mist467

iTrader: (27)

Im at aww right now...i have supported these scumbags for years and cant believe how bad the customer serivce is!!I have over $2000 worth of futaba gear right now and over the years have probably spent double that or more...Long story short...
1st horror story bought 3pk setup with fast receivers...all 3 of them were overheating and having the same problem...was out of receivers FOREVER...got them back...hey surprise 2 of them still did it. Finally broke down and drilled a shitload of holes in my radio tray to keep it cool..something you should not have to do

2nd horror story...3pk started giving me problems sent it in...they sent me a shitty refurbished one and refused to help me any further!..

3rd horror story...i call them today to let them know im gonna send in a servo for warr...he ask me whats wrong with it...i tell him prob a stripped gear...he responds with (well you probably drive bad and hit a wall and thats why its broke)...lol...i really cant believe this s$%t...and to top it off when i told him all the problems i have had with them and that i was leaving the brand he said (ok sir...we are not futaba and my job is not to care..we just service north america)

in short...i have a couple bls servos for sale and a 3pk with 2 receivers in perfect shape...ill post up link in a min...Hitec and ko here i come

mblgjr

iTrader: (86)

I've been hardcore Futaba for years on my transmitters.

However, I stayed with my old 3PJ-Super (the one before the last 2-3, 3-series units that you've got).

Then I waited for a 4PK...they supposedly had overheating problems; I dunno, but mine has been perfect.

Futaba servo's are much more fragile though.

Hitec is AWESOME about cust. service and will pretty much replace or repair a servo no matter what.

Futaba is a division of Delphi; which used to be tied to General Motors a few years back. Delphi either went bankrupt; or almost did a few years back (around when your 3-series was in production)...I don't recall the details any more but I know the company was a mess.

No way the rep @ Hobby Services should have talked to you like that though, but there's 2-sides to every story.

mist467

iTrader: (27)

i know what you mean about 2 sides two every story...but i have nothing to gain by lying about what was said...trust me im too shocked and in aww to make anything up...i dont get mad easy and am a pretty calm person...but right now im still as red as a tomato

Illbreakthat

iTrader: (1)

I have been running the 4PK now for 8 months and havent had any issues at all, Before that i had a 3PK, and previously was a really used 3PK. All of which ran perfect. I do hear of some people overheating thier RX's or they are having glitch, but i have not had any luck at all with any of thier servos so for that i am sticking with Hitec or KO.

mblgjr

iTrader: (86)

Wasn't taking a stab or anything with that comment; but there's a LOT of people that abuse Hitec's policy for sure.

Sounds like you may just need to call back another day and get someone else.

The 1 guy I talked to about my Futaba stuff recently (last year; 4pk issue) was really nice about it all and understood my concerns.

Sounds like you got the 'noob that got stuck with answering the phone.

mist467

iTrader: (27)

Well illbreakthat consider yourself lucky that you havent had any problems so far...the day you do i can assure you is the day you stop running futaba...they do absolutely nothing to help the people who support them...

mblgjr if this was my first problem with them maybe i would try again or say (hey i just got a ass$%#@ today let me call again)...but its not...its the third bad experience i have...shoulda learned the first 2 times...but its ok...ill just never promote or run the product again...simple as that...

marshon50

iTrader: (6)

MIST ygpm

Integra

iTrader: (8)

How so ?

Hitec's stand is to keep the customer happy No MATTER what.

and you think we're abusing them ?

mist467

iTrader: (27)

i agree with integra...i think hitec has done a great job at keeping people happy and that turns into loyalty...i have never had a problem with hitec...everything has always been taken care of...and fast at that!!!...only reason i started running futaba servos was because i was getting a great deal on them and a couple locals swore by em...funny thing is now that i look back the guys that swore on these servos a year ago wouldnt run one if you gave it to em free...lol...says alot i think..hitec has the following and customer loyalty they have for a reason!!!...Futaba should pay attention...i coulda sworn about 2 weeks ago there was a post by another racer that is almost identical to mine about warr issues with futaba

bigjayjay1

iTrader: (86)

Did you ask for a name or a manager ? but if you come off as a A-Hole ( NOT SAYING YOU DID) it only hurts yourself most customer service dept require a call log entry name / time / reason / for a logistic overview you don't want to be tagged as problematic.

being calm, not interrupting and being humble will always win.

I've always print out a return sheet gave a great explanation on paper sent in with my sales receipt. That way is cut and dry and simple. I've sent three item in for warranty using this method all have been replaced no question asked, no calls period. I just tracked the repair on their web page.

Warranty is Warranty but if you run over with a dozer take it a part and F-it up then thats hard to defend these companies make a ton of money its call MARK-UP it covers warranty.

mist467

iTrader: (27)

Well im pretty much as nice as it gets...Like stated in my first post i am a very calm and very easy going...The person i spoke too didnt even hear me out...When i called i was actually just calling so that they could log it in that i was sending something in...The rep then asked me if i knew what was wrong with the servo...i told him that it looked like a stripped gear...right then and there he stopped me and said (we dont cover gear issues. You could be a bad driver and maybe hit a wall or had a bad wreck). He flat out told me it had no warranty. Im not here to lie about how i was treated or the THREE incidents i have had with them. I am not the only person with complaints about this. Like i said just 2 weeks ago there was another racer who has the same thing more or less happen. I'll look for the post. The fact that futaba has a problem with north america service is no lie or mystery. It has gone down the toilet and is very sad. Take note that not once have i bashed the product saying its bad. I love my futaba stuff but the fact that they will not stand by their product is too much already. Every product has its problems and every product breaks. The difference is some will stand by their product like hitec and some will not like futaba.

mist467

iTrader: (27)

http://www.rctech.net/forum/radio-el...rror-show.html

Just so you see im not the only person. Joe if you read this buddy i so know how you feel now!!!...Live and learn man. I will never spend another dollar or support their stuff again!

Brian Alderman

iTrader: (43)

where theres smoke theres fire, and lately seems like alot of smoke from the futaba service area. luckily i have had great luck with my 4pk and 604rxs. i completely agree with how you feel, i mean after all this is the cadillac of radio equipment, definately not cheap stuff. no customer service rep should ever speak to you like that about any product. the weirdest part is that sometimes you hear/read of good experiences with the service dept, i just dont understand how up and down it can be. i thought futaba was owned by hobbico, or great plains? do they not handle service through hobbico?

ps: mist u have a pm.

wingracer

iTrader: (24)

I still don't understand the hatred some people have for their servos. Servos are the ONLY Futaba product I will EVER use. I despise their transmitters with a passion but their servos are the best I have ever used. Maybe some of the other versions just aren't as tough as the ones I have used.

Burst

iTrader: (7)

guys Im unfortunately having similar issues. I have ran DX3Rs until about 5 months ago. I bought a 4PK and loved the design and feel of the radio. In Electric 1/10 Sprint, absolutely no issues at all! its perfect! However, in 1/8 nitro, I had my losi truggy start to have glitch issues during a winter race. It was indoors but only 40F inside. Halfway into the first heat, throttle starts intermittently working...like its losing the transmitter signal....then it starts working. Second heat, same thing. So, I pull out the servo after the second heat and I have no throttle at all. ...but I have steering. I have the new HV JR servos, both brand new, first race with them. I pulled out the radio tray, tested the servo, nothing. Put the servo into the steering slot, it works. After 15 mins, both work again. The receiver temp was 102F when the throttle was cutting out. It started working again at 93F. I put my spektrum system back in and finished the race day. I sent the servos in to JR and they said nothing was wrong. However, to their credit, they sent me a new servo anyway and said they didnt want me to wonder or have bad feelings that it could possibly be causing a problem, This makes me feel that maybe there was a problem; who knows. Anyway, I put all this back together and test in my driveway, at 105F, same EFFIN problem! Im not an electronics major, but I do understand electronics; been in them my whole life; I'm 45. On the test bench, both my new Futaba rx's begin to give spotty performance at between 102 and 107F. This test was ran with an inline voltage/resistance probe between the output of the receiver and the servos. Under normal load (Truggy sitting on bench fully dressed out with fuel, tires, body,etc) throttle endpoints set with tons of room and no binding, I used a heat gun to heat up the motor to 220F. It took only 21 minutes to start getting inconsistent output signals to the servos. The steering servo seemed to have more load but it was sitting still. Its easier to turn the tires when its rolling. BUt, both servos began to have intermittent response when the receiver reached 105F and at 130F, the steering stopped and at 133F the throttle stopped. I have done this test 5 times now and my friends new 4PK is doing the same.. his temps are slightly higher before shutoff on one of his receivers...right at 155F. Both of my receivers used for offroad are brand new and so is the radio. The batch shows production this past summer. ....so, what is the problem. When I called Futaba support, I got a friendly person but they said they would check my system if I sent it in but they said I most likely had no knowledge on how to set up my endpoints. When I told him I have done this for my whole life and I completely understood how to do a setup, he sounded very confident that I didnt. So, that leaves me with a feeling that I'll most likely use a different system this summer for outdoor offroad and continue to use my Futaba for indoor electric.....This sucks...I wish there was a solution and that Futaba recognized its' customers were smarter than some guy sitting in a customer service bench who doesnt want to listen or fool with you. I get totally the opposite treatment with JR. However, I understand there are those who have not received good service from Horizon too....and its not acceptable. But, for the majority of the people who post, it seems that Futaba is refusing to admit any issues with their receivers. If any of you have any ideas or question, suggestions, or comments on my tests, I'm open to discuss or try whatever scenario you'd like me to try. I have just about every piece of test equipment and brand of car,motor, servos, radios that are popular and can try other tests.