Elite Ti2 9...Bonehead Move.....Lowrance CS

[Bassin Bob71]

I bought (2) Elite Ti2 9's over the winter with one of them only the head unit since I wanted to use the transducer in my Fortrex TM. The unit in the console has worked great and continues to do so. The bow unit has given me problems the entire fishing season so far. From screen freezes to not finding bottom to locking up, etc. I have the 19.1 updates loaded into both units but it didn't help the front unit. 2 weeks ago I was out and it wouldn't find bottom at all. Powered it up 3 times and nothing would work. I will admit I was frustrated with it and when I knelt down on the deck of the boat admittedly in a hurry , I knelt on a side cutters and started to fall. Extended my left arm out and my elbow hit the screen on the locator and cracked it. Clutzy bonehead move on my part but it happened.

I called Lowrance CS and I was honest with them and they said it wouldn't be covered under warranty which I agree with. Said they have new replacement units they would sell me at roughly half the cost of the new. Only come with a 6 month warranty but I extended it to 12 months. I was told two different things. One being that when I gave my CC # they would ship the unit. I was later told I had to send my original unit back and then they would send the new one. I sent it in and they received it 6/20. I was also told expect 7-10 days for me to get my replacement unit. Hadn't heard anything last week so I called. I learned they don't have any they can send and they have no idea when they will get any. I called again today and spoke to a senior service tech and he was counting through the days and its only been 8 days so I should be patient. He was basically an ass about it. He said they might get one today but he has no way of knowing. Said I should wait until Wednesday (10 days) to see if I get it. I asked how they ship and he said shipping takes 7-10 days. Have no idea when I'll get it back. He asked twice if I wanted to cancel the replacement order which tells me he (they) don't really care if I get one or not.

I could write more about our conversation this morning but I'll spare you the drama. I've read alot on this board about Lowrance CS and I'm experiencing it firsthand. Wish I would have listened more to that feedback.

If any of you are on the fence about buying a Ti2, I would wait a while and given the CS I've gotten, I would look elsewhere.

[Bassin Bob71]

As a followup to my original post, I received a call from the Sr Tech's Supervisor last Wednesday who said I would be receiving a new unit on Friday (7/5). She said Lowrance would cover overnight shipping and due to the 4th Holiday, I would get it the 5th. I received an email later on the 3rd saying it had shipped. I was feeling pretty good about the deal at this point. I thought it was strange the email had no shipping tracking number or mention of another email coming with the tracking number. Not knowing if I would have to sign for the delivery, I stayed home Friday and you guessed it, the package didn't show up. With no tracking number provided, I couldn't track it through Fed Ex who I was told they would be using. Nothing on Saturday either. Yesterday morning I called Fed Ex and gave them my address and they said they showed a delivery for me scheduled on 7/11 (this Thursday) Since Navico was closed the 4th and 5th, I called my Lowrance contact from last Wednesday this morning and had to leave a voice mail. No call back yet and to be honest, I don't expect I'll get one. Is CS really that hard?????

[STRETCH1]

Since you broke it just claim on insurance and pay the deductable. That way you get a new unit with a new warranty. It doesn't sound like your CS experience was handled correctly which does suck.

[jasonjeremiah]

You have a better chance of finding Bigfoot than getting any meaningful or useful customer support from Lowrance. Still waiting for an email response from Jacob Scott since I last emailed him a month ago with issues I'm having with an Elite TI. Email thread started in April. He quit responding once he couldn't diagnose the issue. He's probably busy making Youtube videos touting the wonderful products Lowrance makes, but offers absolutely no customer support for.

[T.Rafferty]

I emailed Lowrance CS over a month ago after buying my Elite 9 Ti2 and not knowing about the "unknown transducer" issue - before the patch came out. They have never replied. Thanks to this forum, I'm up and running,,,, but that's not the point.

[Bassin Bob71]

Mine had the 19.1 update in it. I updated it about 2 weeks before this problem happened. That unit never did act right. The one I have at the console works fine.

My contact at Lowrance did call me back late Monday afternoon and said everything she put in place for it to ship overnight with me receiving it Friday, 7/5. The factory, in Mexico, screwed up and sent it normal shipping through Fed Ex. The new delivery date is 7/15 now. Another fishing weekend without a front locator but compared to other problems in the world I suppose this is pretty minor. Aggravating to beat hell, but I'll survive. So in my case, their quoted 7-10 day turnaround on average will have taken a month. I'm upset about it but its almost over. I'm taking my frustration out on Lowrance by never, ever buying another one of their products. By the way I've been treated through this process, I don't think they much care.

[dreese]

Guess I got lucky, I emailed CS about 2 weeks ago, got emailed back after about a week and have been in constant contact with CS since. They sent me everything I need to send unit back for replacement. Can't be too disappointed, YET.....

[Bassin Bob71]

The news gets better. Got a text from Fed Ex this afternoon and the date has shifted out another day to the 16th.

[Bassin Bob71]

Good news. I picked it up from my post office this morning, hooked everything up, connected to my other Ti 2 and everything seems to be working good. So far so good!

[jjjaymmman]

Lowrance CS needs to be streamlined! These negative experiences are common. Sadly, they probably had the best customer service in the business back in the 90s. Not today!