Due to unforeseen fire hazards, Polaris has issued a recall on its off-road vehicles again. This time, the new 2022 RZR Pro R 4 Premium and 2022 RZR Pro R 4 Ultimate are at the center of the recall. These models are at a heightened risk of starting an electrical fire due to a manufacturing defect that resulted in incorrectly routed battery cables that can contact the prop shaft, sometimes resulting in an electrical short, creating a fire hazard. Roughly 1,200 hundred of the new models had already been sold.
The most recent recall is just one of the fifty-five reported recalls Polaris has had since 2010. Previous models of the infamous Polaris RZR off-road vehicle have had similar fire hazard malfunctions that gained media attention in the past. Polaris manufactured and distributed approximately 133,000 2013-2016 RZR 900 and received information that the RZRs could catch fire while consumers were driving, posing fire and burn hazards to drivers and passengers. However, Polaris failed to inform officials that the RZRs contained the defect that created an unreasonable risk of severe injury or death, as required by federal law. In 2018, Polaris agreed to pay $27.25 million to settle charges for failing to inform the proper officials in a reasonable amount of time.
In addition to lawsuits for failure to disclose information and personal injury, the US government sued Polaris for causing a forest fire that burned 8,000 acres of the San Bernardino National Forest when a customer’s vehicle malfunctioned and started a fire in 2016. Polaris recently settled this lawsuit. United States v. Polaris Sales, Inc.
Continued manufacturing defects create legal issues across the country for Polaris and its victims. If you or a loved one have been affected by an accident or death with a Polaris vehicle, contact an experienced personal injury attorney at Hurst Limontes, LLC. We have decades of combined experience fighting for our clients in any number of personal injury claims. Call 317-636-0808 or email us for a FREE and confidential consultation.