D2 Pilot Watch - Broken, Poor Support, Don't buy

Former Member over 7 years ago

Well I really hate to write this on the forum, BUT, the lack of support from Garmin have given me no choice. I purchased a Garmin D2 pilot watch for my son as a graduation present and within 2 years the watch enclosure is full of cracks and he is no longer able to wear the watch because the location where the strap mounts is broken off. The cracks are clearly a manufacturing defect as they are all over the place on the enclosure and Garmin will not help resolve this problem. Garmin support says we must pay $200 to get the watch refurbished. This is a $500 watch we are talking about here! I have had $20 watches that lasted me 10 years without problems it is sad to see that Garmin is not standing by their product better than this. As an Electronic Engineer who designs mobile products which are mounted in plastic enclosures, I can tell you that I have only seen this type of premature failure when a very poor grade of plastic is used or if the plastic is defective or contaminated. Yes "manufacturer's warranty" has expired, but I would not expect the enclosure to degrade within 2 years, and it's awful that Garmin thinks this is normal.

Technically the watch is good, but the enclosure sucks. So as much as I hate to say this, DO NOT BUY this watch unless you are willing to replace it within 2 years or pay an additional $200 for repairs within 2 years.

0 Orcawealth over 7 years ago

i had a d2 bravo titanium same thing happend to me. the lug cracked, fortunately Garmin treated me well and replaced the unit no questions asked... it was within a year of purchase.

0 gaijin over 7 years ago

Well I really hate to write this on the forum, BUT, the lack of support from Garmin have given me no choice. I purchased a Garmin D2 pilot watch for my son as a graduation present and within 2 years the watch enclosure is full of cracks and he is no longer able to wear the watch because the location where the strap mounts is broken off. The cracks are clearly a manufacturing defect as they are all over the place on the enclosure and Garmin will not help resolve this problem. Garmin support says we must pay $200 to get the watch refurbished. This is a $500 watch we are talking about here! I have had $20 watches that lasted me 10 years without problems it is sad to see that Garmin is not standing by their product better than this. As an Electronic Engineer who designs mobile products which are mounted in plastic enclosures, I can tell you that I have only seen this type of premature failure when a very poor grade of plastic is used or if the plastic is defective or contaminated. Yes "manufacturer's warranty" has expired, but I would not expect the enclosure to degrade within 2 years, and it's awful that Garmin thinks this is normal.

Technically the watch is good, but the enclosure sucks. So as much as I hate to say this, DO NOT BUY this watch unless you are willing to replace it within 2 years or pay an additional $200 for repairs within 2 years.

Can you post some pictures of your son's watch?

TIA

0 dbrobert over 7 years ago

I purchased a Garmin D2 pilot watch for my son as a graduation present and within 2 years the watch enclosure is full of cracks and he is no longer able to wear the watch because the location where the strap mounts is broken off. The cracks are clearly a manufacturing defect as they are all over the place on the enclosure and Garmin will not help resolve this problem. Garmin support says we must pay $200 to get the watch refurbished.

While I agree that Garmin has challenges with support (mostly on the software side and use outside of USA), I think that their offer of a "new" watch for $200 seems reasonable given that the watch is out of warrantee -- it seems these days that most companies simply don't respond or say "too bad".

That said, I have worn my D2 Bravo (non-Titanium) 24 hours a day for the better part of two years, including during lots of running, skiing, swimming, and other activities and don't see any signs of cracking on the strap mounts. And that is despite many changes from the leather strap to the rubber one. I'd be interested in seeing pictures of the cracking/damage.

Finally, if you paid for the watch via credit card then I would check to see if your card has coverage for this. Some cards will double the manufacturers warrantee and you might be able to make a claim that way.

Cheers,
Douglas

0 Former Member over 7 years ago

Here are some pictures of the D2 pilot watch plastic enclosure failures. You can see in one of the images that even the main the body of the watch has cracks. Poor spec'd plastics or defective plastics, either way this is a Garmin manufacturing issue. Also worth noting, these cracks did not show up all at once. New cracks just keep popping up over time.ciq.forums.garmin.com/.../1242500.jpg

0 Former Member over 7 years ago

i had a d2 bravo titanium same thing happend to me. the lug cracked, fortunately Garmin treated me well and replaced the unit no questions asked... it was within a year of purchase.

You are lucky in didn't happen at 1 year + 1 day. Like I said earlier, I didn't want to post this but my son emailed them repeatedly about the issue along with pictures and they wouldn't stand by their product. I would gladly send Garmin all kinds of praises if they would just make it right.

0 Former Member over 7 years ago

While I agree that Garmin has challenges with support (mostly on the software side and use outside of USA), I think that their offer of a "new" watch for $200 seems reasonable given that the watch is out of warrantee -- it seems these days that most companies simply don't respond or say "too bad".

That said, I have worn my D2 Bravo (non-Titanium) 24 hours a day for the better part of two years, including during lots of running, skiing, swimming, and other activities and don't see any signs of cracking on the strap mounts. And that is despite many changes from the leather strap to the rubber one. I'd be interested in seeing pictures of the cracking/damage.

Finally, if you paid for the watch via credit card then I would check to see if your card has coverage for this. Some cards will double the manufacturers warrantee and you might be able to make a claim that way.

Cheers,
Douglas

If the watch was broken from abuse then I would say $200 is fair, but this is a manufacturing defect. The watch is just falling apart due to degraded, defective or poorly spec'd plastics.

0 Dr Phil over 7 years ago

...or mishandling. Seriously, how is Garmin to know how you have treated the device? From an observer's viewpoint it's entirely possible that the defects are due to mishandling.

these cracks did not show up all at once. New cracks just keep popping up over time.

Nothing surprising about that really. Once fractures start occurring they can quickly transfer loads to other areas, causing other cracks to appear.

0 Former Member over 7 years ago

...or mishandling. Seriously, how is Garmin to know how you have treated the device? From an observer's viewpoint it's entirely possible that the defects are due to mishandling.

Nothing surprising about that really. Once fractures start occurring they can quickly transfer loads to other areas, causing other cracks to appear.

You cannot get a stress fracture at the back body of the watch due to transfer of loads after the arms break off. There is no more stress at that location once the arms are gone, that is the last crack to appear. Seriously $500 watch with defective plastics withing 2 years. I can't believe anyone can say that is acceptable. I've been working in the Electronics field for 25years side-by-side with Mechanical Engineers who design products in custom plastic enclosure. I'm telling you this is not normal, or it is poorly spec plastics. I would love to see the Garmin endurance reports on this design! I would gladly return the watch to them for failure analysis of the plastics.

If you want to spend $500 on a watch that may fail due to plastic fatigue within 2 years, then this post is not for you. This post is to serve as a warning for those consumers who want a durable long lasting product. I have pictures of the failure, and I have told you what I know is true. Do with this information what you will.

0 dbrobert over 7 years ago

Here are some pictures of the D2 pilot watch plastic enclosure failures. You can see in one of the images that even the main the body of the watch has cracks. Poor spec'd plastics or defective plastics, either way this is a Garmin manufacturing issue. Also worth noting, these cracks did not show up all at once. New cracks just keep popping up over time.

Ah, I see that is the original D2 watch. I have the D2 Bravo and the strap connectors are of a different design.

I'm not a plastics engineer so I would be interested to know how you can tell this is defective manufacturing versus wear and tear per se. Since the original D2 watch (not the Bravo or Charlie models) is based on the original fēnix watch, have you checked that forum to see if any others have experienced anything similar? And did Garmin disclose what the refurbishment will entail? I would be inclined to try and use this to get an upgrade to the new D2 Charlie model.

Cheers,
Douglas

0 Former Member over 7 years ago

It's interesting, while a different material, I currently have a 920XT and have gone through 4 authentic Garmin rubber straps, they have all failed 6-9 months of very low activity use through cracking and degradation of the rubber, Garmin replaced the first strap and after that failed were not interested. I now have a 3rd party fabric strap, this is why i'm thinking of getting a D2 Bravo with a leather strap as I expect that would fare better. i won't buy a Fenix 5 with a rubber/silicone strap.