Phantom 4 Pro landing gear cracks in the exact same spot

Canada Goose · Jul 3, 2017

I read somewhere that folks were concerned about landing gear cracks so I checked mine and to my horror all 4 legs are cracked in the same place. My Phantom has never ever been landed hard and has never ran into any object. This has to be default with DJI cheap plastic like the former Phantoms motor mounts cracked.

I bought mine back in November when they were released so it's only 8 months old. What will DJI do about this? My problem is I am a commercial user and need my Phantom on a very regular basis. My dealer where I bought it from is now closed and will see what he has to say in the morning.

Any suggestions?

jeffames226 · Jul 4, 2017

You probably wont have any luck with DJI but I guess its worth a shot. Seems pretty obvious to me that those aren't "stress" cracks and more like impact cracks. Stress cracks do not make the plastic pop out like that and the chance of all 4 cracks happening at once from stress are slim to none.

msinger · Jul 4, 2017

If you want to fix this yourself, you can pick up a new set of landing gear for about $50 USD.

Canada Goose · Jul 4, 2017

jeffames226 said:
You probably wont have any luck with DJI but I guess its worth a shot. Seems pretty obvious to me that those aren't "stress" cracks and more like impact cracks. Stress cracks do not make the plastic pop out like that and the chance of all 4 cracks happening at once from stress are slim to none.

I used my finger nail to gently lift up on the crack so I could take a picture showing what it is like. You might think it's obviously a hard landing but it is most definitely not! I have been flying RC for 30+ years and never once had a crash or a landing that ripped the landing gear off or bent out the landing gear. IF it were a hard landing I would have stated that. As for all the other pilots reporting cracks in the same place, are they all hard landings? I doubt if they all are. Why people can't believe it's not from hard landings is beyond me.

SteelFlyer · Jul 4, 2017

Any chance it has to do with your case and/or shock from transport?

Canada Goose · Jul 8, 2017

Nope, I use a Think Tank padded case designed for the Phantom series.

I contacted DJI care center and they have sent a shipping label to send it off to their USA repair center. I just can't quite send it right now due to a paying job that I have to complete in the next week. The lady who emailed me did say that once at their repair center it would be determined if it was warranty or not. I'll keep posting with updates

Canada Goose · Jul 17, 2017

Okay, some interesting facts for the believers that I am landing hard causing cracks in my landing gear. Phantom 4 Pro's built AFTER March 2017 had a new lower shell and the landing gear legs are significantly larger and a little bit taller. Where the leg joins the lower shell half is larger in diameter and the legs are "fatter." How do I know this? I talked to a DJI serviceman in person and he showed me a lower shell before and after March 2017 and then showed me the new landing gear legs. So sending into DJI for warranty will not fix the solution as they will replace the landing gear legs with the old style and over time the cracks will come back. To install the new landing gear involves replacing the complete lower shell, not a quick fix either...

Neon Euc · Jul 17, 2017

To be honest. If you send it to DJI I bet they will send you a refurbished drone instead. That's what they done to me when all I had was £90 of damage

Canada Goose · Jul 17, 2017

Very interesting. My biggest issue is that I am a commercial user and need it badly right now. It's a BIG job to change the gear before the end of March updates. The guy I talked to showed me the inside of a P4 pro and it was very daunting to say the least.

CanadaGoose · Jul 18, 2017

Note the difference between the Pre March 2017 production line legs to the updated part after March 2017. The new legs require the new lower shell half. The new legs are thicker and stronger.

Techguy56 · Mar 7, 2018

Canada Goose said:
I used my finger nail to gently lift up on the crack so I could take a picture showing what it is like. You might think it's obviously a hard landing but it is most definitely not! I have been flying RC for 30+ years and never once had a crash or a landing that ripped the landing gear off or bent out the landing gear. IF it were a hard landing I would have stated that. As for all the other pilots reporting cracks in the same place, are they all hard landings? I doubt if they all are. Why people can't believe it's not from hard landings is beyond me.

If you would have stated in your original post that you lifted up on the cracks to show them better you wouldn't have had to get defensive because I thought the cracks looked pretty severe too but now I know why.

captainmilehigh · Mar 7, 2018

Can’t help to wonder what the outcome was. This thread was from back in July 2017. [emoji848]

John Locke · Mar 8, 2018

Yes! Curious minds want to know. I need to look at my craft's landing gear to see if it's short and beefy, or not. I didn't know this changed. I missed this thread last summer.

What's interesting is the craft was released in Nov 2016 and this fix occurred in Mar 2017. That's pretty fast to recognize a problem, change the mold on each landing gear, and the body shell. Maybe this was discovered with P4, before the P4P was released, similar in design. This means they've had a lot of problems with the old landing gear.

Yet another reason to wait 6 months after a new DJI drone is released before buying, to make sure the hardware is solid.

higherperspective · Apr 29, 2018

I just noticed the cracks on my Jan. 2017 P4P and ordered new landing gear prior to reading this thread. Will I have to purchase a lower shell and do the whole re-fit then?

msinger · Apr 29, 2018

higherperspective said:
Will I have to purchase a lower shell and do the whole re-fit then?

Where exactly are the cracks? Got a photo?

higherperspective · Apr 29, 2018

msinger said:
Where exactly are the cracks? Got a photo?

The cracks are up and down the inside front and rear both sides. Also a couple of horizontal cracks. I'm not trying to get anything from anybody, since my warranty and care refresh are both expired at this point, I only want info to prepare me for this repair. So, believe me when I tell you no crashes and no hard landings. I have only landed this craft a handful of times since I mainly hand grab. If photos will help I'll make a few and post them. I tend to suspect that storing and transporting the P4P in the Ultimaxx pack that I got with it may have something to do with it since there is no structural protection and carrying a full pack of batteries, controller, ipad and a load of other accessories might create pressure on the shell and legs ultimately causing or at least contributing to the cracking. Thanks for your thoughts.

Deleted member 62848 · Apr 29, 2018

Um I getting to that stage on p4 landing gear,still ok for now but is cracking alright,,

bsartist · Apr 29, 2018

There was another thread on the issue of hand catching possibly causing stress cracks on the legs or where they attach due to unnatural torque applied to a leg when grabbed by just that leg.

higherperspective · Apr 29, 2018

Here are a couple of my cracks. Maybe it is the hand catching, but the cracks are on both sets of legs and I only catch on the right side gear. Dont know. Does anybody know of a catastrophic failure due to these cracks? Maybe I'll try the plastic welding kit recommended elsewhere here for shell cracks and see what happens.