I was going through a pretty rough patch of mud and had to floor it. Slinging mud everywhere. In keeping up with the pack I didn't have time to throw it into Low and 4x4. But still managed to clear the mud.

However, once I came out on the other side of this mud. The gas stayed engaged at full power. I slammed the breaks and it helped but he Z8 kept powering on. At risk of running into the SXS ahead of me I turned it off the trail and ran straight into a tree. Which finally stopped it.

Later on a friend that was there told me his cousin had a Z8 and had the exact same problem. That he believes the gas pedal stayed stuck when he floored it. And to avoid hitting a family he turned off a hill. Totaling his Z8. In my case I didn't get a chance to see if it was the gas pedal or what, it happens too fast to really notice.

I'm curious if anyone else has experienced this before? Either way I thought it was important to share. Please be conscience of this issue guys, my Z8 has about 200 miles on it. And this had never happened before. And I've floored it plenty of times in the past.

[2015 Z Force 800 53/Trail EPS]

Has not happened to me yet but I really think I would consider hitting the kill switch or just shut the key off before veering off the road into a tree or over a cliff.

A million things have gone through my head since, about what I could of done different. But it happens so quick and brief, and the Z8 is moving so fast you just don't have the time to process what's happening, only react. I'm going to try and prepare myself mentally now that I know it can happen, and either try and shift into neutral or like you said shut off the key.

I wouldn't ride it until I found the source of the problem and am certain that it won't happen again. It's not worth the risk and the fix might be a easy one.

What the heck did we get ourselves into buying these SXS's....even though mine has performed reasonbly well, I still am somewhat concerned with my purchase at times!
They gave Z Force a pretty glowing report on the TV show and magazine, Dirt Traxs. They are usually pretty fair in their ratings of vehicles, so I did use that information in my buying decision. I hope I didn't make a big mistake. 

[2015 Z Force 800 53/Trail EPS]

What the heck did we get ourselves into buying these SXS's....even though mine has performed reasonbly well, I still am somewhat concerned with my purchase at times!
They gave Z Force a pretty glowing report on the TV show and magazine, Dirt Traxs. They are usually pretty fair in their ratings of vehicles, so I did use that information in my buying decision. I hope I didn't make a big mistake. 

I did too..and you know, every time I take mine out after reading all this stuff here I worry...but you know...it has always brought me back...and with a smile. So, I still say, yeah it has its weak points...but it also has it's strong points! And If I can fix the weak before they become a problem, this should be a pretty good machine. 

I knew it was a gamble when I bought it, but so far it's paying off. Have you guys read about the problems Polaris and Can-Am have? Serious problems like frames breaking in two under normal use and front diffs blowing without abuse. I don't think the problems CF Moto has are as bad. The Japs may be a little better, but they don't have anything in the same class as the Z8. They keep theirs reliable by keeping them underpowered. My brother's Teryx has plenty of power but has plenty of issues of it's own.

My throttle sticks a little just above idle, but has never stuck above that.

Well, touch on wood, I have not had any problems with the throttle on mine. I am going hunting soon in the middle of nowhere and I have a lump, way down in the pit of my stomach that just won't go away.

I certainly don't want to be in the woods, 10-20 miles away from camp and end up having to walk home because of some little piece that came loose or have a nut or bolt fall out! I will most likely put on 3-400 miles in 5 days, so this will be the real test in my books!

[2015 Z Force 800 53/Trail EPS]

The one throttle issue I have is that the return spring is too light...and fatique sets in the foot and ankle from holding the foot up on long slower runs. I did reset my throttle and stops to operate a little farther down which increased spring pressure a little and allowed the foot to be in a more relaxed position but it still in time has some fatique...although I will say our last ride.. it didn't. They do need a stronger return spring for sure.

@cosmosdan Yea I passed on going riding yesterday because I just didn't feel comfortable with it, I haven't had a chance to check it out but you're right I am going to investigate this further and not ride it until I'm satisfied.

@mayor hal I know a few guys that ride Mavericks and man those things are some seriously overpriced junk. Things are constantly going wrong with them, almost every time we ride it's one of them who's breaking down.

As far as the Rzr's the earlier models were also a nightmare. The few people that I know that still have them are trying to sell them. I will say the latest models seem to be much more reliable. But man that price is what scares me. I'm hoping to chalk these issues up to how young the Z8 is. And that CFMoto is going to iron out the issues in future years like Polaris has. I'm willing to pay a little more and stay loyal if the machines improve in quality.

@cosmosdan Yea I passed on going riding yesterday because I just didn't feel comfortable with it, I haven't had a chance to check it out but you're right I am going to investigate this further and not ride it until I'm satisfied.

@mayor hal I know a few guys that ride Mavericks and man those things are some seriously overpriced junk. Things are constantly going wrong with them, almost every time we ride it's one of them who's breaking down.

As far as the Rzr's the earlier models were also a nightmare. The few people that I know that still have them are trying to sell them. I will say the latest models seem to be much more reliable. But man that price is what scares me. I'm hoping to chalk these issues up to how young the Z8 is. And that CFMoto is going to iron out the issues in future years like Polaris has. I'm willing to pay a little more and stay loyal if the machines improve in quality.

Most likely the mud got jammed into the throttle cable or foot pedal assembly. Thats the gamble you take when running in mud. It can happen to anything, regardless of brand or model. Hell i've gone tearing ass through a mud hole in my 1990 Jeep YJ with the carbureted 4.2L and the spring snapped on the throttle linkage. Stuff happens. Mud also destroys wheels bearings as does sand. I've had the same Polaris RZR come in for service for wheel bearings within a 7 day period because they went mudding and destroyed the new Polaris brand bearings (which they insisted we install vs the better quality and cheaper All-Balls bearings). The 2nd time around they agreed to try the All Balls. They've been good ever since.

As a dealer, and a service center for all brands, I can tell you, no brand is safe. No brand is 100% reliable. They ALL BREAK. They ALL have issues. I can tell you i service a LOT of Polaris ATVs and SXS. A LOT. Some simple, some that make you want to scratch your own eyes out. Polaris has a HORRIBLE history with their electronics. The early 600 & 700 sportsman twins had a terrible ignition system that ended up being replaced mid production. Any 1st run models that had any one piece of that ignition system go had to spend $800 for the updated ignition system which includes a CDI, voltage regulator/rectifier, coils, stator, and flywheel. Polaris had some major electrical issues with the 2009 Switchback 900. A Majority of the parts for that machine are specific to that year only because it was a pile of turds attached to skis and a track. They continue to have issues with their gauge clusters/dashes going out. For some reason, that dash controls everything, which means when the dash goes, its not going to start. One of my employees is dealing with a defective dash on his sled, and its almost $500 to replace it plus labor.  Arctic Cat has a similar ignition issues with their 400 & 500s. They used a multi-magnet design flywheel that has a 100% failure rate which almost always destroyed the stator when the magnets let go. They eventually switched to a solid single magnet design.

My point being, they are all "junk" if you want to go by issues they have. But what most people fail to realize, we are pushing the units to their mechanical limits. Off roading is hard on everything. Its hard on engines, and parts. Bearings and bushings. Small engines rev much higher and run much longer in higher RPM ranges than cars do.

CFMoto has told us they purposely underpower the engine to extend the life of the engine. These engines are capable of producing much more power, so keep that in mind.

One last thing...

That $23,000 Polaris 1000 is a mean machine, dont get me wrong. It will destroy anything in the hole shot. But that's where its performance falls off. Polaris has them governed at 72mph... They also come with a 6 month warranty. A 5 year plan costs $1800 and also comes with a deductible.

My ZForce 800 retails for $9,999, is NOT governed, and goes 72mph, and has a 1yr warranty. I sell extended warranty plans, additional 2yrs for $599 and 3 years for $699. So in all honesty I dont understand where the benefit of buying a Polaris is. Their warranty sucks. Their units are overpriced. The quality is no better than anyone else, Chinese brands included. The cost to maintain is far greater (their parts are outrageous and overpriced).

@emersonsc, when we go riding the running joke is who's turn it is to break something. We all ride something different and everyone has had there "turn".

Yamaha has one of the best reputations for reliability, but the reason I bought the Z is because my Grizzly had a break down of some type every time I rode it for the past 2 or 3 years. The last time I had it out, it had to be towed home. It is 11 years old with over 4000 miles, and a lot of mods. The parts that tear up don't seem to be related to the mods. My brother had a RZR 800 before he got his Teryx. It always made it home. It's an 08, but only has a few hundred miles. There's good and bad in all brands. Just some have more good and some have more bad. CF Moto seems to be in the middle somewhere, which is pretty good considering the price and what you get for the price.

Emersonsc:
Thank you very much for your Analogy. That sums it up pretty well and pretty much what I needed to persuade me to buy the ZForce and save a couple thousand Bucks over the RZR 900 Trail.
Thank you

@Emersonsc I think you nailed it brother. After further investigating the issue I had some serious mud gunked up all over both the pedal and the throttle cable. I'm gonna chalk this one up to bad luck and poor washing.

I usually do a good job pressure washing it to look immaculate but that last time I got kind of lazy (got called into work, didn't make the time to finish it). But yea I'll never do that again. Keep your machines clean fellas !