Can-am Spyder Roadster 2008-2010
Model Spyder Roadster made by Can-am got 31 consumer complains as well as 10 service bulletins. Consumer complaints with reference, among others things, to electrical system and electronic stability control. Technical service bulletines regarding power train and service brakes, hydraulic.
Car model
| Name | Bulletins | Consumer Complaints |
|---|---|---|
| Can-am Spyder Roadster 2008 | 10 | 31 |
| Can-am Spyder Roadster 2009 | 5 | 11 |
| Can-am Spyder Roadster 2010 | 0 | 12 |
Model 2008
Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | |||||
| SPY-081016-01 | 10/16/2008 | 10026725 | Brp motorcycle: transmission won't shift; get stuck in gear; check transmission fault scrolls; won't downshift; won't up-shift or change gears. *pe | 12/08/2008 | |
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION - GEAR POSITION INDICATION (PRNDL) | |||||
| SB-2009-1 | 12/03/2008 | 10032372 | Can-am roadster (brp): some sm5 and se5 vehicles may experience any of the following symptoms: e or incorrect number in cluster gear indicator; intermittent power steering operation; difficulty shifting (se5 only). *pe | 03/12/2010 | |
| POWER TRAIN - MANUAL TRANSMISSION - SHIFT PATTERN INDICATOR | |||||
| SB-2009-1 | 12/03/2008 | 10032372 | Can-am roadster (brp): some sm5 and se5 vehicles may experience any of the following symptoms: e or incorrect number in cluster gear indicator; intermittent power steering operation; difficulty shifting (se5 only). *pe | 03/12/2010 | |
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - FLUID | |||||
| 110608 | 01/11/2008 | 10026543 | Brp: a limited quantity of roadster spyder vehicles may have one or two defective brake fluid reservoir caps. csc letter was received. *pe | 11/06/2008 | |
| 2008-0002 | 01/11/2008 | 10026521 | Brp: csc letter referring to brake fluid reservoir caps replacement for can-am roadster vehicles. *pe | 11/04/2008 | |
| 2008-0002 | 01/11/2008 | 10026462 | Bombardier recreational products: a limited quantity of roadster spyder vehicles may have one or two defective brake fluid reservoir caps. *pe csc letter was received. 1/23/09. *pe | 10/30/2008 | |
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - FOUNDATION COMPONENTS - DISC - PADS | |||||
| SB-2009-4 | 12/18/2008 | 10030827 | Can-am (brp): brake pads featuring a new compound are available for all spyder gs models. these new pads are of a different color for easy identification and are designed to reduce brake induced noise. *pe | 12/07/2009 | |
| STEERING - COLUMN | |||||
| 2008-6 | 07/09/2008 | 10026161 | Can-am motorcycle: revision 1: steering column hub and riser block installation. when installing a riser block kit over torquing the m10 nut to push the riser block on the steering column may cause damage to the threaded stud. *pe | 10/03/2008 | |
| STEERING - HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM | |||||
| SB-2009-1 | 12/03/2008 | 10032372 | Can-am roadster (brp): some sm5 and se5 vehicles may experience any of the following symptoms: e or incorrect number in cluster gear indicator; intermittent power steering operation; difficulty shifting (se5 only). *pe | 03/12/2010 | |
| STEERING - WHEEL AND HANDLE BAR | |||||
| 2008-6 | 06/06/2008 | 10026150 | Can-am motorcycle (brp): when installing a riser block kit, inappropriate torque values and/or improper block insertion method may result in a damaged steering stern. *pe | 10/02/2008 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||
| 08/25/2011 | 17500 | ||
| I was riding my 2005 canam spyder motorcycle to work and about 2 blocks away while i was stopped at a stoplight i heard a pop and saw a small amount of smoke come up from under the cowling. i immediately rushed to my work parking lot (because there were no trees or anything flammable around) and went into work to get some water to extinguish the small flames i saw. by the time i got back outside the bike was engulfed and melting. (the outer skin is mainly fiberglass) i have been on the web and have found numerous postings of fires on the motorcyles and also the watercraft and atv's this company manufactures. | |||
| ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL | |||
| 11/07/2009 | 5800 | 1 | |
| 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 | |||
| 10/18/2008 | 3500 | 1 | |
| On 10/19/2008, while driving eastbound on ih40 in oklahoma (on a straight-a-way), the can am spyder's power steering abruptly pulled me into the lane to the left. this happened twice within a period of minutes. thankfully, it was an early sunday morning with little traffic. on 11/15/2008, while riding some twisties in north texas, the spyder again exhibited multiple steering malfunctions... this time pulling the bike to the left and the right. in conjunction with the steering problems, the gear selection indicator also showed either the wrong gear or an e, for error. on this occasion, i immediately stopped and disabled the power steering by removing the associated fuse. no problems occurred after disconnecting the system. because of the second set of occurrences, i researched the connection between the gear position sensor and the power steering and determined that the gear position sensor provided (along with about six others) direct input into the computer steering logic. i ordered and replaced the gear position sensor ($90+) and have had no problems since. the can-am spyder's electrical system is a can-bus type where multiple and different sensors, lights, etc. send input along one wiring route. from what i can piece together on my own (and i am no expert), the gear position sensor was faulty (has subsequently been replaced by another part number by can-am) and sending confusing signals to the steering system. based on my personal experience, this is an extreme safety hazard as a rider may not be able to recover, or actually over recover, in the event of the malfunction. btw, the spyder should be listed in the motorcycle section, not automobile. *tr | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | |||
| 05/04/2009 | 36500 | 1 | |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2008 bombardier bombardier products can-am spyder roadster. while pulling into the garage, the contact noticed smoke on the passenger side of the vehicle. he grabbed the clutch and pushed the vehicle out of the garage, where it caught fire in the driveway. the fire department arrived and filed a report. his home sustained heat damage. the vehicle was destroyed. the current and failure mileages were 36,500. updated 05/26/09 *bf updated 05/29/09.*jb | |||
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | |||
| 08/25/2011 | 17500 | ||
| I was riding my 2005 canam spyder motorcycle to work and about 2 blocks away while i was stopped at a stoplight i heard a pop and saw a small amount of smoke come up from under the cowling. i immediately rushed to my work parking lot (because there were no trees or anything flammable around) and went into work to get some water to extinguish the small flames i saw. by the time i got back outside the bike was engulfed and melting. (the outer skin is mainly fiberglass) i have been on the web and have found numerous postings of fires on the motorcyles and also the watercraft and atv's this company manufactures. | |||
| 05/04/2009 | 36500 | 1 | |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2008 bombardier bombardier products can-am spyder roadster. while pulling into the garage, the contact noticed smoke on the passenger side of the vehicle. he grabbed the clutch and pushed the vehicle out of the garage, where it caught fire in the driveway. the fire department arrived and filed a report. his home sustained heat damage. the vehicle was destroyed. the current and failure mileages were 36,500. updated 05/26/09 *bf updated 05/29/09.*jb | |||
| STEERING | |||
| 04/07/2012 | 10130 | ||
| Was traveling about 35 mph and entered a right hand curve. the power steering stopped working which caused me to cross the center line. lucky nobody coming other direction. the motorcycle has had a dealer recall upgrade of software and the power sterring unit replaced under recall. | |||
| 02/09/2010 | 6000 | ||
| 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 | |||
| 10/17/2009 | 1 | ||
| 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 | |||
| 10/10/2009 | 2400 | 1 | |
| Steering pulled to right twice after riding back from dealer after they performed 3 recalls. one was for steering issues. *tr | |||
| 10/29/2009 | 300 | 1 | |
| 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 | |||
| 10/10/2009 | 9100 | 1 | |
| Saturday, october 10, 2009 - while riding country roads in north texas, the spyder | |||
| 10/27/2009 | 7250 | 1 | |
| 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 | |||
| 10/19/2008 | 340 | 1 | |
| 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 | |||
| 10/17/2009 | 5600 | 1 | |
| 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 | |||
| 10/11/2009 | 4900 | 1 | |
| Steering felt like it was locked. as i applied more (significantly) force to correct the steering it suddenly jerked and steered in the direction i was trying to get it to go. it would steer in quick jerks and it was difficult to keep it in the lane of the road. even while going in a straight line it felt like it was trying to steer left on its own. i had to hold a lot of pressure on the handle bars to keep it going in a straight line. at one point i almost ran into a car on my right as the road was curving and the steering was locked. i felt i could only maintain some control below 40 mph. once i got stopped and shut it off for a bit , it did not act up again when i rode it for about 15 more miles home. i never had any warning light indications. bike is at dealer now and vin is not readily available to me. i can provide this at a later time. *tr | |||
| 09/25/2009 | 9700 | 1 | |
| Besides a number of mechanical problems with my can am spyder that have been fixed under warranty, the worst episode was when my power steering became intermittent. i was hundreds of miles from home when it went out on me twice. i was moving at about 35 mph when the spyder proceeded to steer to the right all on it's own and it took a bit of muscle to steer it back to center to avoid hitting a tree. this was the first time it happened. a day later the same thing happened at around the same speed. a brp tech looked at it (without test driving it) and downloaded some update into my spyder but since then i've been afraid to ride it, fearing that this will happen again. it was hard to steer it back into control and it made a clicking noise when i did both times. a number of other owners have had the similar problem, even after the updates were installed so i do not personally believe that a software patch is going to remedy this problem. i am not getting any clear answers from brp who makes this machine. *tr | |||
| 03/05/2009 | 5000 | 1 | |
| 2008 can-am spyder power steering is intermittently turning 'on' and 'off' and 'locking up' causing driver of motorcycle to fight steering to keep bike on road. this only started to occur after i had around 5,000 miles on the bike. this is happening on my own spyder, as well as many others i have spoken to in various online forums. there has been 1 death in texas that may be due to this failure. there has been 1 serious accident in california where the rider has stated this steering problem was the cause of the accident. the manufacturer (brp-can-am canada) and their dealers do not seem aware or willing to take action and perform a recall. this issue is very serious and should be addressed as soon as possible. i went for a ride today and the problem still exists. almost lost control on a turn due to fighting the power steering - only to have the power steering kick back on while pushing hard on the handlebars--- thus causing the bike to over-steer the turn. *tr | |||
| 01/18/2009 | 7900 | 1 | |
| I own a 2008 can-am spyder gs. i would like to complain about the power steering (vss) i am not so good at these things, so i will just say it like it is. it locks to the left. and pulls the vehicle to the left. this happens between 40-55 mph i almost crashed on the on ramp of the 405 freeway because the bike would simply not turn to the right and i had to fight with it to get it to turn. i stopped 2.5 feet before crashing in to the wall. i know of 3 people that have already crashed and brp (the manufacturer will not reply to us) there was a lady that lost her life due to a low speed crash, but we have no way of asking her what happened and now everyone is worried it is because of this. here is a link to a few posts about people experiencing this http://www.spydertalk.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=9212 and one person who had to be hospitalized due to this. *tr | |||
| 02/20/2009 | 9500 | 1 | |
| Vehicle is a 2008 can-am spyder on 2/20/2009 while moving the vehicles steering locked completely. i was unable to move the steering either left or right. while trying to turn i felt a pop and the vehicle steering returned. this has happened before while sitting still but never when the vehicle was in motion. *tr | |||
| 02/16/2009 | 1 | ||
| I have a 2008 can-am spyder (new street driven 3 wheeler) and i was driving 70mph on the highway and the steering felt stuck and the spyder started drifting left. i tried to gently pull the steering right, but it kept going. then all of the sudden the steering free'd up and it jerked right. this almost caused me to lose control on the highway in traffic with other cars! apparently i am not the first to experience this and even one spyder owner crashed and was flown to the hospital with serious injuries! here is his story: http://www.spydertalk.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=9212&st=0 brp - the manufacturer of this vehicle has been tight lipped about this and to date is offering nothing in terms of diagnosis or rectification or even simple acknowledgment. *tr | |||
| 10/18/2008 | 3500 | 1 | |
| On 10/19/2008, while driving eastbound on ih40 in oklahoma (on a straight-a-way), the can am spyder's power steering abruptly pulled me into the lane to the left. this happened twice within a period of minutes. thankfully, it was an early sunday morning with little traffic. on 11/15/2008, while riding some twisties in north texas, the spyder again exhibited multiple steering malfunctions... this time pulling the bike to the left and the right. in conjunction with the steering problems, the gear selection indicator also showed either the wrong gear or an e, for error. on this occasion, i immediately stopped and disabled the power steering by removing the associated fuse. no problems occurred after disconnecting the system. because of the second set of occurrences, i researched the connection between the gear position sensor and the power steering and determined that the gear position sensor provided (along with about six others) direct input into the computer steering logic. i ordered and replaced the gear position sensor ($90+) and have had no problems since. the can-am spyder's electrical system is a can-bus type where multiple and different sensors, lights, etc. send input along one wiring route. from what i can piece together on my own (and i am no expert), the gear position sensor was faulty (has subsequently been replaced by another part number by can-am) and sending confusing signals to the steering system. based on my personal experience, this is an extreme safety hazard as a rider may not be able to recover, or actually over recover, in the event of the malfunction. btw, the spyder should be listed in the motorcycle section, not automobile. *tr | |||
| SUSPENSION | |||
| 11/07/2009 | 5800 | 1 | |
| 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 | |||
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | |||
| 08/25/2011 | 17500 | ||
| I was riding my 2005 canam spyder motorcycle to work and about 2 blocks away while i was stopped at a stoplight i heard a pop and saw a small amount of smoke come up from under the cowling. i immediately rushed to my work parking lot (because there were no trees or anything flammable around) and went into work to get some water to extinguish the small flames i saw. by the time i got back outside the bike was engulfed and melting. (the outer skin is mainly fiberglass) i have been on the web and have found numerous postings of fires on the motorcyles and also the watercraft and atv's this company manufactures. | |||