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2018 Kodiak 450 Forum?

23K views 46 replies 15 participants last post by  CanadianKodiak700 
Hey guys, I have a 2020 Kodiak 450 EPS. Since the day I bought it, it sort of "lurches" or "jerks" when you first accelerate. It's at a very low rpm, when the clutches engage, you can feel it sort of "grab" and then it drives like normal. No abnormal sounds or anything, just a consistent and somewhat abrupt engagement and I'm wondering if this is on all the 450s. I have ridden many other CVT-equipped quads, mostly kawasaki and polaris, but this is my first Yamaha with a CVT.

Any insight is appreciated. My next step is to go to the dealer and see if the other 450s on the lot do the same thing. If not, time for some warranty work.

Cheers!

It should not learch or jerk at all. Engagement should be smooth from a dead stop. I'd bring it back to the dealer
 
Bad news for me....Yamaha refuses to fix it. I hate bringing this negative vibe to the forum, but it's what I'm experiencing and everyone's input is helping for sure.

The dealership left me a voicemail saying, and I'm paraphrasing slightly, "Our tech took a look at it, then we contacted Yamaha and Yamaha said there isn't anything to be done. Yamaha engineered in some play to protect the machine, you know, for when you're off road and in 4wd and stuff."

To me this is unacceptable because the machine lurches when accelerating from a stop after every. single. gear. change. It is sudden, it is abrupt, and it is not normal. I fear it will cause premature wear on the transmission components. I know Yamaha did not engineer the machine to abruptly lurch into motion upon accelerating (every single time), b/c the other 450 on the showroom floor doesn't do it at all and b/c NO OTHER atv with an automatic CVT from any manufacturer does this unless it is not operating correctly.

Now I begin my journey of continuing to reach out to Yamaha for support. Soooo happy I didn't buy the extended warranty since Yamaha won't honor even their 6-month manufacturer warranty. I've got a youtube channel where I'll post a video of the ATV lurching into motion and explaining that Yamaha refuses to fix it, claiming that's the way they designed it to work.

Again, I hate to be a debbie downer - that ain't my style, but this has been supremely frustrating. Thank you everyone for the continued support. I want to love the machine, but Yamaha isn't helping.
DO NOT BACK DOWN! Your machine is new this issue is 110% unexceptable . These dealers don't give a Crap about us and only want to make cash, without being bothered with proper customer care. Worse case try a different dealer but not till after your brutally raveged this one. Good luck, and we are all behind you!
 
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To bad your not closer to me. I'd rip threw your entire cvt and do a thorough inspection. I've done many Yamaha Cvts.
 
Have some patience friends! I'm not the hit it and quit it type! For real though, been insanely busy with work, weddings, sickness, sick cat, you know.... (when it rains it pours).

Sorry to be getting back to you so late on this. I do have an update, but wanted to think clearly about how I would move forward.

Still nothing from Yamaha corporate, however, I filled out the dealer survey that was emailed to me and they ended up getting back to me. I was honest, didn't bash the dealer, but clearly stated what I was frustrated about. The head of service called me over the phone and wanted to make it right (at least in their books). I thoroughly and politely articulated my complaint about Yamaha not addressing the issue. He was also polite this entire time, although, he said his tech told him he could get the machine to repeat the error on command, or not have the error at all AND that the floor model did the same thing. In the politest way I could, I told him that was completely false on both counts. His next approach, and I appreciate this very much, was to get him, a Yamaha regional representative, and myself with the machine all together to give it an overview. But, he made it clear that he would have the tech explain to me that this is how they work (then why invite me down if that's all you intend to do? to satisfy the books?). At the same time, I was receiving multiple comments from others on the Youtubes that this was normal (what the tech and service counter employee both told me). Many people commented that this was the centrifugal clutch, though I believe it could be another shaft inside there (I'm no expert, obviously). So, after MUCH thought, I decided not to revisit the dealer. I don't want to drag the machine down there just for them to explain to me this is how it works and send me off. I'm still not super happy that I have to feather the throttle into motion every single time just to save the transmission from excessive engagement, but I'll live with it. I've adjusted my driving style to worse machines. I'm not mad, sad, or ticked and I realize I'm choosing this path, so I must deal with the consequences. In the end, I think (hope?) it'll be fine over the long term, it's just a big pill to swallow after spending that kind of cash.

So, onward and upward. I'll just try to be happy with it.

I cannot say how much I appreciate everyone's eagerness to help me. It truly meant a lot. Not everybody has vast experience with transmissions, Yamaha corporate, dealerships, etc, so tapping into this network and not getting bullied out has been refreshing.

I've made an "overview" video of the 450 discussing my likes, dislikes, etc with the intention of informing others about this great little quad. I'll post that and many other related videos on this site so hopefully other folks can make more informed decisions in the future.

Thank you again everyone for the help - I certainly came out of this smarter ( i think...) and I fully intend to pay it back however I can.

***Any way we can setup a 450 page? I feel bad posting all this 450 stuff in the 700 section....****
Just a thought and I'm sure you ve already considered this, but I you considered simply trading in your 450 at the same dealership for a EPS 700 kodiaks? Atleast then it will be their BS issue and no longer yours.
 
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