On or about 5/14/2019, I purchased a VX1050A-UA. Included in the purchase was a Yamaha extended…read morewarranty. On 7/2/2019, I brought the rig in because I had gotten to close to a sandy beach and sucked sand into the unit. Since I had to bring it in for service, I further agreed to the 10-hour service even though the craft had only 8.9 hours of use. This service included removing the sand, testing unit, changing the oil, replacing the oil filter, inspecting the air filter and spark plugs, and general inspection, all included in the 10-hour service. This service should have included checking the battery water level. The charges at this point were $266.65.
On July 10, 2019, I reported in writing that at some point around 30 or 40 MPH, the speedometer starts reading backward, going toward zero rather than increasing. This problem had been ongoing since the unit was new. I discussed this with your service manager, and we conclude because of the time it would take that it would be best to wait until cold weather to have the problem corrected, as I was told it would take several days to get approval from Yamaha, order the part and replace the part.
I returned the craft to Hall's on 2/15/2020 to have the problem with the speedometer corrected. The unit now has less than 13 hours of use. I receive a call from the service department informing me the battery was low on water, and after adding water and charging the battery, the service department determined the battery was bad and needed to be replaced. I agreed to the replacement but questioned how the battery could be low on water when it was serviced on July 6, 2019, and only be out two or three times since the service was performed.
Back to the speedometer: The service department used an air gun to test the speedometer and determined it was not malfunctioning. Since this had been an ongoing problem since I purchased the craft in May of 2019 and reported it in July 2019, I felt this was not an appropriate test. I was told they would have to take the craft out on the water to make a final test, to which I agreed as I knew the speedometer was malfunctioning. The service department claim is that the craft was slowing down because of bad spark plugs, and that was the cause of the speedometer false reading. That is an incongruous finding, first because the sparkplugs were checked when the unit had 8.9 hours (10-hour service). According to the manual, the plugs should be changed at 100 hours, not 12 hours. Secondly, at no time had the unit underperformed at 40 MPH. I had exceeded this speed many times and never had the unit to bog down at any speed. The service manager told me that after the spark plugs were changed, the craft was retested, and the speedometer worked properly. I have my doubts.
In summary:
I brought my unit to Hall's service department to have the speedometer replace. I was told the battery was bad and needed to be replaced, I agree to the replacement, but questions the examination since the unit was service at 8.9 hours. I was told they couldn't replace the speedometer control without verifying that it was not working properly. The service tech used an air gun, but couldn't duplicate the problem. Obviously, my word was not sufficient. I was told the craft would have to be tested in the water before they could replica the problem, I agreed as I knew what the problem was and didn't anticipate I would be charged for this.
I was told the unit bogged down at around 40 MPH, and that was the problem; it needed new spark plugs. Note: The manual says to check the plugs at 10 hours and replace them at 100 hours. The plugs were changed, and I was told they retested the craft, and the problem I reported didn't exist.
The bottom line, I bring the unit to the service department to have a problem that I had experienced many times and reported to Hall's in writing on July 10, 2019. I was charged $75 for a new battery. I was charged $100 for the analysis of a specific problem that I had reported earlier and again on 2/15/2020. I was charged another $100 to have the problem duplicated on the water. I was charged $26.97 for three spark plugs, plus labor that were verified as okay at 8.9 hours. Yamaha recommends changing the plugs at 100 hours. Hall's charged me over $200 to analyze a problem, which I know exist, for Hall's to honor my warrant, a warranty for which I paid dearly. I could have purchased the part and replaced it for less than they charged me.
