Are we at #7 or #8 wasted now?

[CGWright]

How many members have had one pop lately? Sounds to me that the problem that Yamaha had "solved" is not quite "solved" yet.

I just wish that I could hear something from Yamaha or Skeeter in regards to the "problem" that I experienced with my brand new motor. Nope, not a word from them.

I am involved in manufacturing, and if my company had problems like having a part or two under the ship count, we would have to jump through hoops to correct it. Our company would have to fill out pages of paperwork explaining how it happened, more explaining how we would prevent future occurances, and then more to say that we were sorry. On top of that we would have a fortune in fees for the inconvenience of "down time."

Those required responses are for a minor detail like part count, not a major FU like so many customers around the country (and probably WORLD) are experiencing. Still, I don't seem to be receiving any "consumer satisfaction surveys" about my Yamaha or Skeeter now! Nor have I heard of anybody else receiving one, or an apology. NONE.


Man, it is too bad that boat manufacturers don't give a crap about their customers. It's not a dealer's responsibility, it is the MANUFACTURER's responsibility to back their product and get the customer taken care of, and to make sure there is a follow up on satisfaction. My dealer ordered the parts immediately and he waited over TWO WEEKS for delivery!!! Skeeter / Yamaha knows damn well that I have a problem, but there is no confirmation that it happened and that they are working toward a solution.

When I failed to return the original satisfaction survey after 3 WEEKS they sent a "reminder." I had not even had the boat out of breakin (thus the 3 week delay) and they wanted to know why I hadn't responded, and how well it fit my needs. Now, major FU and no contact......nice.

I am seriously considering some other rides at this point, and in the VERY near future. As much as I have loved the 2 Skeeters I've had in the last 3 years, I'm not sure I can deal with the customer (lack of) service when there are problems.

Aside from this, I am looking forward to a good trip out on the water!

Thanks for the vent......but I just spent a full day of responding to a "late shipment correction" due to a customer's failure to order...... Hmmmmmm.............

Any Skeeter or Yammi reps on board to comfort all the recent "losers"??

[EJP]

I believe it's 7, but #8 could arrive any day now.... As I was layig in bed last night I was wondering if at all possible it had to do with a bug in their computer system??? Just seems weird that so many so close together are popping. Also, don't forget we don't here about all the motors popping, that was only 7 regular users that reported their motors blowing...... I have always bought yamaha because of their stated reliability...

[TNT]

guess I'm #8 ? mine blew on Sunday .. luckily it's under warranty .. at the dealer now

[BADAZZTRITON]

Sounds like everyone here needs to purchase EXTENDED WARRANTY PROGRAMS on our motors. Seems like Yamaha should offer them to us at no charge if they truly feel like they have gotten THEIR PROBLEMS fixed ! Put your money where your mouth is ! I got another question and if you can post to this topic. On your motor there is a tag that has two sets of numbers on it. Mine is 09/05 which is the make of this motor. Can everyone look at their tag on their motor and let me know what yours is. Just wondering if this is an issue on certain dates of manufacturing. Thanks in advance

[matt "boot" baty]

#9 maybe - Mine blew in 2006, I had a 06' 225HPDI Vmax on a 200ProXL. New powerhead was installed and still never ran right! The first powerhead blew at 39 hours, but I will have to say that it was a very strong and powerful motor for those first 39 hours!

Boot

[ewallstate]

Craig do not blame Skeeter for there lack of response for your motor blowing. That is Yamaha's resonsiblity. Skeeter is run as a seperate company from Yamaha. It is Yamaha's responsiblity to step up. Back log does happen in manufacturing business. You should know this. If they do not have one they can not just pop it out. I am sure they tried to get to your dealer ask quick as possible. You all are talking about all these motors that are poping, but think about all the motors that are not poping. When someone has a problem they are 10 times more vocale than someone who does not have a problem. These things happen with ever motor.

[CGWright]

You have a good point. But I did not mean any blame on Skeeter, (though it reads that way now that I re-read it) but since they are owned by Yamaha it goes hand in hand. If I am dissatisfied with Yamaha, then obviously I won't have another new Skeeter because that's what hangs off the back of them.

Yes, somebody will tend to be more vocal when they are a victim...that's human nature. But 10 times more vocal.......no, just more vocal describes it. If somebody doesn't have a problem they aren't complaining at all. That's the predecessor to complaining.....having a problem.

I had been saying the same thing about "look how many that are running great!" and got up the nerve to finally purchase one. I figured they had the problem fixed, and the odds were pretty low that I would get the bad one.

Backlog does happen, I should and I do know this. The correct response to increased demand, however, is to increase production in whatever way you can, not leadtimes. I deal with the automotive industry, and increased lead times is 100% unacceptable. But then, you probably already know this. In industry you add extra production & labor as needed and then when things slow, you cut back.

I truly hope Yamaha gets their issues worked out. I also hope my motor stays together this time, and I will run it by the book again to make sure I do my part.


Modified by CGWright at 5:39 PM 5/15/2007

Another thing I should clarify....I really meant to point to Yamaha for this, but since Skeeter is owned by them it unfortunately gets included. It is a Yamaha problem, but it is going to trickle down to their division of Skeeter. That, my friend, IS too bad. I do like the 2 Skeeter's I've owned.


Modified by CGWright at 5:44 PM 5/15/2007

[CGWright]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Blazer210ProV &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Sounds like everyone here needs to purchase EXTENDED WARRANTY PROGRAMS on our motors. Seems like Yamaha should offer them to us at no charge if they truly feel like they have gotten THEIR PROBLEMS fixed ! Put your money where your mouth is ! I got another question and if you can post to this topic. On your motor there is a tag that has two sets of numbers on it. Mine is 09/05 which is the make of this motor. Can everyone look at their tag on their motor and let me know what yours is. Just wondering if this is an issue on certain dates of manufacturing. Thanks in advance
</TD></TR></TABLE>

A selling point to me on this motor was the 2 yrs. + 3 yr. extended warranty. I thought, heck, if they offer that long of a warranty they must have the problem fixed. I will look at my motor the next chance I get to see what the date is. I would like to think it's a certain "lot" of motors but the problem has been around for too long.

[Alan]

I know of another. #10. But it is a 2000 model 225. Yamaha has a lot of the market now with Mercs and Evinrudes problems so the odds are higher. I know I just bought my first Yamaha and have always been a Merc owner without any problems but my dealer told me to go with Yamaha and he was (or still may be) a platinum Merc dealer. I can see that it is not possible to work out all the problems in todays time of computer technology no matter what brand it is but all brands should back their product. There is so much stuff controlled electronically on todays motors and there are much more things that can fail thus causing problems or even catostophic failure. I blame it on the EPA. I am an aircraft mechanic. The EPA dosent have emmission restrictions on aircraft engines near as hard as on marine engines except maybe noise.

[CGWright]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Alan &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I know of another. #10. But it is a 2000 model 225. Yamaha has a lot of the market now with Mercs and Evinrudes problems so the odds are higher. I know I just bought my first Yamaha and have always been a Merc owner without any problems but my dealer told me to go with Yamaha and he was (or still may be) a platinum Merc dealer. I can see that it is not possible to work out all the problems in todays time of computer technology no matter what brand it is but all brands should back their product. There is so much stuff controlled electronically on todays motors and there are much more things that can fail thus causing problems or even catostophic failure. I blame it on the EPA. I am an aircraft mechanic. The EPA dosent have emmission restrictions on aircraft engines near as hard as on marine engines except maybe noise. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I would have to say that 7 years is pretty dang good! Somebody got a dang good one! You are right about the electronic controls being a contributing factor.

These DI motors are running so lean that any minor malfunction can cause a huge magnification of any problem. I had noticed that my HPDI was flaking the paint around the union of the L/U to the motor, and was told that this was normal. Exhaust heat. I think it was burnin' a little too lean from day 1 & finally burned more cash than it had in the bank. No problem, it's under warranty, they said. Just wait. And wait. And wait. Okay, it's Michigan, so I didn't miss much.

Now that I've "supposedly bashed" some companies and have ticked off some people, including Skeeter employees, I want to say that I don't think it's fair for the boat owners to have to foot the "inconvenience bill" of having a properly maintained motor going POP. Long lead times for a replacement power head are a very common occurrence, weekly as of late, and are not acceptable. There are manufacturing "backups", but this is not a new problem.

If there is a problem with a motor, then the motor company should step up. If it is a common problem, as this obviously is.......then the boat manufacturer should do something to help ease the pain and not lose the customer. They should not suffer due to a "sister division."

[BADAZZTRITON]

[rwtzx]

Sorry Craig, I had no idea you still haven't got back on the water. I hope someone is letting you borrow a boat to fish the tourneys.

[JeremyL]

Trust me there are just as many Merc's and ETEC's blowing as the hammers!! Just go to any big event and you will see several every day getting towed back in!

[stratos22ssextreme]

Guys is there that big of a problem, cause I was looking to buy a 250 HPDI to repower my Stratos 22 SS, my Johnson 225 HO is runnin' bad due to ring pin migration prob OMC had. I was hoping to get a 250 with hydro-tec phase 2 kit and make it come to life ! but seeing this post scares me !!!! Whats up ???

[Groman]

I agree, I was going to order a new boat with one, but this has me looking at other options.

[CGWright]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by stratos22ssextreme &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Guys is there that big of a problem, cause I was looking to buy a 250 HPDI to repower my Stratos 22 SS, my Johnson 225 HO is runnin' bad due to ring pin migration prob OMC had. I was hoping to get a 250 with hydro-tec phase 2 kit and make it come to life ! but seeing this post scares me !!!! Whats up ??? </TD></TR></TABLE>

Don't be scared to buy an HPDI. I just tend to fall victim to Murphy's Law every time, and boats don't fall out of that realm. In all seriousness, there really are a lot of HPDI's out there running strong, and even many that are being abused.

As far as my venting.....I've just had too much time on my time off to think about the situation. I guess that made me "10 times more vocale".

My beef is about the fact that you never hear anything from the manufacturer except when they hope to boost their customer satisfaction ratings. For example, my original survey arrived before I even got my boat on the water, and the reminder came after I had it out 4 times.

I am starting a new summer, with a new motor again, and I hope to make this 2nd year with the Skeeter a good one. It made it a whole 51 hours before blowing, and I don't anticipate it repeating next year..........but my only influence is that I'll treat it like it should be treated........again.

If I scared anybody away from purchasing a Yamaha or Skeeter, or offended anybody....I'm sorry. I guess I shouldn't have charged the mound after strike one, but that didn't occur to me since I was hit by the pitch and I was pizzed.

[FishnNut1956]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ewallstate &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Craig do not blame Skeeter for there lack of response for your motor blowing. That is Yamaha's resonsiblity. Skeeter is run as a seperate company from Yamaha. It is Yamaha's responsiblity to step up. Back log does happen in manufacturing business. These things happen with ever motor.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I understand "Back Log", but to me, the issue is that you have already paid for a motor. If your motor breaks then you should get the next one off of the line, PERIOD!!!! The "Back Log" issue shouldn't be with those who have a $50,000.00 dollar boat sitting in their garage waiting for the factory to replace a sub-standard product!!!!

[Traveler]

Don't know if you included my 300 HPDI. It "popped" with about 7 hours on it.

They told me it was due to poor rigging... air was not bled out of the oil lines and the moter was doomes from the first time it was started.

[Bada$$Bullet]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CGWright &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

In all seriousness, there really are a lot of HPDI's out there running strong, and even many that are being abused.

</TD></TR></TABLE>


That would be mine!

I'm hoping for the best!

[BeeNix]

I gotz my fingers crossed, my 300 is still cookin' on all six
definitely a buzzkill to read these horror stories..............