Warning - some complaining ahead but a legitimate question later on...

My original thread about the gimbal issue got moved to the service forum.

Case number: CAS-2564638-Q0C6Z8

Basically, my Mavic Pro with 97 minutes flight time developed the dreaded gimbal overload error.

So, finally heard back from DJI after a shipping snafu.

They state the gimbnal only has a 6 month warranty and I have to pay $125 to fix it.

This makes no sense to me and I'm honestly not happey about it. With all the sensors on these things they know it has hardly been flown and has a documented 97 minutes flight time. Never crashed. Never flown indoors. I'm including a screenshot of the flight recap. This error happened while in flight; just after I hit the record button. You can see it on the flight log recording. If I crashed it or did something stupid I wouldn't be so upset.

Considering how many instances of the gimbal overload error I see this must be a design flaw of some kind.

So, the real honest question here - Is this gimbal overload really that common?

I know forums are more often filled with complaints than praises but I was cosidering getting a second Mavic Pro (lightly used and a very good price) and now am questioning this decision.  I wonder if I should get a Mavic Pro 2 next year instead and consider the Mavic Pro an expensive lesson learned?

Real opinions wanted.

Thanks,
TJ

Mavic Pro owner here for two plus years. Never had a gimbal overload except once when I failed to remove the gimbal lock.  No problems at all with mine.

"So, the real honest question here - Is this gimbal overload really that common?"

I have only seen this when forgetting to remove gimbal lock on a handful of occasions in 18 months or so.

I usually start recording on take off as well, if that has any bearing on things.

I have owned 4 Mavic Pro's (not counting the 2 Pro) and have never experienced this issue. I know the Mavic Pro and Phantom 4 Pro are the 2 main go to drones for everyone on a local Facebook drone photography site I am on and I have never seen this issue pop up from anyone on there posting about it either.

The Mavic Pro came out back in 2016 and then the Mavic Platinum Pro using the same gimbal and design. The amount of posts I've seen with this issue compared to the length the drone has been out, in more than one iteration, and the number of people using them. I do not see enough of an issue to say there is a design flaw.  That's not counting the times where I've seen people post up about the issue and it was discovered they still had the gimbal lock in place.

As far as the warranty. I don't see DJI doing anything wrong here. Their warranty does state when it starts and how long it lasts. It doesn't show anywhere that it is or can be based off of flight time in any way. That is pretty standard for pretty much all electronics out there. It would be nice if it was that way but I think it would just be too much of a workload for companies to base their warranty off of usage hours as opposed to just a set timeframe period.

Same for me as Aardvark. You learn quickly to remove the gimbal lock. Matter of fact I swapped the default one out with an all in 1 cover/gimbal lock so I never forget. Not sure Why DJI has not included these by default.

As for the repairs, It sounds like you have a decision to make... (gimbal overload is not very common and usually caused by crash damage or defective gimbal motor. I understand that you did not crash and that DJI is just honoring their 6 month out of warranty policy by making you pay.)

• Spend $125 to fix. (recommended / can't even do it yourself for that cheap; wonder why so cheap.)
• Do Not fix it and use it as a paper weight / door stop.
• Sell it and disclose the needed repairs to the buyer.
• Make a syndicated YouTube channel and throw it off a bridge for views / clicks. lol
  

You take your chances when you fly in dirty or sandy areas.  I think that is why gimbals don't have lifetime warranty.  Can you hand launch a Mavic to keep it out of the dirt?  

We are deeply sorry if you are experiencing issues with your gimbal but we can only process warranty service if the part will fall within the warranty period and if the defect is caused by a unit issue. Warranty for gimbal is 6 months. Once you are out of the warranty period, we can no longer provide warranty service  as the lifespan of your unit will depend on the totality of how it was used and all , however, we will continue providing paid repair services for an out-of-warranty product. We hope you can understand that every electronic product has a certain warranty period. We appreciate your understanding in this matter. Thank you.

Bob Brown Posted at 12-28 10:53
Same for me as Aardvark. You learn quickly to remove the gimbal lock. Matter of fact I swapped the default one out with an all in 1 cover/gimbal lock so I never forget. Not sure Why DJI has not included these by default.

As for the repairs, It sounds like you have a decision to make... (gimbal overload is not very common and usually caused by crash damage or defective gimbal motor. I understand that you did not crash and that DJI is just honoring their 6 month out of warranty policy by making you pay.)

"Make a syndicated YouTube channel and throw it off a bridge for views / clicks. lol"

That's funny. I'd probably get arrested for trying that.

Well, I did pay my money to have it repaired.

Here's hoping it stays working.

They state the gimbnal only has a 6 month warranty and I have to pay $125 to fix it.

Being the gimbal is integral & integrated part of bird, not simply optional addon tech.  Gimbal should be covered for same period of time as the bird.  

(Whatever period of time is for the bird.)