Team MJDJ Posted March 14, 2004 Share Posted March 14, 2004 (edited) While out fetching co-ordinates for an upcoming cache of mine, something bizarre happened and I am wondering if anybody else has had a similar experience. I have a Garmin Etrex Venture, and the "click-stick" just stopped responding! I could maneuver my cursor UP or DOWN, but not sideways. I had FRESH batteries in it, this has NEVER happened before. I turned it OFF and back ON a couple of times, but it still wouldn't function properly. It has since started working again, but this spooked the hell out of me, this thing is just over a year old! Anybody!? Edited March 14, 2004 by Team MJDJ Quote Link to comment
+IV_Warrior Posted March 14, 2004 Share Posted March 14, 2004 Yep, a good THWACK to the Garmin logo usually fixes this.....same technique usually works for when you start getting the black lines down the screen........ Quote Link to comment
+quills Posted March 14, 2004 Share Posted March 14, 2004 I had something similar happen with my Legend. It quit going right. I contacted Garmin and sent it in for repair. Their customer service is great. I got my Legend back within a week and they even put a new screen on it i had some scratches on it but they were gone when I got it back. It was the same one I sent to them I verified the serial number when I got it back. Quote Link to comment
+15Tango Posted March 14, 2004 Share Posted March 14, 2004 I sent my eTrex Vista in because the rubber around the edge came unglued, and they replaced that, the screen, and they also found out the memory battery was leaking, so they changed that, all for no cost. With all they replaced, I'm wondering why they just didn't steam off the serial number sticker, put that on a different unit, load all my stuff back on the new unit, and send that one back to me. Quote Link to comment
+SBPhishy Posted March 14, 2004 Share Posted March 14, 2004 How do you know they didn't? Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted March 14, 2004 Share Posted March 14, 2004 Call them and see if they will honor the warranty even though it's expired. They are pretty good and will sometimes let you slide...otherwise it will cost you $100 to fix it. Quote Link to comment
Team MJDJ Posted March 15, 2004 Author Share Posted March 15, 2004 (edited) I should also add that the entire unit seems to "FREEZE" during these episodes. I tried SMACKING it as suggested and that worked...not too fond of the implications though! Also did a software update, perhaps a complete COLD-START would help? I can't believe that these units can be so fragile...it's never been dropped or soaked, baked or frozen...this isn't much of a testimonial for Garmin products, or does this happen to other makes as well? Sending it to Garmin is out of the question, since their FLAT RATE to repair this model is $79 US PLUS shipping...would cost less to replace it! Edited March 15, 2004 by Team MJDJ Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 Sending it to Garmin is out of the question, Not until you call them. As I said, they've been known to repair out of warranty units free of charge. Quote Link to comment
+Team GPSaxophone Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 I should also add that the entire unit seems to "FREEZE" during these episodes.I tried SMACKING it as suggested and that worked...not too fond of the implications though! Also did a software update, perhaps a complete COLD-START would help? I can't believe that these units can be so fragile...it's never been dropped or soaked, baked or frozen...this isn't much of a testimonial for Garmin products, or does this happen to other makes as well? Sending it to Garmin is out of the question, since their FLAT RATE to repair this model is $79 US PLUS shipping...would cost less to replace it! The connectors inside the Etrex line are not very good. I had many problems with my Venture. Now I use a Legend and have the Venture as my backup (and for the wife to use) Quote Link to comment
Team MJDJ Posted March 15, 2004 Author Share Posted March 15, 2004 (edited) Which "connectors" do you refer to? From the problems I described, the geniuses at Garmin have determined that the unit "sounds like it needs to be repaired"... For a $115 Cdn (flat rate) + $35 shipping + GST, the folks in Quebec will repair it and have it back to me within 2 weeks. OR, for another $35, I can go to my nearest Walmart and buy a new one TODAY. Which leads me to 2 questions: i) Do I WANT to have my GPS repaired by people who are obviously such magnificent troubleshooters and... ii) Do I WANT to own another Garmin that will croak after this new warranty expires? Answer to BOTH questions is NO...and I told them so. The NEXT GPS I own will definitely NOT be a Garmin! Edited March 15, 2004 by Team MJDJ Quote Link to comment
+Corp Of Discovery Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 Yep, a good THWACK to the Garmin logo usually fixes this.....same technique usually works for when you start getting the black lines down the screen........ Didn't some early Apple's have a problem where you had to fix it like this? I think it was dropping it from 6-8" onto a hard surface to get a board to lock in place properly? Hmmm.... if Garmin = Apple then Magellan is IBM? scary thoughts..... Quote Link to comment
+9Key Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 Did you buy the receiver on eBay? If so, did you tell Garmin that? They won't honor any warranty if you admit that you obtained the unit from an auction site. Also, could you drive over the border to ship the unit or is it too far? Maybe that would save a few $ CDN. Quote Link to comment
Team MJDJ Posted March 16, 2004 Author Share Posted March 16, 2004 (edited) The fact remains that this brand seems to be unreliable...WHY should I devote time, energy and money to "repair" something that couldn't make the cut in the first place? I'll bumble along for now, smacking its logo as it freezes until my CCRA refund comes, then I'll buy a Magellan or something.... Thanks to all who offered advice. Edited March 16, 2004 by Team MJDJ Quote Link to comment
+KC0HEV Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 I have had some of these same problems. You don't have to "smack" the logo so much as squeeze it. I finally took mine apart on my own and fixed the problem. Quote Link to comment
+Team GPSaxophone Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 Which "connectors" do you refer to? The internal connectors of course. There's one for the screen, another for the buttons. They all connect to the "mainboard" of the unit and sometimes come loose. This is a known problem on the Etrex line. They should fix it free, but you know how businesses can be. You can try this: Go to Wal-Mart and buy an exact replacement. Package your old one up in the box and return it for a refund saying it didn't work. Wal-Mart will take care of shipping it back to Garmin and it will be refurbished at Garmin's expense. You'll have a working unit again at no cost to you, the way it should be for a manufactur's defect. Quote Link to comment
+kd7rvh Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 The fact remains that this brand seems to be unreliable... Not to flame, but this is not a 'fact' by any possible stretch of the imagination. Your unit has something wrong with it. That may or may not be Garmin's fault, but making broad generalizations about an entire brand is not helpful, especially since that brand has been so supportive of our hobby. Quote Link to comment
+rusty_tlc Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 I for one am glad to see that the Garmin product is being exposed for the worthless piece of trash that it really is! This is the old potatoe/patatoe, ford/chevy argument. Most modern electronics today, from a name brand manufacturer, have higher reliability than military electronics did 15 or 20 years ago. It all comes down to personel preference. I like GMC. I like my Meridian. I like General Electric appliances. Enough other people share my opinions that they stay in business. Enough people disagree that Ford, Garmin and Maytag stay in business. How Chrysler stays in busniess is a mystery. Gottcha Mopar! Just Kidding. Quote Link to comment
Team MJDJ Posted March 16, 2004 Author Share Posted March 16, 2004 The fact remains that this brand seems to be unreliable... Not to flame, but this is not a 'fact' by any possible stretch of the imagination. Your unit has something wrong with it. That may or may not be Garmin's fault, but making broad generalizations about an entire brand is not helpful, especially since that brand has been so supportive of our hobby. No offense taken... Looking at this from a consumer's point of view, I am LESS LIKELY to purchase ANOTHER Garmin because of the problems inherent to this brand. Feedback from others has convinced me that this problem is NOT unique to mine, and the fact that several other have this SAME PROBLEM indicates that this is a manufacturing FLAW. Has this flaw been corrected, or is this model STILL in production with this flaw? Yes, I've had many enjoyable moments with this eTrex Venture, but as anybody will tell, it's the BAD experiences that stick with you, and I consider a unit that craps out AFTER its warranty expires, to be a bad experience. Quote Link to comment
Team MJDJ Posted March 16, 2004 Author Share Posted March 16, 2004 I have had some of these same problems. You don't have to "smack" the logo so much as squeeze it. I finally took mine apart on my own and fixed the problem. So how do I open the case to access these "connectors"? Are they ribbon type? Point-to-point soldering? Quote Link to comment
+Team Lemons Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 The fact remains that this brand seems to be unreliable... Not to flame, but this is not a 'fact' by any possible stretch of the imagination. Your unit has something wrong with it. That may or may not be Garmin's fault, but making broad generalizations about an entire brand is not helpful, especially since that brand has been so supportive of our hobby. No offense taken... Looking at this from a consumer's point of view, I am LESS LIKELY to purchase ANOTHER Garmin because of the problems inherent to this brand. Feedback from others has convinced me that this problem is NOT unique to mine, and the fact that several other have this SAME PROBLEM indicates that this is a manufacturing FLAW. Has this flaw been corrected, or is this model STILL in production with this flaw? Yes, I've had many enjoyable moments with this eTrex Venture, but as anybody will tell, it's the BAD experiences that stick with you, and I consider a unit that craps out AFTER its warranty expires, to be a bad experience. I've had my Garmin 12Map for over 5 years, and I have not had that first problem with it. Well, the only problem I've had with it is the need to power down and re-init after haveing left it plugged in and turned on in the car for weeks at a time and it not being able to get a satelite connection for an extended period of time, but that in itself is pretty amazing, I would say. Over all, I have been extremely pleased with my Garmin and have heard nightmares from Magellan users as well. The 12Map is a much more expensive GPSr, so maybe that has something to do with it. It is a lot more solid than some of the eTrex models than I have seen. Maybe that has something to do with it too. Plus, if you bought it through e-Bay, then maybe the previous owner wasn't as good to it as they should have been. Quote Link to comment
+The Leprechauns Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 By all means, abandon your Garmin and go buy a good GPS like a Magellan SporTrak. Then you can post in the topic where everyone's complaining about the cracks that appear around the screws that hold the case together. Quote Link to comment
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