Jump to content

Welcome to TheMalibuCrew!

As a guest, you are welcome to poke around and view the majority of the content that we have to offer, but in order to post, search, contact members, and get full use out of the website you will need to Register for an Account. It's free and it's easy, so don't hesitate to join the TheMalibuCrew Family today!

Advice on how to proceed with warranty issue


bkw

Recommended Posts

Looking for advice on how you would all proceed here, and also a heads up so no one else runs into this.

I have a 2017 24MXZ pics attached and had a recent warranty issue involving Taylors Boats (TB), Malibu and Indmar. Here is the high-level overview of the situation, with full details below for anyone looking for a good read!

  • Always serviced at TB (local Malibu Dealer) on schedule.
  • Paid over $900 to have my boat serviced and summer prep at TB, including replacing the impeller and cleaning sea strainer
  • Less than 3 hours of use later (2 trips to the lake) warning light came on and the engine overheated heading back to the marina, causing damage to the wiring harness.
  • TB told me Indmar was rejecting warranty because I had debris in my sea strainer.
  • After talking with Malibu, told by them TB denied every cleaning my Sea Strainer. Called TB with Malibu on the phone, TB confirmed record (I have receipt) of cleaning it.
  • Talked with Indmar, they said they had no record of anything being submitted, but confirmed if Sea Strainer contained significant debris, they would reject the warranty claim.
  • TB claims they never denied cleaning my sea strainer to Malibu, and that Indmar was aware of the situation and rejected the claim.
  • TB attempted to charge me $1400 over the quoted price, while still trying to resolve the situation.
  • Have attempted to recreate the amount of debris in the pics from TB of my Sea Strainer at the same lake, in multiple boats ranging from 3 hrs of use to 60 hrs of use, and haven’t been able to come close to recreating it.
  • Attempted a conference call with TB, Malibu and Indmar to at least resolve conflicts and find a resolution, but haven’t been able to get them to do that.
  • Paid $2500 for work so I could get the boat and enjoy what's left of summer.

What would you all recommend I do? I feel like I am getting the run-around, and am getting pretty frustrated. Considering the boat has an MSRP of $209k, I’m on my 3rd Malibu (the boats are amazing) am I wrong to think this isn't right? Thanks in advance for input and advice and remember to clean your Sea Strainers Sea-Strainers

Full details found HERE if you want a good read😉.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1p2FbIa0gG3OJegENbTzO5wp9HxglhU5ca57wB1Zpj_c/edit?usp=sharing

Link to comment

I mean here's the thing.... you could boat on the cleanest most pristine lake known to man and somehow suck up a plastic grocery bag and that one thing would clog your raw water intake (that scenario actually happened to a friend).  

The manual does say check the strainer DAILY.  Of course nobody does, but that's what the manual says.

It does sound like they got you back on the water pretty fast?

In the big scheme of things it could always be worse.  $2500 sucks to lose but it's not worth suing over.

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment

 

$2500.00. And I thought they lost an engine. 

What was the debris in the sea strainer?

I deleted my comments until I hear more info  

and I can’t link the google docs

 

Link to comment

Honestly, I check my strainer daily and even between ski sets depending on water quality.  But we ski in a course cut into a thick section of lilly pads, and there are days when it might need cleaning plant matter out of it 3 or 4 times.  I can say that if you run over a patch of whatever it can clog almost instantly.   

But I am still a little surprised a clogged strainer wouldn't kick the engine into limp mode before it got hot enough to do any damage; isn't there a water-flow meter that detects if the water flow measures lower than the computer expects?  

Edited by jjackkrash
Link to comment
6 hours ago, jjackkrash said:

But I am still a little surprised a clogged strainer wouldn't kick the engine into limp mode before it got hot enough to do any damage; isn't there a water-flow meter that detects if the water flow measures lower than the computer expects?  

It does, but will not shut the motor down because of safety reasons. Motor shuts down and you get hit by a barge, etc there is liability and a potential lawsuit.

It goes into power derate. If the owner keeps driving it as hard as it will go while in power derate is can still heat up.

Link to comment

Shawndoggy and eagleboy99 the $2500 was to replace the impeller and engine harness.  And definitely not suing over it. More the experience and the conflicting stories from the 3 is what has caused the most frustration. 

Link to comment

Sparky450 I never saw the debris, just the pic they sent. TB just said it was debris. I (and almost every other boat owner I know that goes to the same lake, have never changed there sea strainers and never had an issue.  I’ve had 3 Malibu’s I put close to 200 hrs a year on and We never beach out boats, it’s a pretty clean lake, etc. and been checking since at 25 hrs and nothing really in there as I check each time now. 

 

But I guess I learned.

Link to comment

I'll be honest, I check the sea strainer by watching my temp gauge.  My boat runs between 162 and 167 when pulling a rider.  When my temp hits 170+, I check the strainer and clean.  We have high waters in the midwest from spring rains and a lot of debris early in the season and I had to clean twice in a week and one other time over 100 hours of usage to date.

To the OP, do you know what your temp was running after the 3 hours?  We had one day on vacation where pine needles were all over the lake from rising waters and it filled my strainer 40% over the course of a day but temp never jumped above 172.  We also had a ballast issue on the same day where a rear bag wouldn't fill.  Put on the goggles and went under the boat to find a 4" long stick wedged perfectly in the fill hole.  If your water circumstances were the same as we saw, I could see over-heating in 3 hours of use.  I pay more attention to engine temp than I do to depth but I'm curious how much debris was in the strainer.  

Link to comment
9 hours ago, bkw said:

Attempted a conference call with TB, Malibu and Indmar

Best idea. That way nobody can blame it on the other guy. The problem is, I'm not sure if I would feel obligated to stand behind my warranty because of a clogged sea-strainer. If it makes you feel any better, I now know that if ever in that situation myself, I'll try to flag someone down for a tow first - just in case. 

These boats are expensive, and people that buy them normally have a little extra money in their checking accounts. It sucks that because being on the water is more important to you than your $2,500. I would probably have done the same thing. Here's your damn money. Gimme my boat back so I can get out again. If I were broke, I'd be a more formidable negotiator.

I'm no veteran here, but welcome to posting on TMC. Post something good eventually!

Edited by BigCreek
Link to comment

$2500 seems crazy excessive but then again so does $900 for summer prep, so kinda par for the course. 

If it meant you got back on the water quickly, ask yourself how much a lost weekend is worth?  Summer is short and kids grow quickly. 

Me, I’d let it go. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
1 hour ago, shawndoggy said:

$2500 seems crazy excessive but then again so does $900 for summer prep, so kinda par for the course. 

Yeah, dealer spotted the OP a mile away.  An impeller change is what - $100 bucks tops?  And what sort of plug-n-play wiring harness costs $2400?  

Link to comment

Thanks for the feedback and info, I appreciate it. Ya, excessive on the price and I d always just paid the dealer to make sure to never risk the warranty. Definitely a learning experience and from here in our will avoid the dealer unless absolutely necessary.

  • Like 2
Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...