Sea Doo challenger 180 help!!!

[WOOSAB]

I bought a 2010 sea doo challenger 180 about 2-3 weeks ago.. I ran it as instructed for the first 10 hours.. Keeping rpms between 2000-7000 and verying speed ever 3-4minutes. Never ran it very hard never pulled a tub or nothing. SO i get the boat back friday after its 10 hour check up looks great.

We head to the lake saturday (july 3rd) so we tub flying around the lake having a great time. Then we are crusing along @ about 45mph and 7600 rpm and the boat slows it's self down to about 30mph and 6500 rpms. Now the boat wont accelerate past 6500 rpms or 30mph? I take it back to the dealer yesterday at about 2pm. They hook it up to the machine it reads no problems. Impeller and wear ring just fine. Dealer can't figure out why the boat wont accelerate past 30mph or 6500rpms..

Any thoughts ideas would be great!!!

 

[gcha1727]

Sometimes in an automotive sense, by simply diconnecting the battery for maybe 10 minutes or so can somewhat reset electrical components. That may not help you with your boat but its an easy thing to try.

 

[WOOSAB]

The anti-freeze level was low so i filled that up and also disconected the battery for about 30min. I reconnected the batter and attached it to the hose and it went up to 8000 rpms. It's never went that high. So i'm going to take it to the water and see how she does..

 

[yardawg]

My 08 did that, but it was after 100 hours and the supercharger need rebuilding, which is regular maintenance. It came back for a little bit, but then started slipping again. Good luck.

 

[WOOSAB]

So what did you do after it started slipping again? Did they ever fix it so it isn't a problme or Is this normal for them and something i should expect. I have owned a jet boat since i was 17 in 2001. I had a 2001 yamaha ls2000 all the way until i bought this boat 2 or 3 weeks ago. Never had any problems out of it just normal maintance over the past 9 years until 1 of the motors finally gave out early in the summer But i had well over 1000 hours on it.
Only reason i bought a sea doo was because the nearest yamaha place is almost 170miles each way. There is a sea doo place 3 miles from the house so i just got a sea doo. Figured there couldnt be that much of a difference in the quality of the products. I hate to say it but at this point i wish i would of got a Yamaha. Maybe this is just a fluke thing and i was just unlucky but the more i read on here seems like the Sea Doo's "sea poos" are having a lot of problems!.

 

[WOOSAB]

Yardawg

You were exactly right. The dealership just called me either the super charger itself is bad or the clutch has already went out. So either way i'm $25,000 in and 5 hours of use and my clutch or super charger goes out.. WOW what a great product.. I am very disappointed in my first experience with Sea Doo.. I really wish i would of made the Drive and got me a Yamaha..

 

[JoeZ]

After 5 hours you really shouldn't be needing a rebuild with the new 2010 supercharger components.

Have you water tested since resetting the battery and refilling coolant?

Not to discredit your dealership, but if you are under warranty and they sense a possible problem, it's free money to them to have you bring it in and get it worked on.

 

[WOOSAB]

I water tested it.. The dealer met me at the water they water tested it. They hooked it up to the diagnostic machine and couldnt figure out what the problem was at first. The boat never gave any beeps or warnings. I called the Sea Doo corporation and filled a complaint. I wanted to know if they had a buy back program or what they do in cases like mine. They said not to much there obligation is just to get it fixed under the warranty. My best bet is to just go through the dealer ship this was there advice. The Sea Doo rep i talked to said and i quote """" It's not uncommon to have the clutch go out or super charger in this model"""" So to me he is basicly saying we expect this problem not a big deal. The rep told me this and i called the dealer ship let him know what the rep said and then he called me back and confirmed it. I am just so unsatisfied with Sea Poo right now. As soon as i get it fixed i will be trading it in for a Yamaha. I am just glad my wife talked me out of buying the 230 sp. Here i was about to spend $45-$50,000 on a boat. But she was right lets try the smaller one this year see how we like seadoo before we make that large of a purchase. I am just very disappointed after having a yamaha and no problems for 9 years. Maybe i was just spoiled by my LS2000. I hear people complaining saying " the 2 best days are 1st day you buy and the day you sell it"" i've never felt that way. I have always enjoyed my problem free boat. I take great care of them wash rinse them clean them out after each use. Keep in climate controlled storage i have in my back yard ect. I only trailer 4-6miles to the lake so it isn't like the trailer ride beats them to death. I am just very unsatisfied with Sea Doo up to this point.. I love the look of the boats just not satisfied with the motor quality..

 

[yardawg]

They put a new supercharger on mine and the problem is solved. I'm very happy with my seadoo. It is just the dealers that suck. I was told by a seadoo engineer that it was best to get 2 non-supercharged engines, less trouble. Sorry to hear you're having problems. I'd make them put on a new one. Don't settle for the rebuild.

 

[WOOSAB]

The dealer is great.. They are doing all they can and even gave 2 jet skis to demo while they fix mine.. It's just po me after 5 hours it goes out. I put a complaint in with sea doo and they said the warranty only requires them to fix it. I just feel like the service by Sea Doo not the dealer is horrible..

 

[yardawg]

You r lucky to have such a good dealer. My dealers were nice, but they just can't fix anything right. The first dealer sold it to me dirty(full of leaves), no plug, no oil or fluids, and they didn't even program the key! They never did fix my bilge cooectly. This next dealer had my boat for 5 weeks to do a supercharger rebuild. When I got it back it wasn't fixed right and ended up needing a brand new supercharger. They had my boat for 5 more weeks chasing this starting issue. They never found anything wrong. They didn't even check the grounds. My boat was in this dealership for all of may and June! That's half the summer!!

Sorry to vent, I just don't think I'm getting good service,

 

[RFoster130]

I dont really see what the problem is. Things break. It doesnt matter the brand. Same thing happens to other boats and vehicles everyday. My truck had a transmission go out at 15,000 miles. But ya know what, they put a new one in under warranty and its good to go again. They are fixing it under warranty and you will be good again. if it breaks again, its under warranty.

To be fair, you are comparing your 9 year old yamaha. Tehcnology has majorly changed. My 12 year old Sea Doo has never had a major problem.

 

[WOOSAB]

RFOSTER130 you are correct technology has changed. I would like to think that over the past 9 years technology has got a lot better. I would also like to think that Sea Doo has kept up with the technology. Or maybe it's not sea doo i should be angry with maybe its Rotex since the motor and super charger is Rotex. I guess my complaint is never having any problems with my yamaha in 9 years and then in the first 5 hours having a problem with my sea doo doesnt sit well with me. You are right certain things break sometimes for no apparent reason. I myself work as a financial advisor for a major corporation as well as own several small business of my own. Over the last 10 years one thing i have learned very well is first impressions of you, your company and your companys product last a long time. All i'm saying is that my 1st impression of Sea Doo is not a good one. Me not buying another sea doo i'm sure will not put them out of business. I'm sure they don't really care if they lose my little $25,000 or even $50,000. I just feel as if sea doo could be doing more to satisfy there customers. Also the only reason the dealer is being so nice to me is because i send him so much business every month. One of the business i own is a insurance company. So a lot of times when people have claims i will recommend this dealer or when people total out boats and want to replace them i will use this dealer so he is going over and beyond to keep me happy so he can keep my business. *** If i were just a regualr joe smoe would he be doing all this for me**** No.

 

[Brett B]

So what was the final word on the problem/fix for your boat? I am curious to see if the supercharger clutch bushing really was faulty and died after only a few hours of use.

I am sorry to hear of your problems and I can completely understand your frustration with having issues on a brand new boat. But I think I saw your post over on the Yamaha forum, and didn't you buy this Sea Doo because your old Yamaha LS blew up a few engines? Once again, a brand new boat shouldn't have any problems, but a loss of top speed performance compared to a blown up engine (which may leave you stranded) doesn't seem like quite a fair shake to Sea Doo causing me to swear them off for life.

Sometimes problems happen, and if Sea Doo takes care of it quickly and fairly then I think that says a lot.

Just my 2 cents. :cheers:

Oh, and I hope you get your boat back soon and can enjoy it a bit before trading it in if you decide to go that route.

 

[WOOSAB]

Yea that was my yamaha ls2000 that blew 1 motor after 9 years and on the dealers advice i bought 2 new sbt motors and neither one of them lasted 2 hours and had problems.. SBT covered the motors on warranty and they had not yet shipped the new motors back so we wanted something to take the kids out for the 4th weekend. This dealer gave me a great deal and gave me about 6500 for my yamaha and they still had to do the labor for the SBT motors. So at the end of the day i got the 2010 challenger and really only came out of pocket $16k. So that was one reason i went Sea Doo and the other was because they are only a few minutes away and yamaha is like 150 or 175 miles away something like that. We decided to go with the 180 challenger since it was our first Sea doo and wanted to get a feel for them before we spent a lot of money on a bigger model.

So after me calling and venting to them Sea Doo and letting the local dealer ship know i was no longer going to send them any of my insurance repair claims or recommend there dealer ship when boats were demolished sea doo sent someone to the dealer to look at the boat. One of the lines completely busted and caused the super charger to over heat, go out, bust whatever it needs a new one. The line was still connected but split down the middle. Also another line in the boat busted and fuel was leaking in the bottom of the boat. So the boat could of blown up from my understanding and it was a good thing i didnt take the boat back out. After the dealer talking with the Sea Doo guy and him talking to his boss Sea Doo is going to take the boat back and give me another one. But they are up grading it for me and add the tower. My previous one didnt have a wake board tower and it's also the only other 180 challenger the local dealer has in stock. The Sea Doo guy said he has never seen one of them blow lines like that. They are truely sorry for all of this and want to make it right ect..

So at the end of the day the customer service got a lot better. But like i had stated previously i probably provide the local dealer with anywhere from 10k-30k worth of business on average each month. Being boat repairs from claims or people buying new boats after one has been recked. Being that i have over 10,000 customers in my book of business and over 1000 boats that i insure. Would the dealer have made such a big deal to the Sea Doo corporation if i wasnt so valuable to his business? Also the fact that not 1 but 2 lines on my boat split and 1 being a line that carried fuel how much do i trust the lines on the new boat. If this was a normal thing would the Sea Doo rep really say " this is something i see on a regualr " No so how much do i take his word?

Like i said first impressions are very important atleast to me. Maybe this new Sea Doo i am picking up today will be the greatest boat i have ever had and change my oppinion. But up to this point i an not satisfied with the quality of my Sea Doo Purchase. I spoke to Will yesterday from Yamaha down in Panama and i an talking to him currently about buying a new 2010 230 or 240 ho. He advised me to try and sell the sea doo out right becaue i'll take a beating on the sea doo trade in.

 

[yardawg]

Glad you're getting a new boat! I still really like my 180 and I havn't had any problems. Was the guy who came from Seadoo named Phil? I don't know how many reps they would have in the SE. I've found him really helpful and informative over the dealers.

Personally I bought the Seadoo over the Yamaha because of the closed cooling system. Not sure what the new Yamahas Re like, but it really makes a difference if you're in salt water very often. It probably won't matter much to you in Columbus. Good luck.

 

[WOOSAB]

I want to say the guys new from Sea Doo was Robert but dont hold me to it. I have spoke to so many people over the last few days about this. I am supposed to pick up the new boat today around 1pm. Yea We never really take ours to salt water. We usually go on Lake Harding, Lake martin, Lake Oliver all alabama or Lake Alatoga in Atlanta (dont think i spelled it right).

I think the service got a lot better and i was very happy with the Idea of them giving me a brand new boat. I just a have a few concers about the quality because 2 lines busted and i was concerned with how much bit*hing i had to do in order to get some results. Not to mention i dont think the dealer would have went to bat for me as hard if i didn't give him so much business. I would have like to see sea doo make this kind of effort from day one.

Maybe yamaha would of been the same response time or even worse i dont know because i've never really had a problem with yamaha up to this point. when my yamaha motor went out the boat was 9-10 years old.

 

[RFoster130]

Sounds like they are takin care of you. Hope this one makes ya happy.

 

[WOOSAB]

after all my discredits i will def give a update and let everyone know if my oppinion has changed or i still feel the same. It just might take a few days for me to post i want to wait until i get to about 10-15 hours if i make it that far :rofl: .... hopefully i'll have a better experience!

 

[Brett B]

after all my discredits i will def give a update and let everyone know if my oppinion has changed or i still feel the same. It just might take a few days for me to post i want to wait until i get to about 10-15 hours if i make it that far :rofl: .... hopefully i'll have a better experience!

Yes, please post how your new boat treats you (good or bad). Hope you have a better experience this time around, boating is supposed to be fun, not stressful. :cheers:

 

[WOOSAB]

i will probably go get it today sometime after 3 i am going to run it as listed in the maual 4 or 5 hours today. I want to get it broke in nice and right before i try my new Flying Manta ray out this weekend... but i will def post a honest and fair oppinion on the new boat..