2013 Malibu MXZ reliability issues

[Tims]

As the electronic complexity of these boats continue to grow it will be interesting to see how they age and what dealer support structure will be necessary to keep all the features working 10 to 15 years from now. My fear is we would have to be Martin Archer clones in order to keep them going without going broke.

I know the manufatures are not doing much in the way of FMEA (failure mode and effects analysis) when they design these systems. That job is currently being performed by the consumer. Hell, the power wedge has been out for many years now, and many of them still have problems coming out of the factory!

Frustrating situation.

[jaciche]

This is the biggest thing I have learned from the older, wiser skiers that I know. Nothing lasts like it used to, even boats. The less components on a boat (electrical, ballast, stereo), the better IMO.

It's not just Malibus either even though Malibu probably needs the most attention on the durability of their current boats. Take Nautique for example, the oldest and "most successful" inboard brand. With those statements, they obviously have to be the best brand on the market Even the die hard Nautique guys on the lake refuse to buy their new boats because their "not built as solid as they used to be." Seriously, a retired pro show skier who lives on the lake upgraded his '94 nautique to a 2000 this year, and isn't willing to buy one much newer than that. And I haven't heard/seen the best things about MC either...Come on Big 3! Get your s*** together for your customers who already dish out way too much money for your boats!!

[tmusgrave]

I had gone about 15 hours without an issue. Power wedge failed last night. Emailed Singleton this morning and was amazed at the service. Got back to me within an hour; went to my marina to test the boat and found it needed to be brought to the shop, they picked up and fixed a cable that had disconnected. Brought the boat back and I was able to use again. I did get some service engine failures this evening which is painful, but was amazed at the service Singleton provided.

Overall, issues seem to be improving and the boat is ton of fun. Surfed for 2 of the hours and wake is easy to ride.

[bambino]

I purchased my 22 MXZ Malibu new in April and now has 60 hours on it - the boat has been in the shop at least 8 times for various reasons. Powerwedge faults, surfgate not operating, service engine warnings, etc. The boat is awesome when it works, but obviously I never know when it is going too. We have brought a large group out on 3 occasions and boat would not operate (Power wedge stuck in open position) so it has ruined a few outings planned. I certainly regret buying this brand and spending this much on such a problematic boat (my last boat went 3 years without issue). I escalated my problems to the dealer in Atlanta as well they have told me they went to Malibu directly and after my last shop visit a week ago being told that the boat is operating normally even though the last set of errors cannot be reproduced (they just cleared the errors) and a few of the quirks like having to recalibrate surfgate to get it to work are still occurring. I have plenty of pictures and video of the issues and anted to reach out to this group and see if folks are finding the new model as un-reliable as I am and if any issues have been corrected which my dealership may not be aware of?

I feel your pain. I regret purchasing my 22 Malibu MXZ as well. I have spent as much time and gas sitting dead in the water problem solving and towing back to the dealership as I have enjoying. All that you have said lines up with my issues I have to say that if they inspected my boat like they demonstrate on the quality control website video my boat would have not come out looking like a first yr apprentise painted. overspray and sand/buff marks along both sides and starboard looks like a golfball. I purchased over other manafactures because of the quality I believe they once had. Unfortunatly I am beginging to believe that they have become like most other growing public co-to big and give a rats a** about the customer they convince to spend a 100k. I just dropped in for the first time this yr yesterday and the ballast will not dump on port side.

I do believe now that I have 198hrs on boat, most hrs sitting dead in water attempting to correct issues, I will now talk to my attorney to see about the lemon law.

I hate to say that since my presence my area 4 people have purchased the wakesetter w surfgate after i began to market and talk them up....

If I experienced something where i believed the outfit was truely concerned about the bunk product they sold me I would probably writing something other that this frustrating experience but I have now had the boat for the second season and Malibu has just passed the buck on to the dealership, so now I will do my part to keep people from buying Malibu... This is just the start......Thanks Malibu keep pumping quanity

[UofM_MXZ]

I'll be right back, gotta make some popcorn.

[bamabonners]

welcome to the crew.....I think.

[wakebrdr94]

I'm not going to argue that you have not had issues, as if you say you have, you have. That said, 198 hours on the boat in one year sounds like you've had some good use out of it for only owning one year. I don't believe hours add into the engine sitting dead in the water, but I could be wrong. QC could use a makeover, but still sounds like you've gotten some use out of it.

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[Fman]

I would be stoked to put 198 hours on a boat in one season, that is more than most put on it in a few years of ownership. Sorry to hear about him regretting the purchase of his MXZ. Its ashame to see more and more of these posts on this site, the situation of quality control and reliability seems to be getting worse. I hope Malibu actually reads these threads to really start improving this situation. These posts will devalue the brand which is no good for any of us.

[saidainc]

So if I havent had reliability issues with an MXZ am I a minority then?

[Afun]

I feel your pain. I regret purchasing my 22 Malibu MXZ as well. I have spent as much time and gas sitting dead in the water problem solving and towing back to the dealership as I have enjoying. All that you have said lines up with my issues I have to say that if they inspected my boat like they demonstrate on the quality control website video my boat would have not come out looking like a first yr apprentise painted. overspray and sand/buff marks along both sides and starboard looks like a golfball. I purchased over other manafactures because of the quality I believe they once had. Unfortunatly I am beginging to believe that they have become like most other growing public co-to big and give a rats a** about the customer they convince to spend a 100k. I just dropped in for the first time this yr yesterday and the ballast will not dump on port side.

I do believe now that I have 198hrs on boat, most hrs sitting dead in water attempting to correct issues, I will now talk to my attorney to see about the lemon law.

I hate to say that since my presence my area 4 people have purchased the wakesetter w surfgate after i began to market and talk them up....

If I experienced something where i believed the outfit was truely concerned about the bunk product they sold me I would probably writing something other that this frustrating experience but I have now had the boat for the second season and Malibu has just passed the buck on to the dealership, so now I will do my part to keep people from buying Malibu... This is just the start......Thanks Malibu keep pumping quanity

That's a tuff first post to swallow. I wish you the best man. I don't if I should consider myself lucky with my VLX. I'm starting to get paranoid.

[wakebrdr94]

I'll be the first to say that QC needs improvement, and unfortunately it will probably take one to improve that area, especially if a safety issue arises.

The original OP sounds like he's had a really bad experience that no owner who buys a brand new anything should have to go through. I really hope his issues have been resolved.

But for the other guy, who said he's had the same problems, and is now getting an attorney is somewhat questionable. I'm sure he had issues, but to get 198 hours of use and say the boat sucks I don't get. It's the equivalent of eating a whole meal at a Resturant, then complaining it wasn't any good. If the boat was that flawed, they should have discontinued use.

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[skyskier]

There should be a button for "dislike this." It truly bothers me when people state a legitimate gripe and others are quick to fill in the blanks on their own, form an opinion based on their presumptions, and then dispense advice like they know the whole story. I am especially stoked that most of my 1400 hours of Malibu ownership have been mostly trouble free. Otherwise I would have to come here looking for some compassion, and maybe an answer or two, and then leave feeling completely misunderstood.

Owners of flawed boats should discontinue use and stop their whining. There, that should fix it.

[sabre]

I had a great experience with my first Malibu (23XTI), the second one had some gelcoat issues from the factory. After escalating it immediately Malibu and our dealer stepped up and replaced the boat. It slowed delivery by 3 months but in the end we got a great boat. I know that the factory had some issues with QC. In fact, the day after we sent back my boat with gelcoat issues they announced an opening for the replacement to the VP of QC! sounded to me like they saw there was a problem and it finally came to a head.

I've had some minor issues here and there but the first place to go for an issue is this forum. I generally search here BEFORE calling my dealer. I love the dealer and they always step up when there's an issue, but most of the time it's easier to find the answer here and resolve the problem myself. It keeps my frustration down because I get the answer quickly and get to know the boat better.

The OP seems to have had a rash of problems, some could/would have been resolved with a post or search of this forum, others not. It does sound like their dealer is doing what they can. As for bambino, I just don't know, putting nearly 200 hours on the boat in a year is tough with one that isn't working (unless you just like sitting at the dock with the engine running). Belonging to the forum for a year and making no posts for over a year, even when it seems like you've been having major issues with the boat, seems odd. Not saying that if you have a problem you should just let your boat sit, but if it were me, I'd be doing everything I could to find the answers, including asking the question of this forum, not just posting that the boat sucks.

[RZRCO23]

I guess I can provide some outside perspective on the topic, as I own another brand currently. The problem of QC is not just a Malibu problem.... all of the major wakeboat companies have seen a decrease. Some people are having the same exact issues that I've seen some of the Malibu owners having on here with their new boats.

There are some new Tige owners who have had complaints as well. Most of the ones we see on the forum are gel coat flaws, finding screws and debris in the boat on delivery, ballast issues and problems with TAPS plates. There have been other flaws as well.

The admin over at TO just got a brand new RZ2 and has had a leaking actuator for the TAPS plate and ballast issues.... and he's the site admin for heaven sakes!

The owners of Tige's who have had the most heartache over their new boat flaws are people who live far from their dealer or have a dealer who is not so great it seems. Overall, I think most things have been fixed with warranty etc. It seems like that is the case with Malibu as well.

I would have to agree with most posts on here and say that problems most likely will rear their head right away while breaking in and they can simply be fixed by taking it to a dealer for warranty repair/fix or getting on here and requesting help from other owners.

[cvadas]

I just took delivery on my new 2013 MXZ 20 on Saturday. it only has 9+ hours on it.We had it on the lake two hours and the wedge became stuck half way down. We could only go 5mph. Dealer took boat out of the water for repair. Dealer is awesome and very accommodating.. This is my first Malibu, so natuaraly I am disappointed. My dealer has an excellent service dept. and I am sure they will take care of it. They believe it is an acuater. I have total trust in them that we will be on the water this weekend.

[isellacuras]

My wedge blew a fuse one of my first times out. I admit it was my doing. Being a total newbie, I tried to stow the wedge while getting under way. The dealer walked me through the fuse location on the phone while I was on the water, I robbed a fuse from another location (horn i think) and I was back under way. I was one of the few that had a major amount of problem within the first year and 150+ hours. My dealer was great and finally resolved those problems and the last 100+ hour have been problem free (as I'm knocking on wood). Be patient and keep good demeanor with your dealer and they should be able to get it sorted out. I have come to the realization that what I went through was not "normal" but it was not "unheard of" either.