Polaris recalls 53,000 2015 ATV models due to fire risk

MINNEAPOLIS - Polaris Industries is recalling several 2015 all terrain vehicles due to a possible fire hazard caused by an installation error that may prompt the fuel tank vent line to pinch and catch fire, company officials announced Monday.

The voluntary recall, which affects 53,000 Polaris's 2015 RZR 900 and 1000 ATV models, was reported to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Transport Canada. The notice by the maker of ATVs, motorcycles, and snowmobiles, said that if tank vent lines were installed incorrectly and pinched, that could pressurize the tank, causing it to expand, leak, and possibly catch fire.

Owners of the recreational vehicles are being told to contact their dealer to get the ATV inspected and fixed at no charge.

Polaris, based in suburban Minneapolis, said it received reports about a pinched vent line and two reports of small fires. However, in two cases it could not confirm whether the vent line was obstructed during assembly or during the later installation of an accessory. It also was not clear in those two cases if the pinched vent line was the exact cause of the fires.

'Polaris estimates that the assembly error occurred in very few vehicles,” the company said in a statement. 'However, Polaris is issuing a voluntary recall so that all these vehicles could be inspected and any affected vent lines fixed prior to further use.”

The recall did not rattle investors. Shares in Polaris stock rose $1.32 to close at $119.77 a share Monday.

In July, Polaris recalled its 2015 Polaris Youth RZR 170 model after discovering that the retaining ring in the fuel pump could leak and catch fire.

In January, Polaris recalled 1,896 of its new three wheeler Slingshot motorcycles because of defects found in the steering rack and protective roll bars.