minnkota = garbage

[critter]

Had a ultrex installed on 17 Phoenix when they first came out had nothing but problems with it since day 1 2 foot control sensors steering cable snapped water in the lower end three times tons of play in the mount motor is out of warranty. Well went away for a week for a two-day tournament two hours after launching the boat the steering cable snapped again Fed Up and pissed called every dealer around to try to get parts or a new motor finally get this dealer that's if they could overnight me one drove an hour and a half to pick it up spent a few hours in the hotel parking lot trying to swap it out finally put the boat back in the water and the on button is stuck in the Run position figured the spring underneath was jammed so fix that well tournament day I fished trolling motor is working fine but noticed I had this weird water spots stains all over the boat and all over my front fish finders didn't think much of it thought it might have been some oil that they had on the unit to keep it shiny. Day 2 it was getting worse and worse ended up noticing that when I stored my motor water was pouring out of the head so looks like this brand new unit 3 years after they first came out they still can't figure out how to get the water to not go in the lower end if I didn't just buy all new hummingbirds and have it linked I would definitely make the switch to the ghost

[Fishysam]

Been running minnkotas for 25 years never had an issue that I didn't cause myself.

[bobcoy]

Same here, but only17 years. Some things need to be repaired by a professional. Well worth the cost to insure it is fixed properly the first time or they will do it again. JMO Bob

[haus9393]

Does the link capability outweigh the reliability of the motor. Probably not atleast with me it doesn’t. I have a ghost and Lowrance electronics and hardly ever utilize the link features.

[06 SB]

Been running an Ultrex Link for several years and not a single issue.

[critter]

I did have the previous motor service by a dealer every time except for one time I did the steering sensor the new trolling motor that is leaking I literally just put on 2 days ago

[critter]

Well I did a quick Google search and it seems like a lot of people have issues with the lower end and when I called the dealer that sold me the motor she said the same thing

[bnewman046]

Got a 12 year old Minn Kota Maxxum and I've have no problems PERIOD!

[big ike]

I have an ultrex 112 water in motor issue.
Been on the boat less than a year. Bought at a salvage store for a what seemed like a heck of a deal. No marks showing ever been installed, remote missing. Manufacture date 2017. After taking apart o rings look good, bolts tight, very few hrs. Run time. I put end caps back on, pressurized found bubbles coming from where shaft is epoxied to motor housing. Lots of oxidation on metal inside, I suppose it failed leak test. Doomed from the get go. Waiting on parts gonna put putty epoxy around that area see if that’ll seal it.

[billnorman1]

I have an ultrex 112 water in motor issue.
Been on the boat less than a year. Bought at a salvage store for a what seemed like a heck of a deal. No marks showing ever been installed, remote missing. Manufacture date 2017. After taking apart o rings look good, bolts tight, very few hrs. Run time. I put end caps back on, pressurized found bubbles coming from where shaft is epoxied to motor housing. Lots of oxidation on metal inside, I suppose it failed leak test. Doomed from the get go. Waiting on parts gonna put putty epoxy around that area see if that’ll seal it.

Smart of you to do a leak test.

[PJ-Rohlf]

I have an ultrex 112 water in motor issue.
Been on the boat less than a year. Bought at a salvage store for a what seemed like a heck of a deal. No marks showing ever been installed, remote missing. Manufacture date 2017. After taking apart o rings look good, bolts tight, very few hrs. Run time. I put end caps back on, pressurized found bubbles coming from where shaft is epoxied to motor housing. Lots of oxidation on metal inside, I suppose it failed leak test. Doomed from the get go. Waiting on parts gonna put putty epoxy around that area see if that’ll seal it.

The shaft connection is a bigger issue than the o ring seals. Tried telling service centers that and no one wanted to listen until after the 3rd try on o rings. I ended up using back up fortrex 95% of last year

[ncbass]

Well I did a quick Google search and it seems like a lot of people have issues with the lower end and when I called the dealer that sold me the motor she said the same thing

Maybe a quick Google search before you buy next time...no issues with my MinnKota

[James 10]

I heard the 2 screws behind prop come loose and water gets in everyone tighten the screws up !!

[big ike]

The shaft connection is a bigger issue than the o ring seals. Tried telling service centers that and no one wanted to listen until after the 3rd try on o rings. I ended up using back up fortrex 95% of last year

I agree, certainly was on mine. Bolts were good tight, o rings looked good. So I put end caps back on, seal off air nozzle at end of shaft with wet rag while my son sprays soapy water around lower unit found bubbles only where shaft connects to motor housing.
my research shows lots of them are getting water inside.

[Rudeman]

I beat the crap out of my Ultrex every time out and it just begs for more of the same. The only issue I've had is a spun prop. It became noisy but it still propelled the boat. Replaced prop and now ready for more...

[AKRISONER]

4 kota’s in 3 years…I run a Garmin now

[bobcoy]

I was told the ASC will replace shaft and motor as an assembly for warranty issues with water intrusion. The factory bonding must be important. Changing the seals and tightening bolts is not always best or the factory would be changing parts and not the whole assembly. Testing the seal is a good second check after the work, but then what do you do to make it right. For $3000 TM's I will spend the 5 or 600 for the assembly. JMO Bob