2017 23 LSV Walk Through Window Shatters

[teamerickson]

Surfpipe doesn't make a real difference in the cabin. Just behind the boat. 

[Slurpee]

31 minutes ago, Lees23 said:

I don't want to thread jack but how much quieter?  I was reading on another thread that the '16's are very loud at <3000 rpm and that the 17's are quieter.  How much of a difference does the surfpipe make?  Do you noticed a decreased tranny noise over your '16?  I currently have '17 22 VLX with a surfpipe waiting for me.

Thx

@Lees23 that was my thread you were reading.  Thanks.  If you'd like to discuss it more please head on over there though and we can keep this thread on track.  I obviously like the topic.  I just wanted to add that the '16's are not very loud at 3000rpm.  They're the same as any other big engine tow boat.  I have a compulsion to make interesting mods and this one caught my fancy and the results were positive.  That's all I'll say on it here though.

Sorry @bbattiste247 about the windshield.  I hope you get it all cleaned up and back to perfect soon.  The season is upon us!!

[hethj7]

@Lees23 let me know what the dealer says about the window.  I figure mine was one of the last 2016's to roll off the line as an early July build so it may be impacted.  

Does anyone have a service bulletin number we can reference?

[Sailvi767]

11 hours ago, Lees23 said:

I don't want to thread jack but how much quieter?  I was reading on another thread that the '16's are very loud at <3000 rpm and that the 17's are quieter.  How much of a difference does the surfpipe make?  Do you noticed a decreased tranny noise over your '16?  I currently have '17 22 VLX with a surfpipe waiting for me.

Thx

It's hard to quantify noise. If you read my review on the 2016 you will see I felt it was a loud boat. That was my first impression when I pushed the throttle up. The 2017 I don't get that impression at all and found it much easier to have a conversation while doing 30mph. I put the noise level about on par with the G23 Nautique. Without having both boats to demo side by side I can't really give a better answer. Again the 2017 has a surfpipe.

[Fman]

According to my dealer this problem has been taken care of on all later 2017 models.  If I had a boat built July-Sept last year I would definitely double check and make sure it has had the fix.

[teamerickson]

34 minutes ago, Fman said:

According to my dealer this problem has been taken care of on all later 2017 models.  If I had a boat built July-Sept last year I would definitely double check and make sure it has had the fix.

What about October?!?!

[Fman]

@teamerickson

 I would definitely double check your boat has been updated.  I am sure if you give them the build date they will be able to verify.

[The Hulk]

Anyone happen to have a pic of the issue and what the shims are and where so that we can verify ?

[bbattiste247]

On March 28, my dealer notified the Malibu Rep that my walk through window shattered on my brand new 23 lsv. Finally, five weeks later, the main replacement parts arrived at my dealer, but a new carpet was requested as well, and it hasn't arrived.  When I emailed Malibu to ask why it is taking so long they said they are sorry and they will see if the carpet can be expedited.  Then in their closing they say,  "I hope it works out, sorry for the delay and let me know if you have anything else."

Couldn't Malibu be a little more assuring that after five weeks they will make sure that they will make things right? After all, I paid more than a hundred grand for my new boat.

 

Edited May 3, 2017 by bbattiste247

[hethj7]

I think I would have been pressing my dealer to get me a window off a boat on their lot then they can deal with the replacement.   And I would be getting really irate if it was taking that long to get carpet.  

 

I  am still confused on exactly what is happening.  So, center window is closed and somehow the glass slides or pops out of the frame?  

[bbattiste247]

1 hour ago, hethj7 said:

I think I would have been pressing my dealer to get me a window off a boat on their lot then they can deal with the replacement.   And I would be getting really irate if it was taking that long to get carpet.  

 

I  am still confused on exactly what is happening.  So, center window is closed and somehow the glass slides or pops out of the frame?  

With 5 hours on my boat the walk through window shattered while closed because the port side window frame was flawed. I notified my dealer the day it happened...March 25. Malibu just sent replacement window to the dealer today, nearly 6 weeks later. Also, the carpet needed to be replaced because the shattered window left thousand of small pieces of glass on the carpet and we are still finding some remnants of glass in the carpet.  

[23LSVOwner]

11 hours ago, bbattiste247 said:

On March 28, my dealer notified the Malibu Rep that my walk through window shattered on my brand new 23 lsv. Finally, five weeks later, the main replacement parts arrived at my dealer, but a new carpet was requested as well, and it hasn't arrived.  When I emailed Malibu to ask why it is taking so long they said they are sorry and they will see if the carpet can be expedited.  Then in their closing they say,  "I hope it works out, sorry for the delay and let me know if you have anything else."

Couldn't Malibu be a little more assuring that after five weeks they will make sure that they will make things right? After all, I paid more than a hundred for my new boat.

 

Are you sure your dealer isn't feeding you a line of BS on how long the parts took to arrive? Anytime I've ordered parts through my dealer they arrived within a few days. Some parts that I ordered have taken a bit longer and when I called Malibu they let me know that they are parts that are manufactured as needed by the supplier so they take longer.

[granddaddy55]

On 3/25/2017 at 11:36 PM, bbattiste247 said:

I am sorry I don't have pictures of this because it was quite an ordeal. With just over 5 hours on my new boat, the window must not have been adjusted properly and appears to have fallen through.  But when it shattered, it left thousands of pieces of broken glass all over my boat. Fortunately, it was just me and a friend out to do some break-in and possibly surfing if we could find a place without rangers. It was just a little choppy today, but nothing out of the ordinary. While going about 10 mph, the window fell through and just shatters. We were a little stunned, so we quickly found a place to tie up and started the tedious process of getting the glass out of the boat. At first, we picked up some chunks and tossed them. Then, with our bare hands, we started to sweep the small little pieces onto our driver license and toss them. We also had to take out the carpet, and all the removeable cushions to get the small pieces of glass off. Once we put everything back in, we make it to the marina and use a shop vac. We thought we got it all, but ever hour or so we would find other small piece of glass. This was a minor inconvenience, so hopefully this is the only problem we'll have.  

I don't know boat design but with my a20 I was over filling the bag beneath the chillax seats and I was spreading the top shell apart and creating a large gap between middle windshield and the part screwed to the top shell, is this s possibility with your sac under bow seats, or does that not exist 

[granddaddy55]

On 3/27/2017 at 9:16 AM, Fman said:

On a positive not my dealer has sold probably 85-100 Malibus over the last couple years they have not reported one incident with this happening.  I just tinted my windows last week, nice to know it will help hold the glass if that window ever shatters.  It's hard to believe there would be that much hull flex to actually cause a window to fall through the channel and break.  I will definitely be keeping an eye on it this season.

Looking at my prior 2015 and the new 2017 design it appears the 2017 design has been upgraded.  Feels like the channel is stronger and frame is larger which you would think would equate to a stronger frame system.

My a20 split apart cause of my 950 mushroom bag bring way over filled, I wonder if a bow sac could do same, remember wrinkles in bag is normal is the warning on bags for over filling

[Fman]

The fix for this problem was adding shims to the U channel bars.  There are two metal tubular bars on each side of the walkway.  There was a small gap at the upper section between the bar and side walkway.  The shims help eliviate the gap and flex.  If you have a 2016/17 model and look at those U bars you should see no gap or plastic shims.  The bar in observers compartment is the easiest to look at.  And on some models they only had to shim one side.  The drivers side requires you to remove the sub kick panel to view the bar.

If your exploring this also check and make sure the two bolts are tightened as well.

Edited May 12, 2017 by Fman

[jmarch33]

Resurrecting this thread to add that this happened to me this weekend on my '16 23LSV. Fortunately the glass didn't break but obviously got stuck in that position the rest of the weekend.

My dealer is great and already has it fixed it but is contacting Malibu about whether or not it needs the shims (looks like it does!) but thought I'd share what it looks like.

 

[hethj7]

If you get confirmation on which build dates need to be checked, please let us know. Was it all 2016's?

[jmarch33]

Not sure, but I'll definitely ask my dealer what Malibu says. He sent them pics today. I feel lucky I didn't have a giant glass mess to clean up.

[Sailvi767]

Sadly I can tell you that the problem exists even on newer build dates. My 17 was built in Jan and the center windshield dropped part way through last week. Running in any kind of rough water with it open now. I only have about ¼ inch of overlap. Factory says it should be ½ inch at least

[spikew919]

30 minutes ago, jmarch33 said:

Resurrecting this thread to add that this happened to me this weekend on my '16 23LSV. Fortunately the glass didn't break but obviously got stuck in that position the rest of the weekend.

My dealer is great and already has it fixed it but is contacting Malibu about whether or not it needs the shims (looks like it does!) but thought I'd share what it looks like.

 

is your mirror mounted on walk through glass??

[jmarch33]

Ha, yes... I tend to like to look over the windshield most of the time since I tinted my windows too dark (lol). So helps to have it over there on the walk through.  I must have hit a wave just right to have the hull flex as much as it did to have the window fall through.  I stopped the boat and looked at it and all I could think was.... That's Impossible 

[bbattiste247]

2 hours ago, jmarch33 said:

Resurrecting this thread to add that this happened to me this weekend on my '16 23LSV. Fortunately the glass didn't break but obviously got stuck in that position the rest of the weekend.

My dealer is great and already has it fixed it but is contacting Malibu about whether or not it needs the shims (looks like it does!) but thought I'd share what it looks like.

 

I am the one who started this thread after my walk through window shattered at the five hour mark. We are pretty sure it was caused by a sharp piece of metal that punctured the glass that lays on the windshield frame.

If you look at the first picture on the right side half way down you'll see how the walk through window glass goes beyond its frame and lays on the frame of the windshield. The part on the windshield frame in the picture that is worn was poorly cut and left a piece of sharp metal that must of punctured the walk through glass causing it to shattered. We now have close to 70 hours and no problems. 

[Tdent450]

Ours shattered as well. 17 23LSV with about 50 hours on it. Hit a wave and it shattered. We think the top corner area where the black is worn off was binding against the middle section, hit a wave just right, enough times and the window shattered. This is our third Malibu, in 15 years, first time something like this has ever happened. Malibu is fixing it though under warranty. We talked to the dealer as soon as it happened, which was around the first of July. It's going in next week to be fixed. However we have learned that without that window in place boards fly out of the boat. We typically put them on the floor of the boat when towing to and from the lake.  Not any more. Also without the window the back storage compartments flip open when driving down the road, had to put a velcro strap through the handle strap so they don't fly open. 

[spikew919]

Am I the only one that thinks that the walk through window with only glass that over laps is a poor design? Woudnt it have been better metal there like it used to be? No wonder windows are shattering. 

[Sailvi767]

It is metal on the 22VLX and 23 LSV. When the boat hits a wave the opening flexes open and the window and frame can drop. As it drops the boat can flex back the other way bending the metal frame and causing the window to shatter. If it falls all the way through it's impossible to get back out on the newer models. It's a big issues with the boats if you live on a larger lake. To understand better what is happening watch the center windshield next time you hit a patch of rough water. You can see the flex and how much overlap you have before it drops.