one thing after another....2012 Issues

[Mastercraftdave]

We bought a 2012 X45 this spring that we ordered from the factory with the 6.2L after making the switch from a 05 Malibu VLX. I had that boat for 7 years and never had one problem with it. First I must say that I love the X45. The boat is huge and drives awesome however we are constantly finding things wrong with the boat.

The first weekend we got the boat we took it to the river and it started running hot. Come to find out the water impeller was shredded into pieces and the boat only had 3 hrs. After figuring out how to change the impellor (which is by far the hardest to change), the next problem was trying to find one that matched up to mine. I eventually found one at west marine that cross referenced to the one we needed. After putting the impellor back in, the wire that connects the alternator to the battery caught on fire and shorted out the cable. We pulled the alternator off to find that the wire was completely melted off the terminal. With the little bit of wire that we had left we were able to make a new connection to attach it to the alternator. After that the boat ran fine and has been sense.

The only problem with the engine now is that the belt whines at higher RPMs. We had the dealer put a new belt on and it still whines. The mechanic said Ilmor said some will do this that it’s not a big deal?

Then on to the next issue, we have been having problem with the PnP system, the bags will fill but they won’t drain. The minute that you press drain, it goes to 0% and cuts the pumps off. Many people seem to be having the same issue and we had emailed Mastercraft and they told us they were updating the software. So with that being said, the dealer finally got the update from Mastercraft and installed it yesterday. The service guys called me on the phone to tell me that the ballast is working now however the switch that moves the gates from tanks to bags it leaking a lot of water out of it when it is switched to fill/drain the bags. I swear it is one thing after another. He is trying to order that part but I guess we will see where that goes.

Sorry about the rant but we paid a lot of money for this boat and I have had more things wrong with it than I did when I had my Malibu. Mastercraft needs to get their act together. We bought a Mastercraft because everyone raved about the quality of boat. I will say the boat is amazing in every way, I just don’t like how things are constantly going out/wrong. We have been in touch with the regional sales manager and he has been trying to help. He sent us a new wire for the alternator and the dealer installed it no problem/cost. The gel coat problem from the factory was fixed for free. So they are making progress, but I still shouldn’t be having these types of problems. No one should.

[ShawnB]

It pains me to say this but I feel like I keep reading the same things over and over again on the new boats. Technology and quality issues. Here's my assessment of our 2011 X25.

Hull - 9/10
Interior/Fit and Finish - 9/10
Engine - 8/10 (YMMV, but we've been very happy with our 5.7 Ilmor through 200 hours)
Technology - 4/10 (Little annoying things abound even after a full season of use. Plug-and-play, tower cam, perfect pass, etc)

I love the boat but I miss the simplicity of the old 2004 X2.

[NatesGr8]

Is there lemon laws for boats? I certainly wouldn't be happy if i had even one issue with a brand new boat that costs over 80K!!!

[TheWoons]

What gel coat problems did you have?

[nauti-dreamer]

Kinda of makes you wonder what kinda of quality systems is in place for each boat before being delivered to customers. In my mind, when you're pay >$50,000 for any piece of machinery (cars, boats, excavators, etc), every single unit should have a minimum test period (5-10 hours) to work through these items. Hire some engineering students to drive the boats for a day and put them through the paces to find these bugs. Wouldn't that be better than pushing the repairs off to the dealer network and warranty claims?

We bought a '07 prostar 214 about 3 years ago and we went through our own gauntlet of troubles. Most were fixed at no cost to us but it certainly does leave a bad taste in your mouth for the level a quality being release from the factory.

Being a product engineer myself, it really does come down to the details when we consider the "gravity" of your purchase. Yes the boats are beautiful, they drive and handle well and there a plenty of elements in every model that are done very well. However, the devil is in the details!!!

[Mastercraftdave]

Originally Posted by TheWoons

What gel coat problems did you have?

When we got it from the factory it had a chip in the gelcoat on the transom underneath exhaust outlet. they matched the color and got it fixed not but still its a brand new boat.

[FourFourty]

Dave- Your belt issues sound like there is a contaminate on the pullies..... Did your dealer (or you) use any kind of dressing/armor all, type product in your engine bay to make it look shiny and nice? I see that sort of problem frequently. Usually some carb clean and a wire brush will take care of it.

It is not normal for the belt to wine/squeel at high RPM. I would LOL at my dealer if they told me that.....

I, like you, have been plagued by the PNP ballast issue. They are supposed to have me updated early next week. Other than that, my '12 X25 has been flawless. Almost 100hrs on it already.

[TheWoons]

Originally Posted by Mastercraftdave

When we got it from the factory it had a chip in the gelcoat on the transom underneath exhaust outlet. they matched the color and got it fixed not but still its a brand new boat.

I was just asking because I had some gel coat issues on our new MC as well. Ours has since been fixed and is even better than any new MC. I posted pics in one of my threads back in April/May. I've had several new MC's and every one of them I've had to work out some bugs and make things the way they should be when new. MC needs to step up their QC because it's terrible. Having said that I've been in every other new boat and there isn't another one I'd buy over my X25

[Mastercraftdave]

Originally Posted by FourFourty

Dave- Your belt issues sound like there is a contaminate on the pullies..... Did your dealer (or you) use any kind of dressing/armor all, type product in your engine bay to make it look shiny and nice? I see that sort of problem frequently. Usually some carb clean and a wire brush will take care of it.

It is not normal for the belt to wine/squeel at high RPM. I would LOL at my dealer if they told me that.....

I, like you, have been plagued by the PNP ballast issue. They are supposed to have me updated early next week. Other than that, my '12 X25 has been flawless. Almost 100hrs on it already.

you better knock on some wood ha. I wasnt to happy with that either but he swore up and down that its ok. I was having trouble with the PnP. I took the boat in the week and they updated the software and now the PNP fills and drains perfectly according tothe dealer. They fixed the leak to find that the limit switch for the value that switches from tank to bags is not working properly so they have something else to fix. things are just adding up slowly. I love the boat I just wish I wasnt having all of these bugs. Not to mention the dealer is two hours from where I keep the boat.

[Mastercraftdave]

Originally Posted by TheWoons

I was just asking because I had some gel coat issues on our new MC as well. Ours has since been fixed and is even better than any new MC. I posted pics in one of my threads back in April/May. I've had several new MC's and every one of them I've had to work out some bugs and make things the way they should be when new. MC needs to step up their QC because it's terrible. Having said that I've been in every other new boat and there isn't another one I'd buy over my X25

Couldnt Agree more, for the price we are paying things shoulnt break for a while.