Didn't think it would happen to me.... 105th flight = two stress cracks on P3P

[Mario_SB]

Wow.... after reading so much about these it's finally come to me. Just discovered two stress cracks under the rear motors, one in each. They are fine cracks but I can tell that they wan't to come apart with a little bit of pulling. Ok... Bought mine from Amazon about 2 months ago. The cracks don't look that serious but I'm afraid that they might only get worse. Should I send it in?

 

[johnp44]

That's the way it goes, never a problem until it happens to you. Whether you send it in... Well that depends, if you are willing to wait out the turn time from DJI or not. I myself, chose to replace my own cracked shells on three (so far) of my four phantoms because the turn time from them was about six weeks. Some will agree with me and others will say send it in. Unless you are real handy I would say send it in but make sure you get DJI customer service to agree that it is warranty or they might try to charge you.

Most likely they will cover it. But you never know. Feel lucky?

 

[WetDog]

You can also try Bondic and see what happens. What I've always wondered is whether or not you should drill tiny relief holes at the ends. That's supposed to stop the crack from expanding....

 

[bedford]

Hi guys,I had 150 flights in then the crack appeared in one of the body screw holes behind the engine mount ones so to me wasn't that bad but I was not happy so off to my authorised seller and repair man who I brought if off new in May I think,feels so long ago now,getting old,anyway I'm so happy I did take it in,he swapped the body over in about an hour with the newer versions with tabs and cross bracing ,showed me pictures of the job,I picked it up 2 hours later,Dji authorised him to repair it,he said mines the first to change body's because of cracks and he's sold hundreds ,but has changed p3 body's from guys crashing.
So when I got home I tried her she sounded quite r ,smoother,flexing the arms I definitely notice the arms are twice as strong like little flex,happy Chappy,
She flies great and very impressed with the product,
All I have to do is my updates,I've been sitting on the fence back at 1.1.9 firmware
So to finish defiantly swap to the newer body's how ever you do it

 

[Air5]

I got one of the first batches and experienced stress cracks about a month after i had it. They were minor at first but gradually got worse. I contacted DJI and they authorized repair. Turnaround time was only 2 weeks. I get my P3A back tomorrow. Hopefully they swapped out the entire unit and not just the shell hahaha. Either way I'm glad I did it.

 

[Mario_SB]

Thanks everyone for the replies! I'm pretty handy with taking things apart but I have to admit I can be pretty clumsy sometimes. I know that I definitely do not have the patience for taking small ribbon cables apart! I think I'm going to send it in before it gets worse. Hopefully it will all work out and I will report back on the whole return/warranty process and experience.

I got one of the first batches and experienced stress cracks about a month after i had it. They were minor at first but gradually got worse. I contacted DJI and they authorized repair. Turnaround time was only 2 weeks. I get my P3A back tomorrow. Hopefully they swapped out the entire unit and not just the shell hahaha. Either way I'm glad I did it.

 

[Mario_SB]

I got one of the first batches and experienced stress cracks about a month after i had it. They were minor at first but gradually got worse. I contacted DJI and they authorized repair. Turnaround time was only 2 weeks. I get my P3A back tomorrow. Hopefully they swapped out the entire unit and not just the shell hahaha. Either way I'm glad I did it.

Thanks for the reply! Glad it worked out for you. How did you initially contact DJI was it by phone or by email? Where they pretty responsive to your situation? Was it under warranty and did they cover it?

 

[Mario_SB]

That's the way it goes, never a problem until it happens to you. Whether you send it in... Well that depends, if you are willing to wait out the turn time from DJI or not. I myself, chose to replace my own cracked shells on three (so far) of my four phantoms because the turn time from them was about six weeks. Some will agree with me and others will say send it in. Unless you are real handy I would say send it in but make sure you get DJI customer service to agree that it is warranty or they might try to charge you.

Most likely they will cover it. But you never know. Feel lucky?

Ugh! Thanks for the reply. I think I'm going to call it in tomorrow and see what they say. You're right, it's never an issue until it comes to you. Well, I guess it's my turn to find out how good or bad DJI's customer service really is.... :/

 

[Mario_SB]

You can also try Bondic and see what happens. What I've always wondered is whether or not you should drill tiny relief holes at the ends. That's supposed to stop the crack from expanding....

Thank for the reply! Sounds like exploratory surgery. No thanks! lol I have read about others gluing it back together and if it wasn't under warranty I'd certainly try going that route but we'll see what they say. The manual says that there is no warranty on the body but others here claim that they've gotten it fixed for free. I'm just hoping that I don't get the runaround.

 

[Mario_SB]

UPDATE: I finally got around to calling DJI Customer Support today and I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised with their level of customer service. They answered the call fairly quickly and a very nice lady with a pleasant voice took my information. The service rep said I would receive a series of four emails which would indicate mailing instructions as well as the new RMA information. I received three of the four emails while still on the phone. She said the fourth email would arrive within 24 / 48 hours containing the free shipping label. She indicated that the service return time would be about 3-4 weeks but confidently mentioned that it would most likely be much sooner than that. So far, so good!

 

[Mario_SB]

UPDATE #2 : Just received the free FedEx return shipping label! Time to pack the Phantom...

 

[Mario_SB]

UPDATE #3: Received my Phantom 3 back from repair yesterday (12/23).

 

[Cale262]

UPDATE #3: Received my Phantom 3 back from repair yesterday (12/23).

Sounds like top drawer service to me, not that I ever want to have a problem (who does) but makes me feel better about their customer service if I do have an issue. Thanks for keeping us informed!

 

[Mario_SB]

You're welcome! I do have to report that I would give DJI 3 out of 5 stars though. The product was fixed but I'm afraid there was some sloppy work done. More to come....