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$860 to Replace Marq Battery?!

AdamTKincaid
over 2 years ago

I've had my MARQ Expedition for almost two and a half years. In that time, it's never left my side other than a quick charge or when I am in shower. It's gotten more use and joy than any phone or device i've owned. However, I have noticed that the battery life has gone down a bit and rather than charging every 3-4 days of use, I am charging it every 2-3 days. I expect this watch to last 5+ years, but I know batteries don't usually make it that long.

So I reached out to customer support about what it would take to get the battery replaced. Here was their response:

  • 7-10 days for service
  • $860 fee, not including tax

Keep in mind, most luxury watches don't have batteries. (The ones that do you're supposed to service every year. Garmin has never made that claim with their devices.) For luxury watches with a battery change you're usually looking at about a $60-$120 fee dependent on the watch and its complexity. For lower end watches maybe $30-$50.

So why is this so expensive at Garmin? According to Garmin Customer Support:

Customer Support: "When you bring the device in, the engineers will not only address the battery, but any part on the device that is needing replacement. And if they find repairs that cannot be completed, they will replace the watch entirely with brand new. So for this analysis, it is a flat rate of repair."

Me: "So i'd be paying for $760 worth of services i don't need?"

Customer Support: "This is the amount that our engineers have settled on for the cost of a repair, yes."

And despite what DC Rainmaker and other blogger's claimed in their reviews of the MARQ line back in 2019, there is no such thing as a 'Garmin Battery Replacement Program.' Never existed, never will.

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to AdamTKincaid
    AdamTKincaid said:
    As mentioned in the original post, I've noticed it going from every 3-4 days to every 2-3.

    But again. The fact that you now have to charge the watch more often is not necessarily due to the battery.

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to AdamTKincaid

    With a Li-Ion battery of this size, you can assume about 500-1000 charge cycles. With your heavy use, I would perhaps assume 700 charge cycles. A charge cycle is called 0 -100-0. A state of charge of about 60% is optimal. You save the battery the most, if you keep the state of charge between 30-80%.

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to bluefish

    Thanks, that is very interesting. I usually run it down to 10-15%

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to AdamTKincaid

    Of course, this is not optimal. Before you spend over $800, I would try a master reset. You will lose your data, but it might help. some data can also be backed up beforehand.
    By the way, there are frequent complaints in the fenix forum about massively increased battery consumption. If you are interested, go to fenix (6) forum and enter something like "battery drain" in the search box.

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to bluefish

    By the way, a Li-Ion battery charges faster and faster over time. This sounds paradoxical, but it can be explained by the fact that the battery no longer has its best possible capacity, but the display still shows 100% when the charging process is complete.

  • 0 over 2 years ago

    Ouch! I feel you, and thank you so much for bringing this up.

    I nearly stopped using my MARQ Athlete because for the amount of training I do (outdoor running with GPS, OHR, sensors, and music), it barely lasted more than 3-4 days on a single charge even when brand new -- and I'm using a stock watch face, disabled PulseOx entirely, and paired down the widget list to only Garmin's only essentials.

    I'd imagine my battery is still in a fairly decent condition as the watch isn't being used a lot, but $860 to service it -- despite official promises of battery replacement program and all -- is tough love.

    I suppose lesson learnt. If you want timeless elegance, don't buy anything with a CPU and battery inside.

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to nickk
    nickk said:
    despite official promises of battery replacement program and all

    Where are these promises? Nobody has yet shown these promises….unless I’ve missed it. 

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to philipshambrook
    philipshambrook said:
    Where are these promises?

    Yes, Garmin says they do. I have already read it. On the fast I find here a Youtube video (unfortunately only in German). There a Garmin representative in an interview with a jeweler :

    "We have Fuad Medosevic from Garmin as a guest"

    ...."In this connection, it would also be worth mentioning the special service. Only in the MARQ collection, for example, we also offer the possibility of replacing the battery. IN FUTURE (video over a year old). Or also the possibility to replace the bezel or the display. Here we take into account the needs of the watch trade by offering a special service."

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftOryQHeVeM

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to bluefish

    And while not 'Garmin official', pretty much every blog post or reviewer of the MARQ line mentions the battery replacement program. I linked this in the original post, but here is the quote from DC Rainmaker's introduction to the MARQ series:

    "From a service standpoint, all watches share the same level, no matter where they were bought:

    – 2 years full warranty
    – 5 years of parts serviceability from date of purchase (i.e. if bought June 2021, it’d go until June 2026)
    – Battery replacement program through both Garmin and dealer

    The slide to support battery replacement through the dealer is an interesting twist. Garmin previously required customers contact them directly via their support channels. So this battery replacement aligns more closely with higher-end watch shops."

    Not from Garmin, no, but blogs like this are sent the promotional information along with loaner watches to try out. Would be odd if they just all made the battery replacement thing up, no?