Newest Member to the cracked shell club :(

[Mocho]

P3P purchased 3 months ago.
117 flights
267 km flown.
26 hrs. of flight time.

Prior to loading the bird up into the case today, I did my routine once over check of the bird.

Low and behold three of the birds arms have cracks on the bottom, around the motor screws.
I saw no such cracks before the last set of four flights. Last flights where routine albeit a bit windy at 4 m/s, and I was doing easy going long distance flights filming the river valley.

The gimbal has not worked correctly since day one (changing crooked horizon) so I guess now I have to send it in for repairs. But I'm flying it until it gets cold which could be any day now, so I hope it holds together! I think I'll stay over land though lol

Any suggestions or words of wisdom on how best to deal with DJI regarding fixing the two issues at once?

 

[Ken Hanks]

Have you completed a IMU calibration and then complete a gimbal self calibration

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[Lifted Chevy]

I called the 818 number and spoke with a nice lady. She sent the RMA to my email and I printed and sent it off. Got a email today that said it's on the way back. Hopefully it's good to go.

 

[Mocho]

Have you completed a IMU calibration and then complete a gimbal self calibration

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Thanks, Yes I've done everything numerous times to no avail.
That's not my concern now. I'm more concerned about getting through the DJI Service gauntlet.

 

[Mocho]

I called the 818 number and spoke with a nice lady. She sent the RMA to my email and I printed and sent it off. Got a email today that said it's on the way back. Hopefully it's good to go.

Thanks for that tip. Where did you get the ph. # from?

 

[Lifted Chevy]

 

[Garret Pearl]

Mine cracked last December after using it a couple months. It is still cracked and running fine. I bought another shell back when it cracked but never have replaced it. It hasn't gotten any worse and still works fine. I think whatever stress it had was released. I'd rather it look perfect but oh well. One day I'll replace the shell with the new one.


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[Ken Hanks]

Was just think about the cracked shells. Wonder if the screws on the bottom of the arms are over torqued and backing the screws out then snugging them up again.

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[Mocho]

Was just think about the cracked shells. Wonder if the screws on the bottom of the arms are over torqued and backing the screws out then snugging them up again.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

Thanks Ken, don't want to touch it so DJI will know what state the screws were in when the cracks appeared.

Find it interesting they all appeared after those last four flights. I only know this as I've been checking the arms closely before I put her into the case for the days flights.

 

[Mike Drone7]

Just needed to put my two cents in and vent as well. I've had a P3P since November 2015 and just sent it to DJI for the second time for cracks on the underside of the forward motors. I have never crashed and always hand catch so it is not user failure. I hadn't been flying the P3P for a while since I picked up a P4. Both are brilliant machines and I love them both as well as my trusty P2V. So anyway I updated all the firmware and after one flight while putting in a second battery I was shocked that there was a brand new huge crack. Why the hell can't DJI come up with a reinforced shell to fix this problem or have they moved on and just keep repairing/replacing the shells under warranty? It's very frustrating and I have no complaints with DJI other than the P3P shells!

 

[Lifted Chevy]

I just got my p3p back from crack rehab "DJI" and so far it's been good. Not missing money from my wallet anymore either haha.

 

[Mocho]

I just got my p3p back from crack rehab "DJI" and so far it's been good. Not missing money from my wallet anymore either haha.

"Crack rehab" LOL
Glad to here you got it back as expected, without issue

 

[YYZ]

I had exact same issue. I contact DJI Service, and shell replaced under warranty.Excellent service from the NA Service Centre.

 

[Holger4221]

Just needed to put my two cents in and vent as well....... Why the hell can't DJI come up with a reinforced shell to fix this problem or have they moved on and just keep repairing/replacing the shells under warranty? It's very frustrating and I have no complaints with DJI other than the P3P shells!

That's always a good question! I did had the same question to my FORD dealer last year. The new 2015 F150 XLT's have a huge problem with the dashboard warping. After 2 1/2 month they had to replace the whole dashboard. I did ask if FORD now figured it out or had a bad batch. "We will see. They only allow us to replace the original with the same part number. Nothing else...!" I'm standing there and thought about it and asked: "Do I have to come now every summer to get my dashboard replaced?!" Answer: "I'm guessing that's the case!" This year I did show up at the dealer with around 24,000 km (Canada) and asked for another replacement. "Sure. We have them in stock."

It looks for me that DJI does exactly that, knowing that the shells will crack again no matter what you do. They won't change the shells. They won't insert a reinforcement part. They won't do it! No matter on how many shells they have to replace. The same part number will be installed.

I'm not sure. I have the feeling that any employee or manager who starts thinking and like to make changes to a part will be shot on the spot! On the other side they hire people who have nothing else to do than produce faulty parts and people they have nothing else to do than installing every day this faulty parts until the warranty runs out.

My FORD dealership was nice enough to take the XLT back and sold me a Lariat with a different dashboard style than the XLT has. We didn't loose any money on that deal. I do not know if it would be cheaper for DJI to do the same and offer Phantom 3 owners the better Phantom 4 with a little up price in the long run.

I didn't fly one minute with my Phantom 3 pro because I had to ship it back right out of the box. And with the very poor customer service DJI has, I lost my trust and fun on the Phantom already. Lucky me that I paid with PayPal. Opened a case yesterday.
If I see a crack after a couple flights, I will ask right away for my money back. That's for sure.
I did check on my tracking number I got yesterday from DJI. The replacement shows up 5 weeks after I bought that piece of crab. Nicely done DJI!

 

[Mike Drone7]

Thanks, Yes I've done everything numerous times to no avail.
That's not my concern now. I'm more concerned about getting through the DJI Service gauntlet.

Hello Mocho. Here in the US as described in a post above I sent my P3P in for the second time for cracks. I called and got a case/RMA number and sent it in last Friday. I got an email today that it was received and being evaluated. DJI has gotten way better on their customer service and repair so I wouldn't worry. The first crack I had back in March I got my P3P back in less than 2 weeks. My concern is have they come up with a fix to the weak plastic in the arms so it will be fixed properly this time.

 

[Mocho]

Hello Mocho. Here in the US as described in a post above I sent my P3P in for the second time for cracks. I called and got a case/RMA number and sent it in last Friday. I got an email today that it was received and being evaluated. DJI has gotten way better on their customer service and repair so I wouldn't worry. The first crack I had back in March I got my P3P back in less than 2 weeks. My concern is have they come up with a fix to the weak plastic in the arms so it will be fixed properly this time.

Canada doesn't have a warranty repair depot so mine will be going to the U.S. so that's good news Mike, thanks for sharing.

 

[kphantom]

P3P purchased 3 months ago.
117 flights
267 km flown.
26 hrs. of flight time.

Prior to loading the bird up into the case today, I did my routine once over check of the bird.

Low and behold three of the birds arms have cracks on the bottom, around the motor screws.
I saw no such cracks before the last set of four flights. Last flights where routine albeit a bit windy at 4 m/s, and I was doing easy going long distance flights filming the river valley.

The gimbal has not worked correctly since day one (changing crooked horizon) so I guess now I have to send it in for repairs. But I'm flying it until it gets cold which could be any day now, so I hope it holds together! I think I'll stay over land though lol

Any suggestions or words of wisdom on how best to deal with DJI regarding fixing the two issues at once?

I just had a P3A returned from crack rehab at DJI. It cracked after 8 flights. It seems repaired ok, I tested it in the house and powered it up. I initially had controller pairing problems, but after getting through that, I think they did a good repair. I will have to try and fly soon for sure to see.

 

[Mike Drone7]

Canada doesn't have a warranty repair depot so mine will be going to the U.S. so that's good news Mike, thanks for sharing.

Mocho great news for me I sent my P3P in for repair on 9/22 and its already on it's way back as of 9/27. Seems DJI repair is starting to get their act together. The big question is will the the shell be a new improved reinforced model or the same thing. I'll keep you posted when I get it back.

 

[YYZ]

Mocho great news for me I sent my P3P in for repair on 9/22 and its already on it's way back as of 9/27. Seems DJI repair is starting to get their act together. The big question is will the the shell be a new improved reinforced model or the same thing. I'll keep you posted when I get it back.

Mine was returned with a V2 shell. I have turned the active braking down to 70% (min setting) to reduce the stress on the motor mounts. So far so good.

 

[ElGuapo]

Mocho great news for me I sent my P3P in for repair on 9/22 and its already on it's way back as of 9/27. Seems DJI repair is starting to get their act together. The big question is will the the shell be a new improved reinforced model or the same thing. I'll keep you posted when I get it back.

Some members in this forum are reporting stress cracks on the new shells. One guy has sent his to DJI 3 times for the same issue.