The Infamous Check Engine Light- Slingshot Down

Just a little background: 2015 SL, bought July 2015, Vin 3541..... 800 miles into the journey, I got CEL with a Cam Phaser X 65571 code. Umpteen trips to the dealer, eventual cam sensor replacement- the code finally cleared itself, approximately 3500 miles later. Almost 10,000 miles of pure driving enjoyment- code free. About 3 1/2 weeks ago CEL code 65557 Cam messages lost. It went away, and came back a day or two later, with a vengeance. In addition to the engine code, I had intermittent lights- traction control, brake failure, and one other. Then, for no apparent reason while driving- the gauges cycled all the way to the right and back to normal, and my screen said "booting"....... During this time, Power steering flickered off and the radio volume changed. (Multiple occurrences.) On March 23, it went to the dealer. He replaced the battery cables, checked fuses and took it for a test drive. Bingo-it failed. (now, ya'll know that it never does that when you want to!) Step-by-step diagnostics pointed to a bad ESP unit. Polaris finally shipped one. Installed and out for another test drive. It failed again. This time, the failure was a little bit different- the gauges cycled in slow motion, and the radio screen changed over to navigation. (really- Navigation? Wouldn't know how to use that if my life depended on it.) The geniuses at Polaris wanted him to do a full wire by wire inspection of the chassis harness. Two thirds of the way through the inspection, the tech found two radio wires with very small cuts in them. His comment to me was that they "smell funky". So now, I wait for Polaris to ship the new radio harness. (really weird because my back up camera still works fine.) When I spoke to the tech this morning, I asked if he could be proactive, pull that harness, and test drive the hell out of unit. I called back to double-check: Polaris Eng. said good idea- he had not thought about that. I am just trying to shave some time off having my sling in the shop......
Just a note-in deference to my dealer. I did not buy my slingshot there. I take it there for warranty issues. I did purchase an extended warranty there, with the dealer matching they 25% off right that was available by by someone on the old site. Because this is dealer is absolutely awesome- he loaned me his demo unit. It has its own set of issues, but that is another thread, and the tech was totally unaware of the demo condition.

I really have my doubts as to whether this is the entire problem with the sling, but a thought just hit me:
Wouldn't it really be the shits if the crappy freaking radio, that only gets one channel decent reception with a maximum of 50 mile radius, was the culprit????????

Quote from JimM

Man sorry for all your headaches. Hope you get this figured out sinner than later. That would be something $2199 problem. Causing more problems than radio reception. Sounds about right. Good Luck!

thanks- I'll have to re-learn to drive when I get my baby back- The loaner is unique, with it's off-kilter belt howl, double pumping brakes, and the intermittent no power steering glitch! Besides, I'm trying really hard not to pile up the mileage on the loaner.......... The dealer has since replaced it with another demo unit- a fast red one, and would like to service this one and get it "for sale"

Quote from airoutlaw

Hope they get your ride straightened out. Sounds like they are going a lot further than a lot of other dealers. One thing I am trying to figure out... "smell funky"... wire sniffers or "looks suspicious"? Hmmmmm..

yeah- damn gremlins. did you get my PM?

S.O.B!!!!!!!!!!!
Just got off the phone with the tech.....
Polaris is shipping the new wiring harness- it is in transit.
The tech has been fighting back & forth with Polaris- He wanted a new infotainment center, as well. They wanted to authorize the screen only. (He said WTF- why would I want a piece of plastic??)
Today, Polaris caved.
The infotainment center was authorized to ship from the mfg to my dealer. Authorization came out too late to do jack sh#t until Monday.
I am praying that this solves my problem, but doubt I will have prayer in hell of seeing my baby for at least another week. It has been gone 24 days now.
I'll probably really lose it, if this does not solve the problem. 2 year warranty does me no damn good when I don't have the ride........

I was pissed enough to give him the laundry list on the BASE loaner:
belt rubbing & squeals like a pig (sorry Pigmanfu)
leak (maybe old, but only 1400 miles when I got it) at angle drive unit- (not drain or fill plug)
passenger tie rod knocking
no PS at start up, every day or so
(it also has minor other issues that don't affect performance- so I didn't tell him)

He felt bad enough that he offered me a brand new red SL that they are turning into a demo ride, but- even as unhappy as I am- can't do that to them.....

sorry for the rant- my Stinger roof finally shipped with an ETA of 4/21, and I will have NOTHING to put it on!

Tripod
where is that darn black cloud- I OWN IT!
(pity party over..... pouring another drink)

Quote from Tripod

Sorry, Dee...

thanks......... that and another drink somehow makes me feel better!

Latest update:
I was at the dealership today. I personally examined the old parts. Back up camera harness had two small cuts in the ground. The display on the infotainment center clearly smell burnt. Harness was repaired and the shrink wrap. (please note at no time did my backup camera ever fail.) Infotainment center display and harness replaced with new. When the tech took it out for a test drive, my slingshot again failed at the 15 mile mark. The new screen said "booting" quickly, and the radio never stops playing or changed volume during this time. The gauges cycled-rapidly to redline, but came back down to normal very slowly and it erratically. At this time, the text noticed That the cruise control was not functioning. I never use cruise control, but turned it on for a very short time on its maiden journey home, 14,000 miles ago. The same check engine light, with the error code that the cam messages to the ESP were lost Displayed. (note to ESP has already been replaced)
He has documented all of this to Polaris. Unless they have a better idea on Monday, he is requesting a new chassis harness and a new ECU.

Understand that my dealer gave me a loaner, 32 days ago- this was a base unit. It has developed its own issues. I have never seen the type of stellar customer service, as I have received from my dealer. They pulled out their brand-new demo- a red 2016 SL, with less than 100 miles on it and handed me the keys. Please note, as awesome as they have been, there is no substitute for having your slingshot in your garage. They still believe that they can fix it, but the owner has gone as far as to suggest that there are legal options available to me, if they cannot. Some of you, who will start "Slingshots Across America" in California will have an opportunity to meet these fantastic people.

I will continue to update this Peyton Place melodrama until it comes to some type of conclusion.

Quote from Tripod

That totally sucks

My description of the situation wasn't quite as nice, as he was pulling into the lot with a thumbs down and telling me it failed. I think there were some sailors expletives in there.
I was so sure on this fix.......... Really feeling like the bride left at the church....
Time for another drink

A few interesting notes on the 2016:
Radio reception-I would rate as excellent (go figure- I get one station on mine. This one had such good reception, I had a hard time choosing.)
Brakes-even better than mine
Body panel alignment- not improved one iota. My 2015 is much better
Parting lines/mold lines on body panels- still suck.

I pretty much flipped out when my tech said Polaris wanted him to unplug the new radio & display harness that was just installed, and test drive it.

I now have a case number with Polaris customer service, and a "resolution specialist"......
36 days & counting- no closer to resolution than when I brought it in. The tech is having to unplug one thing at a time from the main harness, and test drive to see if it fails.......... I impolitely suggested to the resolution specialist that this was not going to get me back my ride in a timely fashion, and that they had better try something else.
CA lemon law says 30 days - no use of vehicle qualifies...........
I know when you call & bitch to Polaris, they get with the dealer, to try to expedite a fix...........

Quote from Ruptured Duck

Here is my question the Polaris.... If your ECU has received repeat hits (limp mode shut down) has it been damaged and is now the problem?

that would suck HUGE- I have 4000 miles available to me before the lemon law is no longer valid (CA- 30 says or 18,000 miles, whichever comes first.)
I hope yours is a fluke, but.......... in all honesty- I doubt it. You might seriously look at saving your pennies, and getting the extended warranty, before your two years is up. Extended warranty means they fix at $50 a pop. If the ECU goes out, and you have the extended warranty- that is $900 (initial cost of the warranty), Plus $50. Cheaper then purchasing a new ECU at retail cost. Just a thought. In retrospect, I believe last July, when I had to 3500 miles with the check engine light that could not be repaired is somehow linked to my current electrical problems.

Quote from Ruptured Duck

3500 miles.... Interesting mine tripped at 4500

no- it tripped at about 900-1000 miles, and we tried umpteen repairs, inclusive of new Cam Sensor- nothing worked. At about 4500-4800 miles, it went away by itself. I never stopped driving it- just ignored the light, as tech thought it would be ok, while Polaris was working on a "fix".

Let me predicate this by saying-I know it is terribly long-please wade through it- so many of you have more knowledge and mechanical experience in your little finger, then I will ever be able to comprehend. Thanks in advance

Okay guys-47 days in the shop, 12 days since I escalated the case to a resolution specialist, and three days since I escalated it again requesting a supervisor with Polaris. In their ultimate wisdom and total lack of TQM experience (JMO), they believe that the actual radio unit is causing the problem. The technician at the dealership is livid, as he requested a complete Infotainment center, inclusive of the radio, over three weeks ago, and was denied. So in theory, and I will verify on Monday, Polaris is drop shipping a radio unit.
Personally, I do not believe that the stock, off the shelf, Radio unit is the root cause. I thought about this all last night, and I had a thought this morning. I am seriously thinking that the antenna harness has been skinned, and when there is any vibration, it is shorting out, and causing the slingshot to reboot and throw all the error codes.
I asked Painter this morning about the routing for the antenna wires, and he explained how they were routed. (this information is not in the slingshot Service manual, as it is an option. I was not sure if the routing, explained in the PDF for installation of the radio in a base unit as an add-on would be the same.) In the 23 or 24 slingshots that Painter has personally disassembled, he has found at least two with skinned harnesses under the back deck.

So- Long and short of it: I have absolutely zero electrical expertise. I am so angry with Polaris that I am not willing to tip my hand and share any ideas with their engineers. (part of this is predicated on the fact that I never got any follow-upfrom my "resolution specialist" until I escalated the case to his supervisor-who, BTW-I have still not heard from, and I have a receptionist to answers the damned phone blocking my phone calls to anyone other than her. In addition-please feel free to peruse the crappy letter I got from Polaris-they didn't have the balls to even call me.) Please understand that I have been polite and professional with everyone I have spoken to at Polaris.
I have two ways to proceed at this point: (Number three is not going to happened because I'm pissed)
1. I bought the slingshot in Nevada, but registered it in California. That means it does not qualify for the strict California lemon law. It does, however. Qualify for the Nevada lemon law. I am having problems finding a lemon law attorney in Nevada who will direct bill the manufacturer, rather than extract money from me. I am sure there is someone out there-just haven't found them yet. Nevada lemon law states that a vehicle which has over 30 days of repair Time in the shop during the first 12 months of ownership qualifies. Polaris would be responsible to replace said the vehicle, Plus taxes and registration, minus a reasonable use charge, or cut me a check.
2. wait another week or two for the radio unit to come in, and see if that fixes the problem. If it does not, (which I believe will be the case,) tell my dealer to look at the antenna harness.
3. tell my dealer to plug the radio harness back in to the ECU and main harness at the diagnostic port, and unplug the antenna harness from the pigtail that comes out of the back of the radio, and test drive the damn unit. This option is not going to happen

Here is the letter that I got from the resolution specialist, approximately six hours after I escalated to the case to a supervisor.

Hello Dee,

I’m sincerely sorry for the delay in response. I’ve been working with my technicians on your case however and keeping an eye on it. At this point all signs point to a bad radio unit. Yes, we have replaced the display on the radio, but we feel that the issue is within the radio itself and how it communicates with the machine, or in this case poorly communicating with the machine.

We have instructed to the dealership to try a new radio in the machine. If the dealership has a radio kit for a non-audio equipped slingshot, we told them to try that. If they don’t, they will get in touch with us and we will have a new radio unit drop shipped to them next week. If the dealer DOES need to order one, I will request priority shipping if possible.

Thank you Dee and I will reach back out to you as soon as we know more next week. I’m confident that we are on the right track and will be wrapped up with this shortly. Once the machine is corrected, I will extend your factory warranty for the month of down time this case has resulted in.

Regards

Brian | Consumer Service Representative
Phone: 1-800-765-2747| Email: cs.resolution@polaris.com


Long and short of it- for all of you guys who knows this machine inside and out-
1. am I nuts thinking that the radio is not the root cause?
2. in your esteemed opinion- would I be better off going with the above option one or two?
(please keep in mind that my wonderful dealer has been kind enough to give me a slingshot through all of this fiasco. Since the original gray base that he gave me had too many issues, he gave me an SL with less than 100 miles. In addition, he was the one who originally mentioned buy-back)

Again I am incredibly appreciative to those of you who waded through this long email, and let me know what you're thinking.