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Dynon Avionics

Christopher Murphy

Well Known Member
I had my airplane down to change a mechanical fuel pump and I new it would be a few weeks to get it done. I had a ADS-B transponder installed and the place that did it did a sloppy job with the installation. ( loops of coax around the antenna, 1/2 inch of screws sticking out of the adel clamps and more) so I thought Id pull off the front fuselage panel ( RV-4) and fix a few things under there. IVe had my D10A since about 2004 and have never updated the firmware so I started checking into doing it myself. I made a call to Dynon tech support to discuss what kind of computer I needed to do it and cables etc and their tech guy tells me it would be better if they did it and if I sent it to them they would update the firmware for free. So Im thinking ok... if thats free then I only have to pay for the pitot static check after I put it back in. So, I crack the system open and remove the unit, ship it in the original box, in the original foam packing.

Several days later I get a invoice over the email saying I owe xxx dollars for major work done to the unit. So I call them and talk to a manager and he says we when they tried to boot it up it wouldnt boot up and they found something wrong with it that required internal repairs..

I'm like , wait a minute., the unit was working when I took it out. No call to discuss the repairs, and when I asked to talk to the guy who convinced me to send it in,,, oh he's on vacation and unavailable...

Now they have my unit, holding it hostage until I pay the invoice....

Its not the cost that bothers me, its the way this was done...

am I out of line?

I will never buy anything dynon again...

cm
 
Sometimes stuff happens in shipping. Was it insured? Industry standard seems to be you?re responsible for shipping it to them. That said, if your instructions were ?Update firmware?, I think they need your okay before doing anything else.
If I were you, and wanted to draw a line in the sand, I?d call them back and tell them no extra repairs were authorized. Ask them to kindly return your box in the same condition it arrived in.
 
Here is some background information, and the resolution.

To update the EFIS-D10A/D100/D180 series, either a PC with serial port is needed, or a USB port with a USB to Serial converter. With newer Windows versions it can be tricky to make those converters work. So if the customer hasn't done it before and wants, we can upgrade the software since we have everything needed and handy. That is what we offered this time.

We did find issues when we tested the unit. What we should have done is, before opening the unit, is called and discussed the situation with Chris. But we didn't do that, and just went ahead and fixed it. It is clearly our fault for not following procedures, so our Tech Support Manager is calling Chris and refunding his money.

-Robert
Dynon Avionics
 
It is clearly our fault for not following procedures, so our Tech Support Manager is calling Chris and refunding his money.

-Robert
Dynon Avionics

This is yet another shining example of taking care of a problem, and involvement with the RV/VAF/Customer community.

Way to go, Robert.
 
Having run an industrial automation business for 30 out of 30 years, I have seen a lot of technology, development, problems and very reliable gear too.

Dynon, overall, bang for buck is the best gear from the most helpful company I have dealt with. And by a LONG margin.

In this case it seems they went too far out of their way to help. Seems that some do not quite appreciate that fact. And now the rest of us will enjoy less flexibility as a result.
 
All's well that ends well.

And all of my dealings with Dynon have ended well.

I hope Chris feels the same, since it sounds like they've corrected the issue fairly.
 
I will also say that I have always received excellent customer service from the Dynon staff.

Would not hesitate to recommend the company.
 
I wouldn?t want to benefit from someone?s mistake

I think that if I were in the same situation my first knee-jerk reaction may have been the same as Chris. However, after Dynon stepped up to the plate and admitted that they should have communicated better with him regarding any repairs that needed to be done prior to actually doing the repairs and then offer to refund my money, than I think it would be my turn to step up to the plate and pay for said repairs if they were truly needed. I personally wouldn't want to "benefit" from anyone's honest mistake.

Mark
 
I think that if I were in the same situation my first knee-jerk reaction may have been the same as Chris. However, after Dynon stepped up to the plate and admitted that they should have communicated better with him regarding any repairs that needed to be done prior to actually doing the repairs and then offer to refund my money, than I think it would be my turn to step up to the plate and pay for said repairs if they were truly needed. I personally wouldn't want to "benefit" from anyone's honest mistake.

Mark

Agree 100% with Mark, if the unit needed repair, which I'm sure it did if they said so, then it would seem fair that the customer should offer to pay for that.
 
Having run an industrial automation business for 30 out of 30 years, I have seen a lot of technology, development, problems and very reliable gear too.

Dynon, overall, bang for buck is the best gear from the most helpful company I have dealt with. And by a LONG margin.

In this case it seems they went too far out of their way to help. Seems that some do not quite appreciate that fact. And now the rest of us will enjoy less flexibility as a result.


I got a call from Dynon and we discussed the issue. The issue is resolved and I have restored confidence in that company. Here are a few thoughts as some think I over reacted.

First the unit was working fine when I took it out. It was shipped in the factory shipping box and foam packing. It was insured. And it was my expectation that it would have the firmware updated. Thats it.

If it was damaged in shipping nobody called to tell me. As far as I know it was not.

From my point of view this was very similar to taking my car in for an oil change and going to pick it up and having charges for repairs that I didn't expect or was unaware of...and being told I can't have my car back until I paid the bill. a simple call to tell me would have been appropriate..they agreed.

The invoice had an generic charge for ( repair of unwarranted unit ) no hint of what was done to the unit or why. I had to make a few calls to get that info.

this was a case of expectations,,, I was told send it in get udated no charge then I get a invoice that basically says pay the bill to get your unit back... thats what ticked me off. Not the money.

Its all good now... issue resolved. probably thanks to this forum.

cm
 
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