.

Does the dash display have a tach ? I was looking and it didn't say in any of the literature.

 

[Hawk53]

The p1k is apparently similar to a manual clutch type transmission in an old jeep, except you don't have to actually engage the clutch, the machine does it for you. As with other clutch type trannys, once I understand how the mechanics work, I just drive it accordingly. Would I go around riding the clutch on a manual tranny 4x4? Of course not, I would maintain enough speed so I didn't have to ride the clutch. It's a limitation/tradeoff inherent in the design of the machine. I've put mine through a lot, and it has performed very well, but I understand the limitations of the machine and work within those bounds. If I needed to creep around under load at less than 3 or 4mph, then I would probably consider looking at machines that were more similar to a traditional automatic with torque converter or cvt. Hopefully the cumulative experiences of the people on this forum combined with an understanding of the design of the machine will help you decide what is right for your needs.

How is this clutch applied? Are they using a pump and hydraulic pressure ? Centrifical force ? Havent been able to find any information on discription of operation. Do you have a resource? Thanks

 

[Hawk53]

I looked at PioneerPetes service manual and we checked out the clutch section briefly. The actual clutch looked like any other but the actuator was something I've never seen before. I'm betting alot of the shuddering and maybe even this problem is related to it. Just a guess though.

Does the actuator look like it is using centrifical force?

 

[Hawk53]

Rut roh. Sounds like a rash of them. Hopefully they get it figured out soon. Kind of ironic that the tranny was supposed to be the big selling point over a belt drive for longevity.

Ya hope they get the issue resolved soon. Makes me think back to when the Rincon came out and all the talk about how that trans would not make it.

 

[Hawk53]

What just gets me with this thread it appears from reading the posts that the opinion is there is some form of systemic weakness of the DCT design and it like OMG out of an abundance of caution I guess, or that people generally gravitate to the negative or worse case suspicion. But the overwhelming majority of the Pioneer 1000's are not having any reported identical issues but that apparently doesn't count for anything.

I think the fear of the possibility drives it.

 

[walexa07]

The issue I have is that Honda "should" have nailed this transmission instead of having issues. Honda has such a disdain for the belt drive and that's fine - but if you are going to look down your nose at a belt drive, offer something that is superior/bulletproof; offer something that can take some real punishment. Belt drives can be incredibly strong and you can get alot of miles out of them, but you need to know how to drive them for longevity. The average Joe should be able to run the Honda about any way he wants to (within reason) and not have to worry about damaging the transmission.

That said, I'm at about 150 miles on my 1000-5 and am really enjoying the machine. It fits my family well and is a really fun utv. Looking forward to aftermarket accessories support (shocks, roofs, bumpers, etc.), and keeping my fingers crossed that this transmission thing is just an assembly screw up and not a bad application for the DCT. Sometimes we have to ease through a couple trees that are real tight or something and it's difficult to really "ease" through - clutch is either engaged or not. But I can live with that..........

Waylan