If you use prop guards, read this warning

Show me one post of someone not receiving warranty care for any product at all because they removed a screw and put it back in
Show me one person that was caught doing it. The quoted info in the OP is a direct result of people getting caught.
 
Removing a screw from anything with a warranty does, and always has, voided it. Its nothing new. And nothing strange. Modifying any product with anything not made BY the company that offers a warranty also always has voided that warranty. This isnt rocket science!


Huh?

Ever heard of the Magnuson-Moss Act?

It says in-part:
Warrantors cannot require that only branded parts be used with the product in order to retain the warranty. This is commonly referred to as the "tie-in sales" provisions...".
 
Hot topic. I went down to remove my "PhantonGuards" and found a massive crack. To the point a piece of the edge fell off...UGH. So I am going to go with the fact I voided my warranty. Now what? Can I purchase a replacement shell from DJI? Maybe the correct question is will the replacement shell have an improved construction?
 
DJI should really look at the way they construct the motor mounts. Why not tap the hole so it doesn't penetrate? Why tap it to allow the screws to go all the way through? Must be a manufacturing cost saving thing...
Nah, users should just do things right so they don't have problems.
 
Doesn't DJI sell prop guards? How do they expect you to install them? Tape, glue or magic? It seems to me that if a company sells a part that needs to be installed by removing screws, removing screws will not void your warranty. But putting the wrong screws in and doing damage might void your warranty.
 
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Before buying my DJI P3A, i read almost all of the Amazon reviews, within the amazon reviews was a user who bought the quick snap on/off prop guards & removed them for some reason, when he removed them he used the same over-sized after market screws that came with the snap on/off prop guards & shorted the esc's, due to the esc's being connected directly to the board he also shorted the board, thus voiding any warranted repair. This note from DJI is honestly common sense, i am sure 99% of us know the screws that come with prop guards are longer, & if removed use the original screws, lol.

Doesn't DJI sell prop guards? How do they expect you to install them? Tape, glue or magic? It seems to me that if a company sells a part that needs to be installed by removing screws, removing screws will not void your warranty. But putting the wrong screws in and doing damage might void your warranty.

What they are saying here is basically if you remove the DJI pro guards to use the original screws that came with your phantom & not the longer/after market ones that came with their prop guards, i think.
 
I put 3rd party guards on my p3, I noted the screw length, but all I did was turn the motor after the gaurs was installed. I figured if the screws were into the motor, I could feel it. My issue was the angle of the motors. Even before I put the prop guards on, I noticed all four motors are slightly cockeyed, the don't all point straight up. And they were the same after installation. I went online and looked at every picture I could find of a p3, p3a, and p3p, and none of them looked cockeyed. Is this a design thing? I'm no expert, and don't know about prop wash and vortexes and things, but wouldn't it be more efficient to have them all pointing in the same direction? It flies great, holds position, gains altitude, everything. The only difference I can see is coming down, if youre too fast it now has a wobble, like its a leaf floating down from a tree. So I just take it easy when decending.
 
Tell that to most car manufacturers
That's not true at all. The manufacturer has to prove that the mod or aftermarket item caused the failure in order to refuse warranty. Putting aftermarket lights on your truck does not void it's warranty. Go full aftermarket stereo system and you have a fuel pump fail under warranty, it's still warranty.

If you want prop guards on your P3, do you buy them from DJI and then send it to DJI to have them installed? Blanket statements don't always work.
 
That's not true at all. The manufacturer has to prove that the mod or aftermarket item caused the failure in order to refuse warranty. Putting aftermarket lights on your truck does not void it's warranty. Go full aftermarket stereo system and you have a fuel pump fail under warranty, it's still warranty.

If you want prop guards on your P3, do you buy them from DJI and then send it to DJI to have them installed? Blanket statements don't always work.
I have this friend... He was driving a 7 week old Hyundai. Paid the extra cash for the extended warranty. Then he was in an accident. Insurance would only allow aftermarket body parts. But any aftermarket parts installed would void all of his warranties. The battle raged for weeks. The guy ended up having to pay the extra to us all OEM parts. Major parts were a bumper, fender and a door. Yes, to some degree you are correct in that you can add some things and get away with it. But any modification to an item under warranty CAN lead to complete forfeiture. It all depends on the parts and their affect on the failure. Back to DJI.. the non-DJI guards are obviously directly causing damage, and subsequent failure. Its NOT the later removal that is doing it. Its the install of a part made by someone that has nothing to loose in their manufacturing or sales process. Thus they have little to no need for quality control. Which, in the end, leads to their product destroying a key part of the drone. Easy solution.. dont buy cheap add-on garbage!
 
I think that should read that failures cause by improperly installing prop guards (3rd party or DJI) will void the warranty. But I could be wrong and they meant what they said that any installation (even done correctly) would void the warranty...

BTW- improper installation is easy to prove as it damages the coil INSIDE the motor house at specific points that can ONLY be cause by screws that were too long. Very specific type of damage, easy to show.
 
I have this friend... He was driving a 7 week old Hyundai. Paid the extra cash for the extended warranty. Then he was in an accident. Insurance would only allow aftermarket body parts. But any aftermarket parts installed would void all of his warranties. The battle raged for weeks. The guy ended up having to pay the extra to us all OEM parts. Major parts were a bumper, fender and a door. Yes, to some degree you are correct in that you can add some things and get away with it. But any modification to an item under warranty CAN lead to complete forfeiture. It all depends on the parts and their affect on the failure. Back to DJI.. the non-DJI guards are obviously directly causing damage, and subsequent failure. Its NOT the later removal that is doing it. Its the install of a part made by someone that has nothing to loose in their manufacturing or sales process. Thus they have little to no need for quality control. Which, in the end, leads to their product destroying a key part of the drone. Easy solution.. dont buy cheap add-on garbage!
Gotta be American. That **** ain't legal in Canada. How can a body panel replacement negate any and all warranties? Including power train? Ask any lawyer.
 
I have not had it happen to me. Just telling the story. Its the same story I tell everyone when they talk about moving to USAA for auto insurance. It was USAA that screwed this guy. But yes.. in the US.
 
Yah, I can see an insurance company screwing people over. Happens all the time. They look for any way to not have to pay out. My dad passed away last year from a brain tumor - 3 months from the day he was diagnosed. The life insurance company went through all of his previous health records to find anything that he did to cause the tumor. How dumb. When I was younger and in university, my car was stolen from a parking lot at the university. Since it was a total theft (and not just break in and theft) I didn't have to pay a deductible. They paid out the claim for damages when the car was found, but would not renew my policy when it expired. Nice.

Anyway, back to the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act of 1975, http://www.edmunds.com/auto-warranty/what-voids-your-vehicles-warranty.html Obviously they can't warranty an aftermarket part, but if they want to deny a warranty claim, they have to prove the aftermarket item caused the failure in question. No, for DJI, if they can prove that it was aftermarket prop guards that caused a failure, then they can deny the claim. Even though they admit their screws will void the warranty if put in without the guards on (makes complete sense to me), I hope they put that in the installation instructions with theirs. and playing devil's advocate..... come on, if someone thinks when they take the aftermarket screws were provided for fun, and that they aren't a different length for a reason, then that's another person that shouldn't even own one of these things. They need something like an iPhone where it's much harder for the un-tech minded to mess with.

Now, for anyone in Canada, have a great Thanksgiving long weekend!! Way too windy to fly here, but the Chinook winds bring warm temps, so I won't complain. :D
 
I use aftermarket prop guards. I will take heed.

The main reason I use them is for orientation (red on the two forward arms, white in the aft). At a few hundred feet away I can no longer determine the nose from the aft...at my eyesight age!
I use aftermarket prop guards. I will take heed.

The main reason I use them is for orientation (red on the two forward arms, white in the aft). At a few hundred feet away I can no longer determine the nose from the aft...at my eyesight age!
 
If all of that is from Tahoe Ed, it's not completly correct. DJI would have the burden to show that after market guards caused the issue in question. Also, I don't think Tahoe Ed is actually a DJI employee.

But it's still good to remind people that the screws are different a length.
Sorry, but you are wrong about the burden of proof in the United States (I don't know about Canada). Once DJI has declared that using after market prop guards voids their warranty, you are done. Even without that declaration, the burden of proof is always upon the user to prove that the DJI warranty applies, which makes it the user's burden to prove compliance with all conditions of that warranty, and that after market guards did not cause the crash. It is DJI who has the final say so in whether or not you have met that burden, and whether they agree that it is a covered warranty issue. There is also a presumption that any time you make an after market alteration of any sort that you have voided your DJI warranty. :cool:
 
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You need to become familiar with the radar display.
It shows you where the Phantom is and which way it's facing.
At close distance where you can still see the prop guards, the green tail lights should also provide a good clue, unless you are color blind.:cool:
 
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Removing a screw from anything with a warranty does, and always has, voided it. Its nothing new. And nothing strange. Modifying any product with anything not made BY the company that offers a warranty also always has voided that warranty. This isnt rocket science!
+1:cool:
 
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That little radar display is the "cats meow" :p-- if you are too far away to determine orientation. It is right on the money and works great until you can get it close enough to determine front from rear.:D:D
 
I read this and took mine off. The phantom cracked underneath one of the motors the very first flight
On my P2v+, my prop guard "training wheels" did nothing to protect the props, on my maiden flight, when the aircraft tipped over onto the prop guards immediately upon landing. The 3" blades of grass on the softball field easily penetratred the guards and shredded two props. I've never used prop guards since, and I always hand catch!:cool:
 

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