Complaint Review: Polaris

I am writing this regarding an ongoing problem with a Polaris Ranger EV (all electric power) I purchased last year. This has been by far the most frustrating negative experience I have had not only with a product but with the customer service from any company I have ever dealt with.

I used the vehicle for the entire hunting season (9/15/15 thru 11/15/15) last year without incident and was generally pleased. The vehicles range between charges was 25 to 30 miles depending on the type of driving and terrain. I performed all service practices as explained by the dealer and your owner’s manual. The vehicle was stored in my garage over the winter. I used it occasionally (3-4 times per month) over the winter and summer that followed without incident. At the beginning of spring I again performed the suggested maintenance in your owners manual.

Just before the beginning of our hunting season here (9/15/16) I took the vehicle for a scouting run and it completely stopped operating without notice after approximately 3 to 4 miles and had to be picked up and taken to the local dealer. After 11 days at the dealer It was finally determined that 4 of the 8 batteries were defective and they were replaced.

Thus began the most frustrating experience I have ever experienced with any company I have ever dealt with. This machine has been picked up and taken to the dealer and serviced on three occasions at my expense and continues to not operate properly. Since the previously mentioned problem I cannot get more than 8-10 miles of range before the batteries completely die which renders it useless for it’s intended purpose. While this problem has persisted I have lost almost all of my hunting season.

I have spoken to several different people regarding this issue in Polaris customer service department. I have also spoken to a gentleman named Greg who is the head of technical support. All answers to my questions, concerns and frustrations have been answered with the stock phrases “You need to take it back to the dealer” and “we don’t do that”. Also, on the three occasions I have called into customer service, I have also sat on hold on the phone for well over an hour waiting for someone to talk to. I have repeatedly asked to speak to someone in authority and been told there is no one in charge who can either help me or listen to my complaints. We both know that is not an accurate statement. There is a head of customer service and I have not been given the chance to speak to him or her. It would appear that is a policy that speaks volumes as to a lack of both customer service and customer satisfaction.

The latest recommendation is to run the batteries through “20 cycles” to see if this improves their performance. I did not understand what this meant and the answer is to take it out and run it from fully charged to fully discharged!

I have a question?

On what planet does this seem to be a rational request to ask a customer to do? How would I (or anybody else) correctly gauge the distance to run the vehicle so that it was fully discharged upon arriving back home? Is he really suggesting I run it and hope I don’t need it towed back home? Another point that makes this a ridiculous suggestion is that it takes at least 8 hours of charging to bring it from discharged to a fully charged level. Even if I could (which I can’t) it would mean at least 20 days before we would know if this solves the issue.  

At this point I am completely baffled as to:

1)    The lack of customer service.

2)    More importantly, the lack of concern as to how this has affected me and my situation.

3)    The lack of expertise at Polaris and the dealer to solve this problem.

Given all the above the only conclusion I can come to is that this vehicle is the proverbial and complete lemon and Polaris is incapable of fixing it. I want either a new vehicle or my money back.

Steve

Harbor Springs, Michigan