2008 CAN-AM SPYDER RS Complaints

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 CAM AM SPIDER. WHILE DRIVING 45 MPH THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE HANDLE BARS HAD BEGAN TO LOCK WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALERSHIP WHERE THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT A PART ON THE POWER STEERING SYSTEM NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THERE WERE NO PRIOR WARNINGS AND THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 500 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 600.

CAN AM SPYDER EVERY NOW AND THEN WHILE GOING AROUND A SHARP CURVE THE POWER STEERING WILL TURN OFF AND COME BACK ON CAUSING AN OVER CORRECTION AND POSSIBLE UNINTENDED LANE CHANGE. *TR

2008 CAN-AN SPYDER MODEL SE5 POWER STEERING PROBLEMS :POWER STEERING LOCKS UP OR CATCHES AND EXTRA EFFORT IS REQUIRED TO TURN THE HANDLE BARS. WHEN THE BARS DO RELEASE THE EXTRA EFFORT CAUSES VEHICLE TO SWERVE MAKING OF A VERY DANGEROUS CONDITION. ALSO MOTOR SURGES WHEN SHIFTING, BACK FIRES WHEN SLOWING AND QUITS AT RED LIGHTS ....EVEN THOUGH THE INCIDENT DATE IS STATED AS 10-17 THIS HAS BEEN AN ONGOING PROBLEM FROM DATE OF PURCHASE,AND THERE HAVE BEEN 2 UPDATES DONE BY CAN-AM BUT THE PROBLEMS REMAIN. *TR

WHILE DRIVING MY CAN AM SPYDER SM5 ON THE FREEWAY ON 11/7/O9 IT PULL TO THE RIGHT INTO THE OTHER LANE IT FELT LIKE IT LOCK UP AND VERY HARD TO STRAIGHTENED WHEELS, IT HAPPEN ABOUT SIX TIMES IN FIVE MILE RADIUS. *TR

STEERING PULLED TO RIGHT TWICE AFTER RIDING BACK FROM DEALER AFTER THEY PERFORMED 3 RECALLS. ONE WAS FOR STEERING ISSUES. *TR

WHILE TRAVELING APPROXIMATELY 45 MPH ON MY CAN-AM SPYDER, I NOTICED THAT THE BIKE HAD DRIFTED TOWARDS THE RIGHT OF THE ROAD. NORMAL DRIFT, NO PULLING. TRIED TO CORRECT IT BUT THE HANDLEBARS WOULD NOT MOVE, THEY FELT AS IF THEY WERE LOCKED IN POSITION. AFTER 3 TRIES TO CORRECT BEFORE LEAVING THE ROAD, IT FELT AS IF IT BROKE LOOSE MAKING ME ABRUPTLY LOSE LANE POSITION ENDING UP IN THE ONCOMING TRAFFIC LANE. NO INJURIES OR ACCIDENT OCCURRED. ALSO AFTER RETURNING HOME, AT A STOPPED POSITION AND THE BIKE RUNNING, THE STEERING WOULD NOT TURN LEFT OR RIGHT ON GRASSY SURFACE. THIS SEEMED TO FREE UP AFTER THE BIKE WAS IN A ROLLING MOTION. *TR

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2009 - WHILE RIDING COUNTRY ROADS IN NORTH TEXAS, THE SPYDER'S STEERING AGAIN BECAME DANGEROUS' IT PREVENTED A LEFT TURN (EVEN A SLIGHT TURN) TO THE LEFT. THERE SEEMED TO BE A 'CATCH' IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STEERING MECHANISM'S WHICH NEEDED QUITE A BIT OF PRESSURE (APPROXIMATELY 20-25 POUNDS) TO OVERCOME. ALSO, WHEN THE 'CATCH' WAS OVERCOME, AN OVERREACTION OCCURRED WHICH CAUSE THE SPYDER TO SUDDENLY STEER LEFT FAR MORE THAN WHAT WAS DESIRED. IN ADDITION, THE STEERING WOULD SUDDENLY OVERCOMPENSATE FOR RIGHT TURNS AND PULL THE BIKE FAR FURTHER TO THE RIGHT THAN WHAT WAS DESIRED OR INPUT BY THE RIDER. AFTER ABOUT FIVE MINUTES, I STOPPED AND PULLED THE 5 AMP FUSE FROM THE FORWARD FUSE BOX. THAT DISABLED THE POWER STEERING AT LEAST PARTIALLY, AND THE OVERREACTION TO RIGHT STEERING STOPPED. HOWEVER, THE MIDDLE 'CATCH' WAS STILL OCCURRING AND REQUIRED ABOUT 25 POUNDS OF PRESSURE TO OVERCOME THE SPYDER'S PREVENTION OF A LEFT TURN. I IMMEDIATELY DROVE (SLOWLY) TO RICHARDSON MOTORSPORTS WHERE JEREMY (THE SERVICE TECHNICIAN) RECOGNIZED A PROBLEM JUST FROM DRIVING IT INTO THE SHOP AND APPLIED A SECOND UPDATE TO THE SOFTWARE AND CLEARED 'A FEW COMPUTER ERROR CODES'. I LEFT RICHARDSON MOTORSPORTS AND DROVE TO MY HOME IN ALLEN, TEXAS, ABOUT 15 MILES AWAY. NO FURTHER STEERING ANOMALIES OCCURRED. MONDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2009 - I AGAIN TOOK TO THE ROAD WITH THE SPYDER TO DETERMINE IF THE FIX WAS, IN FACT, REAL AS I HAD AN ARKANSAS TRIP COMING UP LATER IN THE WEEK. NO PROBLEMS OCCURRED IN THE APPROXIMATELY 50 MILES RIDDEN THAT DATE. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2009 - WHILE ENROUTE TO OUR DESTINATION IN OZARK, ARKANSAS (APPROXIMATELY 375 TOTAL MILES), THE SPYDER'S STEERING AGAIN MALFUNCTIONED AT ABOUT THE HALFWAY POINT. AGAIN, A 'CATCH' IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STEERING (STRAIGHT AHEAD) PREVENTED THE SPYDER FROM TURNING LEFT. AND, AS BEFORE, RIGHT TURNS WERE ASSISTED MORE THAN USUAL REQUIRING A QUICK DRIVER CORRECTION TO THE SPYDER'S OVER-COMPENSATION. *TR

TODAY WHILE DRIVING MY 2008 CAN-AM SPYDER ROADSTER, I NEEDED TO EXERT A FORCE GREATER THAN EXPECTED TO INITIATE THE TURNING OF STEERING THE HANDLEBAR OFF CENTER IN ORDER TO CORRECT VEHICLE DRIFT FROM A STRAIGHT LINE PATH. THIS HIGHER THAN EXPECTED STEERING CONTROL INPUT COULD HAVE EASILY RESULTED IN AN UNEXPECTED DEVIATION OF THE VEHICLE FROM MY INTENDED PATH. IT FELT LIKE THE STEERING WOULD LOCK UP OR WANT TO CONTINUE TO THE LEFT AND WHEN I APPLIED A GREATER PRESSURE THAN NORMAL, IT FELT LIKE IT WOULD "BREAK FREE" FROM THE LOCKED POSITION. IT WAS A VERY UNPLEASANT EXPERIENCE AND A LESS EXPERIENCED DRIVER COULD HAVE EASILY OVER CORRECTED AND AN ACCIDENT COULD HAVE RESULTED. MY CAN-AM SPYDER ROADSTER RECENTLY HAD THE MANDATORY RECALL COMPLETED FOR THE STEERING ISSUE. THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME I EXPERIENCED THIS PROBLEM. *TR

I WAS RIDING WITH MY WIFE ON A STRAIGHT SINGLE LANE ROADWAY DOING ABOUT 50MPH WHEN , WITH NO WARNING , THE VEHICLE TOOK A TURN TO THE LEFT, CAUSING IT TO ENTER THE OPPOSING TRAFFIC LANE. HAD THERE BEEN TRAFFIC IN THE OTHER LANE A HEAD ON COLLISION MIGHT HAVE OCCURRED. I WAS ABLE TO REGAIN CONTROL. THIS INCIDENT RE- OCCURRED AT LEAST TWICE BEFORE I WAS ABLE TO GET HOME. I HAVE NOT USED THE VEHICLE SINCE BECAUSE OF THE SCARE THIS HAD GIVEN ME. CAN-AM (BRP) HAD A RECALL TO REVISE THE VEHICLE SOFTWARE. IT HAS MADE THE PROBLEM WORSE FOR MANY OWNERS WHO HAD THE UPDATE DONE. THE MANUFACTURER CHOSE A "CHEAP INEFFICIENT FIX" THAT DIDN'T CURE THE DANGEROUS PROBLEM !! ALL SPYDERS SHOULD BE PULLED OFF THE ROAD UNTIL THE PROBLEM CAN BE CORRECTED. ( BY THE WAY, A CAN-AM ROADSTER IS A 3 WHEEL TRIKE AND SHOULD BE LISTED UNDER MOTORCYCLES, NOT CARS AND TRUCKS.) *TR

I WAS RIDING MY 2008 CAN-AM SPYDER ROADSTER ON THE INTERSTATE AT APPROXIMATELY 70MPH WHEN I NOTICED THAT IT BEGAN DRIFTING INTO THE NEXT LANE ALL ON ITS OWN, WHEN I TRIED TO CORRECT BACK INTO MY LANE THE STEERING FELT STUCK AND WHEN I PULLED HARDER TO CORRECT IT THEN IT WOULD SUDDENLY OVERCORRECT AND SHOOT OVER INTO THE LANE ON THE OTHER SIDE. THIS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES AND AS I SLOWED TO MERGE ONTO ANOTHER HIGHWAY I HEARD A LOUD POPPING SOUND AND THE FRONT WHEELS STARTED TURNING LEFT AND RIGHT ALL BY THEMSELVES AND CLICKING AND POPPING. I WAS BARELY ABLE TO CONTROL THE VEHICLE AND GET IT OUT OF HEAVY TRAFFIC AND OFF OF THE ROAD. I HAD LITTLE TO NO CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE'S TRAVEL DIRECTION. THE CONSOLE SHOWED NO ERRORS OR CODES. THE STEERING CONTINUED TO ACT THIS WAY THE ENTIRE TIME I WAS EASING DOWN THE EMERGENCY LANE AND EXITING THE HIGHWAY. I HAVE TOWED THE BIKE TO THE DEALER AND THEY ARE IN THE PROCESS OF DIAGNOSING THE PROBLEM. *TR