Garmin Vista Service Issue

[+Maxine&Me]

I have had my Vista for about 2 years, it has been swapped out twice under warranty for lines across the screen. It has strated doing that again as well as the thumb stick will not move the cursor to the left. I called Garmin and they inform me that it will be $125 to repair the unit. That seems crazy to me.

 

Has anyone else had similar problems. Is there anything I can do to service the unit myself?

[peter]

Is there anything I can do to service the unit myself?

Depends on how confident you are about doing repairs on small electrical cables and connectors. Instructions for repairing the ribbon connector issue on the eTrex models can be found here:

http://home.triad.rr.com/ralloh/Vista%20LED%20Repair.pdf

[+briansnat]

Call them back and tell them how this is the third time you had this problem. Be nice, but make sure they know you are upset.

 

Its very likely that they will waive the fee. I know they've done that for many people.

[DriverFound]

Thanks for the repair guide. So far there are no annoying lines on my Vista's display. One thing I worry about is the tapes around the unit. I'm not confident that after putting the 2 layers of tapes back on is still good for water resistance.

Edited May 11, 2005 by technivore

[Flakarter]

I've had the line problem with my Legend twice. Most recently, vertical, and sometimes even horizontal bars across the screen. With the vertical lines, the lines would just go crazy and everything else would dissapear off the screen.

 

Several weeks ago, after the unit was out of warranty, I had those problems (and others - i.e., the on off switch stopped working. Funny thing is that I really don't use it that much.

 

At first, Garmin quoted $100 or so for repair, but I emphasized that I'd had it repaired for the same problem before, and they cut the cost to about $50. That's a pretty good deal, and nice of them to do when it's out of warranty.

 

They actually replaced it with a completely rebuilt unit in what appears to be perfect condition. And the stick and other switches feel brand new.

 

I'm replacing it soon, so I really don't even need it. But I'll sell it or keep it as a backup.

 

Question: Do the color Legends and Vistas sufer from the lines in the screen problem? Does anyone know?

 

Thanks

 

Dean

[+Maxine&Me]

After searching other soultions on this forum I tried switching out the batteries (even though the current ones showed about 25% power remaining). That fixed the issue with the stick not functioning. Go figure.