any mechanics out there?

[Caeden4]

i've been working on a build out in the woods all day and using the UTV to transport materials back and forth. its a crappy axis 500 from lowes, a few years old now but just used around the property, not much wear. well, out of nowhere, while driving in reverse, there was a (low) popping noise and all motion stopped. the thing wont drive in any gear. the gear shift and screen show it as changing gears successfully, but it acts as though it is stuck in neutral. when left in neutral, i can easily move it and the wheels and all look and sound totally normal when i do. everything spins fine. but clearly the message to actually spin the wheels when given gas is not getting through. i wouldve assumed the problem was the transmission itself but im kind of thinking it might be the differential? the manual is completely useless and its hard to find diagrams of this utv online, so any maintenance always takes me hours just to figure out how the hell to even access what i need to.  needless to say, this has thrown a huge wrench in my plans for the day. i really have very little knowlege in this area, so if anyone has a better idea what it could be and how to go about it without me just basically just taking everything apart and hoping i can find the issue, i'd greatly appreciate it lol

FYI- the parking brake does slip or get stuck at times, but its not that. the clutch does the same and admittedly i have been meaning to replace that gear all summer and have yet to do so, but nothing out of the ordinary was happening there either today. plus, i hadnt shifted gears at the time this occurred. im about to go take a look at that anyway though just to be 100% positive, but it doesnt seem to be the issue.

 

[cervidchasers]

If the driveshaft broke, you will be able to roll it in gear also. That would be the first thing i check

[Meatball]

I would check the drivetrain mechanism. I was told some of those run on belts. And when belts get wet they slip. Belt, sprocket  maybe a you have  chain drive. Or like mentioned above... Drive shaft, u-joint.

[9jNYstarkOH]

If it is 4x4 see if it moves in 4 wheel drive. Sounds like a drive shaft or transmission/clutch issue 

[Bionic]

As previously mentioned if 4wd moves the machine, it will tell you something.  The model UTV i own some have stripped the final drive gear in the rear transaxle.  I never had issues but it sounds like it would allow movement in 4wd on a belt driven machine, which would rule out a clutch issue.  This drive gear failure has symptoms of what you describe in my opinion.  Good luck, please keep us updated, as UTVing is a huge part of my life.

Edited September 14 by Bionic
Spelling error

[9jNYstarkOH]

https://www.utvboard.com/topic/10540-axis-500-driveshaft-out-of-transmission/

[Caeden4]

so i got it moving. I'm not entirely sure what did it, but since the driveshaft was intact and everything looked completely fine to me, nothing was loose or chewed up, bent, etc, i figured for good measure i should just check the shifter and played with the linkage a bit. apparently, that got it moving... but not normally by any means. it will not turn and really theres a lack of steering control at all in 4wd, plus its making some awful noises. my neighbor dropped by from up the road to grab some materials, and he tried to watch and listen while i drove to see where it was coming from. it definitely feels and sounds like its the front passenger brake, but again nothing appears to be wrong with it, and there was no issue before today.  regardless, if i drop it down to 2wd theres no issue at all. drives fine, turns fine, no noises.  so its now just a 4wd problem, which is obviously not ideal, but it is at least drivable. for todays use, which has now become tomorrows use, 2wd will suffice. still got to fix the underlying problem sooner rather than later though, but still dont know what it actually is.

[Rob-c]

2 hours ago, Caeden4 said:

so i got it moving. I'm not entirely sure what did it, but since the driveshaft was intact and everything looked completely fine to me, nothing was loose or chewed up, bent, etc, i figured for good measure i should just check the shifter and played with the linkage a bit. apparently, that got it moving... but not normally by any means. it will not turn and really theres a lack of steering control at all in 4wd, plus its making some awful noises. my neighbor dropped by from up the road to grab some materials, and he tried to watch and listen while i drove to see where it was coming from. it definitely feels and sounds like its the front passenger brake, but again nothing appears to be wrong with it, and there was no issue before today.  regardless, if i drop it down to 2wd theres no issue at all. drives fine, turns fine, no noises.  so its now just a 4wd problem, which is obviously not ideal, but it is at least drivable. for todays use, which has now become tomorrows use, 2wd will suffice. still got to fix the underlying problem sooner rather than later though, but still dont know what it actually is.

So it appears your  axis 500 has a cvt / belt drive . Have you ever serviced the cvt system or belt ? How  many miles hours  are on your  utv? 
after some  research Hisun makes the Axis .. i found  a service manual for ya . 
https://www.manualslib.com/manual/1006793/Hisun-Hs500utv.html

Found you a owners manual also https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5e5681d44395dd0dab86a390/t/60ac280cbcb79746d7da8560/1621895184574/2020+Axis+500-700cc+Owners+Manual.pdf

Ok after rereading what you typed , did you have the front diff lock on ? 

Edited September 14 by Rob-c

[Caeden4]

2 hours ago, Rob-c said:

So it appears your  axis 500 has a cvt / belt drive . Have you ever serviced the cvt system or belt ? How  many miles hours  are on your  utv? 
after some  research Hisun makes the Axis .. i found  a service manual for ya . 
https://www.manualslib.com/manual/1006793/Hisun-Hs500utv.html

Found you a owners manual also https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5e5681d44395dd0dab86a390/t/60ac280cbcb79746d7da8560/1621895184574/2020+Axis+500-700cc+Owners+Manual.pdf

Ok after rereading what you typed , did you have the front diff lock on ? 

Thanks Rob!

Only about 25 hours, no service to cvt. The belts a pain in the ass to get to so I actually didn't even end up looking at it earlier. The more I think about it though, the problems got to be in there somewhere right? So I'll have to alot time to go digging. 

The 4wd diff lock wasn't on when it initially stalled, but at one point, after it got moving but before i noticed the steering issue, my neighbor was driving. He isn't familiar with this UTVs controls so I'm actually not entirely sure that he didn't turn the diff lock on while he was messing around with 2wd and 4wd. I didn't even think about it and hadn't looked when I got back in the driver seat. 

[Rob-c]

18 minutes ago, Caeden4 said:

Thanks Rob!

Only about 25 hours, no service to cvt. The belts a pain in the ass to get to so I actually didn't even end up looking at it earlier. The more I think about it though, the problems got to be in there somewhere right? So I'll have to alot time to go digging. 

The 4wd diff lock wasn't on when it initially stalled, but at one point, after it got moving but before i noticed the steering issue, my neighbor was driving. He isn't familiar with this UTVs controls so I'm actually not entirely sure that he didn't turn the diff lock on while he was messing around with 2wd and 4wd. I didn't even think about it and hadn't looked when I got back in the driver seat. 

Not sure how the shift  linkage is on your machine but if its adjustable it may need to be adjusted . 

Edited September 15 by Rob-c

[Caeden4]

4 minutes ago, Rob-c said:

Not sure how the shift  linkage is on your machine but if its adjustable it may need to be adjusted . 

I did adjust it and I think that's what got it moving at all