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Honda Pioneer 500 Overheating

13K views 9 replies 7 participants last post by  NBMedic 
#1 ·
Just bought a used, 2 month old, 2015 Honda Pioneer 500 last week (all stock) and took it directly to the dealer for the first service since it had just over 20 hours on it. When they were finished with the service I picked it and took it directly to the ATV park and was really impressed with my purchase until about an hour into the ride when I decided to see how fast it would go. When going down the runway, it hit 41 mph and the red coolant light came on. I immediately pulled over and shut it off and waited about 15 minutes to cool down. Before shutting it down I could hear the fan running. While waiting, I checked the coolant and oil level which were all perfect. The radiator was also very clean and there were not obstructions in the fan. About 15 minutes later I started it and the temperature was fine, so I rode it slowly back about 3 miles to the truck and immediately called the dealer. They said it was probably just a fluke but I could bring it in. Before bringing it back to the dealer, I wanted to make sure they could duplicate the problem so I went back to the same straight area and duplicated the problem 2 more times. After several days at the dealer they called and said they could not replicate the problem. I asked them if they ran it at high rpm and they said they could not do it in their parking lot because they do not have the room but they checked all the levels and the fan was coming on and off when it was supposed to. They also said they let it run it for an hour and drove it around and it never overheated. None of the Honda dealers have facilities where they can run these machines at high rpms for any amount of time to duplicate the problem that I am having and they are not willing to go to the ATV park to test drive them. Does anyone have any thoughts?
 
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#7 ·
There are lots of things the dealer (powerhouse dealer to boot) could do, but they won't, because it passes all their initial shop tests. It definitely does not pass the real world test of riding down the trail in 5th gear and because they have nowhere to ride it like that, they cant duplicate it. The dealer also told me that since they did not find anything wrong that I could have a diagnostic bill to pay when I pick it up. When I get it back, I am going to take it to the trail, document it with a GoPro and send the video directly to Honda. Thanks for all the great input from you nice folks on here!
 
#9 ·
Now that's a little weird. Most of the time if you have a heating issue it will happen more at the slower speeds than the higher speeds. At the higher speeds you have more air flowing through the radiator helping cool it faster. If you get a video post it here as well and have your meter on the temp setting so we can see the bars on it as well.
 
#10 ·
I do have the exact same problem.. yesterday it was around 25c, i went for a 20 min ride in 5 gear, and red lignt came on, it didnt look like it was that hot, no smell or nothing, let it cooled,, checked prestone it is fine, check oil level, was fine. Had same issue last year, brought it to dealer, same darn problem this year. I bought a honda for piece of mind, well, it isn't that good. I'm not happy camper. my radiator is clean, all fluids are new. WTF. I do have a vented added front bumper. that's it. If anyone can help, tks.
 
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