2022 Boat Quality Issues

[iamcdn]

On 7/1/2022 at 6:27 AM, Slayer said:

Interesting discussion on surfgates and all things electronics.  Coming out of my 2021 23LSV, which had it's own set of problems, I find my 2022 25LSV has more gremlins.  Every time I get in the boat something doesn't work right.  

Last night, it was the surfgates.  They were not deploying at all.  I put them in service mode, changed rider presents, used factory presets, shut the boat down and restarted........nothing.  I finally shut it down, turned the battery switch off, then powered back up after 30 seconds and mysteriously the surf gates worked again.  While all of this was happening, there are other issues.   My blower doesn't come on every time you power up the boat like it's supposed to.  This happens probably 50% of the time.  I still have the check engine light coming on randomly with no active or inactive codes.  

After the first 15 hours on my 2021, the boat performed very well with little to no issues less the occasional start stop button not working.  I'm at 33 hours on my 25 now and I'm anxiously awaiting a similar experience.

I am having similar electronic gremlins on my 2022 25LSV when I haven't been on it in a couple of weeks. I have found that it's related to a lower battery charge. If I start the boat up with the batteries in combined then the issues don't occur.

[vaporbluebu]

1 hour ago, iamcdn said:

I am having similar electronic gremlins on my 2022 25LSV when I haven't been on it in a couple of weeks. I have found that it's related to a lower battery charge. If I start the boat up with the batteries in combined then the issues don't occur.

The real issue is you go a couple of weeks without being on your boat!

[hethj7]

I am fighting issues now as well.  The boat won’t shut down with the switch on multiple occasions, has shut off twice when bumping the thruster, and has not been starting from the dash and I have had to use the backup key multiple times.  

[eubanks]

We’ve had a nightmare of a boat with blown impeller after impeller among other issues (surf gate not deploying, dash VERY laggy or not responsive, etc) but ours is a 2019. So quality issues seem to be going on for many years now. Hardly had any issues on our older Malibus. 

[DDuke]

Too many electronic issues for this model/boat - 22 25 LSV. Seems like a majority of us are having issues. I’m surprised Malibu isn’t all over this. If, when I was looking for a new boat last year, I were to have read about numerous and unresolved issues in ELECTRONICS for this brand and model, I doubt I’d have purchased this boat. 

Today had the “wouldn’t start issue” again, but this time we could NOT  turn it off once started with the bypass. Also for the last two days we get a check engine light with multiple errors that cause the cruise control to not work properly. We seem to always get it with wedge at 5 and speed set at 11mph or so. We are running at altitude with the LT4 and the op 17x14, 28 hrs. The error codes clear but only after we reboot the system.

The rear ballast pump is not working.  

Dealer has been great but there’s not a lot they can do remotely.

Incredible that this operating system is so unstable.  A big disappointment for a boat/purchase for which I had high expectations for pride of ownership and carefree fun.  Plus, it’s embarrassing when we have guests on board. 

Edited July 3, 2022 by DDuke

[iamcdn]

9 hours ago, vaporbluebu said:

The real issue is you go a couple of weeks without being on your boat!

🤣🤣🤣 true 🤣🤣🤣

[dalt1]

7 hours ago, DDuke said:

 Plus, it’s embarrassing when we have guests on board. 

Yes it is! Fortunately for me, all my boating friends also have Malibu's and understand.  Not saying that is rite but is fact if you have one of these newer boats, you WILL have issues. Is there anyone on here that has not had even one little issue? Doubt it.

[DDuke]

1 hour ago, dalt1 said:

Yes it is! Fortunately for me, all my boating friends also have Malibu's and understand.  Not saying that is rite but is fact if you have one of these newer boats, you WILL have issues. Is there anyone on here that has not had even one little issue? Doubt it.

So is this Malibu’s business model?  Premium boat, premium price and a lot of nuisance to big problems, QC deliver issues (both of which they seem to push to their dealers), and buyers will still purchase and live with problems?  “Just the way Malibus are?”  Then, a double whammy if you draw a poor dealer. 
 

Apart from a questionable business model, do they have no pride?

[wdr]

When I showed up for my 1st warranty issue and fortunately only 1 of 3, I literally had the owner tell me, “what do you expect, it is a hand made boat, built by hillbillies in Tennessee”. And I am thinking to myself, so that’s what you are proudly selling? To their credit they did take care of their miscues. One being that the boat was ordered and sprayed in the wrong color for the side accent color.

[hethj7]

10 minutes ago, DDuke said:

So is this Malibu’s business model?  Premium boat, premium price and a lot of nuisance to big problems, QC deliver issues (both of which they seem to push to their dealers), and buyers will still purchase and live with problems?  “Just the way Malibus are?”  Then, a double whammy if you draw a poor dealer. 
 

Apart from a questionable business model, do they have no pride?

Again, not defending Malibu but the other brands have similar issues.  It is across the industry.  

[hethj7]

3 minutes ago, wdr said:

When I showed up for my 1st warranty issue and fortunately only 1 of 3, I literally had the owner tell me, “what do you expect, it is a hand made boat, built by hillbillies in Tennessee”. And I am thinking to myself, so that’s what you are proudly selling? To their credit they did take care of their miscues. One being that the boat was ordered and sprayed in the wrong color for the side accent color.

What a sh$tty response and a lack of respect for the workers.  “Hillbillies” and craft workers built this country and continue to do so.  Blame it on the QC manager but most workers have pride in what they do, even in today’s world.  

[DUKENO1]

Sorry to hear about the issues some are having.  I remember buying my boat back in '06 and I only had  couple of relatively minor issues.  I had a couple of leaky fittings on my rear ballast tanks (which i fixed myself ) and the cruise control wouldn't set at a low enough speed for surfing...dealer fixed with software update.   Other than that boat has been solid ever since.  I do realize my boat is a basic dinosaur compared to today's models. I would be very aggravated to have paid a premium price and have these issues so I feel everyone's pain.  I love the new improved stuff on these boats such as the automated ballast and gates for surfing and the high tech screens but it always scared me to think of what might happen down the road as the boat ages. 

I hope those with issues get them resolved asap and that the QC at Malibu improves. 

[wdr]

18 minutes ago, hethj7 said:

What a sh$tty response and a lack of respect for the workers.  “Hillbillies” and craft workers built this country and continue to do so.  Blame it on the QC manager but most workers have pride in what they do, even in today’s world.  

And I live in TN mind you. And it will be the same for all marks. SC and MC are just a stones throw away, so they have rotating hillbillies making them all I imagine. 😁

[RCorsa]

I now have around 30 hours on my 2022 m240.  Boat has been pretty solid overall and I love the lt4.   Some of this stuff above I suspect may be dealer prep or lack thereof. My dealer did about 3 hours of water testing on two separate days to ensure things “were working  properly” which I really appreciated since my experience is that all these boats have some issues early on. Currently I cant get my tower mister working as I suspect they forgot to check it (since few boats have it) and make sure the power was hooked up. I’ve also had one surf gate sensor error and after surfing yesterday my front ballast wasn’t emptying all the way but finished the last 25% once the boat was on the lift so not sure what that is all about.  I Figured I’ll get all this stuff sorted at my 50 hour service.  

[IXFE]

21 hours ago, iamcdn said:

I am having similar electronic gremlins on my 2022 25LSV when I haven't been on it in a couple of weeks. I have found that it's related to a lower battery charge. If I start the boat up with the batteries in combined then the issues don't occur.

I seriously hope this is the cause of the gremlins I’m reading about in this thread. Seems like it comes up a lot on the newer boats. Over the years I’ve heard my dealer say many times how voltage sensitive these boats have become. I’m a hawk for keeping mine plugged in at all times while in storage. I’m sure you all are too so maybe this is wishful thinking on my part. I just want so badly (for us and for Malibu) to find out it’s something simple. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Not sure if this helps, but I’m running Group 31 AGM batteries on Battery Setup - Option 3 (on / off switch).  

2 hours ago, dalt1 said:

 Is there anyone on here that has not had even one little issue? Doubt it.

🙋🏻‍♂️I’m a little hesitant to raise my hand here for fear of jinxing things, but so far so good with my 2022 25 LSV LT4. We got kind of late start this year due to my new truck arriving months later than expected, so we’ve only been out a handful of times, but enough to use everything for several hours (ballast, wedge, surf gate, speed control, stern turn, stereo, etc). I’m definitely planning to get out several more times locally before I trust the boat on our annual Norris Lake trip later this month. I can’t tell you how nervous this thread has made me the few times we’ve already been out. 😬😬

[iamcdn]

1 hour ago, IXFE said:

I seriously hope this is the cause of the gremlins I’m reading about in this thread. Seems like it comes up a lot on the newer boats. Over the years I’ve heard my dealer say many times how voltage sensitive these boats have become. I’m a hawk for keeping mine plugged in at all times while in storage. I’m sure you all are too so maybe this is wishful thinking on my part. I just want so badly (for us and for Malibu) to find out it’s something simple. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Not sure if this helps, but I’m running Group 31 AGM batteries on Battery Setup - Option 3 (on / off switch).  

🙋🏻‍♂️I’m a little hesitant to raise my hand here for fear of jinxing things, but so far so good with my 2022 25 LSV LT4. We got kind of late start this year due to my new truck arriving months later than expected, so we’ve only been out a handful of times, but enough to use everything for several hours (ballast, wedge, surf gate, speed control, stern turn, stereo, etc). I’m definitely planning to get out several more times locally before I trust the boat on our annual Norris Lake trip later this month. I can’t tell you how nervous this thread has made me the few times we’ve already been out. 😬😬

Thanks...that is good to know. I just have whatever stock batteries are in there. Since I have made sure to start the boat on the combo battery setting I have not had any gremlins show up the last 4 outings. ***knock on wood****

 

[oldjeep]

Be interesting to check voltage at normal operating speed to see if they made a bad pulley size decision for boats that are lugging along at lower RPM, and the alternator isn't able to keep up.

[TURNITRED]

On 6/30/2022 at 9:02 AM, roonedoggie said:

thought I would post to only make me feel better... I recently took delivery of my 2022 25LSV.  I am WaterSki America (now Tommy's) customer since 1997 and have taken delivery on now my 15th Malibu, yes I love Malibu, but love the dealer more... Right out of the gate I started having surf gage sensor errors on both gates, first soft errors then hard errors where is was actually logging. Then started having errors and gates sticking out but have been able to manual force the gate back by pushing the button on the dash to center.  At hour 7 I started having the cruise control start intermittently turning on and off which then lead to no engagement of cruise.  Most boat drivers are use to this function working so when it is not working, those inexperienced drivers struggle holding speed manually. I consider myself lucky in that my previous 14 boats that have been delivered have not had any problems with those boats.  We all know that the boating industry is ... well it is not like buying a car where the dealership addresses the issues when you take it in.  I was told that the surf gate issue they are seeing that quite often and are expecting with a coming software release for that to be addressed. On the cruise piece which I provided video that was subsequently sent Malibu Engineers. The Malibu engineers passed the biscuit back stating it is a boat driver error.... 

 

Are folks seeing these issues? You just don't get a feel that Malibu at times, again not the dealership but Malibu the boat builders gives a rats a**. Furthermore the engineers based on their response have a good working knowledge of how the coupling of hardware and software work in their design.  The point is when you problem solve you engage, look at the architecture and the engineering... is it software issue, it is a hardware issue, where are the potential failure points in the design.

 

Ok, I thought I would feel better after ranting... I don't. Anyone with these issues would be curious to hear and what feedback you are getting. Thanks again for listening and maybe as community we can make the Malibu product better. Cheers.

I’m also having cruise control issues. Find any fixes?  Sometimes it engages just fine. Other times it won’t at all. Sometimes it engages then shuts off mid ride. 

[DDuke]

2 hours ago, IXFE said:

I seriously hope this is the cause of the gremlins I’m reading about in this thread. Seems like it comes up a lot on the newer boats. Over the years I’ve heard my dealer say many times how voltage sensitive these boats have become. I’m a hawk for keeping mine plugged in at all times while in storage. I’m sure you all are too so maybe this is wishful thinking on my part. I just want so badly (for us and for Malibu) to find out it’s something simple. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Not sure if this helps, but I’m running Group 31 AGM batteries on Battery Setup - Option 3 (on / off switch).  

🙋🏻‍♂️I’m a little hesitant to raise my hand here for fear of jinxing things, but so far so good with my 2022 25 LSV LT4. We got kind of late start this year due to my new truck arriving months later than expected, so we’ve only been out a handful of times, but enough to use everything for several hours (ballast, wedge, surf gate, speed control, stern turn, stereo, etc). I’m definitely planning to get out several more times locally before I trust the boat on our annual Norris Lake trip later this month. I can’t tell you how nervous this thread has made me the few times we’ve already been out. 😬😬

Thanks for your feedback. Any adjustments to make these 31’s fit?

[TURNITRED]

On 6/28/2022 at 3:40 PM, potterm said:

Have you replaced your impeller and if so checked for any debris? I had an impeller go at 40 hours. on my 2020 LT4. 

Sea Strainer wasn't fully tightened down from dealer.  Must have been sucking some air in.  I tightened it up and no more problems.  

[TURNITRED]

51 minutes ago, TURNITRED said:

I’m also having cruise control issues. Find any fixes?  Sometimes it engages just fine. Other times it won’t at all. Sometimes it engages then shuts off mid ride. 

I also shut the batteries off and tried to reset, thinking it just needed to reboot, but that didn't fix it either.  

[hethj7]

What volts are you all seeing on the dash?  I was out tonight and never used thrusters and my volts were normally low 12s while underway but would dip into the 11s at times with seemingly no load change to the system.

My boat again was consistently turning itself off when bumping thrusters today, so I quit using them.  And it usually takes multiple start attempts for the dash switch to start the boat. 
 

I also got my first surfgate errors tonight with gates stuck out, etc.  They ended up correcting themselves but something is going on.   
 
Mine was flawless the first 5 or so but issues seem to be getting worse as hours click by.   

[iamcdn]

8 minutes ago, hethj7 said:

What volts are you all seeing on the dash?  I was out tonight and never used thrusters and my volts were normally low 12s while underway but would dip into the 11s at times with seemingly no load change to the system.

My boat again was consistently turning itself off when bumping thrusters today, so I quit using them.  And it usually takes multiple start attempts for the dash switch to start the boat. 
 

I also got my first surfgate errors tonight with gates stuck out, etc.  They ended up correcting themselves but something is going on.   
 
Mine was flawless the first 5 or so but issues seem to be getting worse as hours click by.   

When in combined mode my volts are 13. When on the house battery they have been anywhere between 9-11.5 I think. No drop when using thrusters. I am at 30hrs on my 2022 

[RCorsa]

My 240 starts around 12.5 v. When I use the thrusters it drops to 11.6 and when underway it’s at 13.7v.  Once I had to use a lot of thrusters right at the start and I got a “low voltage warning”.  That resolved as soon as I got going.   It’s amazing how much battery power they use. 

[oldjeep]

4 minutes ago, RCorsa said:

My 240 starts around 12.5 v. When I use the thrusters it drops to 11.6 and when underway it’s at 13.7v.  Once I had to use a lot of thrusters right at the start and I got a “low voltage warning”.  That resolved as soon as I got going.   It’s amazing how much battery power they use. 

I'd consider some big optima yellow tops - the starting tech ones.  Used to run those in the jeeps to handle the current required by the big 8724 winches I had (450 amps max draw).  Alternator needs to be able to keep up though.

What is the max current draw of the thrusters?