Warranty issue

Where are you located?

Sydney, Australia.

Which. brand/model batteries were installed when this happened?

Alkaline batteries, if I remember correctly Duracell. 

Couple of weeks ago I contacted Garmin and spoke to their customer service. After putting me on hold for quite a while the person came back and asked to email him the photos of the unit. After I did I got the reply: "We have received all the photos we have requested for and having a close look doesn't seem to have any water ingress in your screen." Very annoying. 

My only worry is that it may happen again, when I am hunting in the middle of nowhere. Getting lost in Australia is not fun. 

I have seen reports of the bayonet lug becoming corroded from salt water, but that part is not 'behind' the rubber seal on the battery door. I am wonder where else water may find its way into the unit...

I have also seen reports of non-standard size AA batteries causing the battery cover to not seal properly.

If I hold my GPSMAP 66s/st in my hand so that my thumb is on the glass screen and my fingers are on the battery cover, and I squeeze softly, I can hear the battery cover flex or pop as well as I can see it move ever so slightly. I wonder if there is an issue here? Does yours do the same?

It is unfortunate Garmin do not take this opportunity to replace your device and examine the return for potential defects in manufacture or design....

Yes, mine does the same. A slight click when I gently squeeze the unit. 

I actually contacted them again, now they want the image of the back of the unit with batteries removed. I am curious to see what they are going to say this time. 

Interesting. I can not get my 62, 64 or 65 to do the same. But my 66st does it.... I wonder if there is a manufacturing failure here? Certainly, if the battery cover can flex and click, it may not be sealing at the standard advertised.

Customer support at Garmin is genuinely irritating. Mildly amusing too. Copy and paste responses, every time a different consultant answers your email, and the conversation is a broken record. Garmin pretty much holds a monopoly on handheld GPS in Australia, so I guess I have no choice but to put up with them.

I am currently looking at TwoNav as an alternative. Good reviews, and their emergency service is 29 Euro a year. Also AP67 rating, which is higher than IPX7. Not sure if they distribute to Australia though. If not, might buy a cheap Magellan model for a backup. 

Getting lost in Australian wild is not fun. A friend of mine got lost hunting some time ago. He had GPSMAPS64, and after an hour of erratic driving through nowhere discovered that the batteries died and didn't have the spare ones. Spent several hours trying to figure out where he is. Eventually he saw a car couple of kilometers away and shot the rifle (not at it!). The farmer was pretty pissed off and gave him a mouthful of "stupid city folk coming out here thinking it's a holiday..."

I had 64 for a few years and was very happy until I lost it. Maybe Garmin guys simply don't understand why I am paranoid about the failure of the unit, even temporary.