apocnz@gmail.co Posted at 2015-9-7 06:33
I assume the cracks are caused by the extra power available in the motors and/or the active breaking ...

While some want a recall, most of us just want DJI to get on the ball and finally fix this problem once on for all instead of pretending this issue is only a fluke on some phantoms. What we want is a shell that is as good as the internals of the machine. Not something that cracks way too easily in too short of a time. If they are capable of launching new products every few months, its high time they finally built a phantom thatnus strong enough for the job. We're willing to pay if the stronger shell is there.

12 flights hand caught never bumped, gentle flights my new 2 week old P3A has shell cracks unbelievable

mtnmaddman Posted at 2015-9-28 01:43
12 flights hand caught never bumped, gentle flights my new 2 week old P3A has shell cracks unbelieva ...

That's bad news. Sorry to hear that. I ordered a spare advanced for when my current one starts to crack with the stupid expectation that by now something would have been changed. I guess not. This sucks!

edbighi@gmail.c Posted at 2015-9-27 18:13
That's bad news. Sorry to hear that. I ordered a spare advanced for when my current one starts to  ...

I had a P3P bought in late May I kept it about a month it got shell cracks also bad Barometric altitude readings and an occasional error message. I got rid of it, I sent it back I bought an I1 had one week I updated firmware it then produced an ESC error motors would not start,  I sent it in and bought the P3A for a back up. I got the I1 back in one week. I have bought strong arm plates for P3A did not even get a chance to install before cracks appeared, not going to install going to fly P3A until cracks get worse going to wait for winter and send in then.  I hope they revise shell by then.  I may glue the strong arm plates on the new shell when I have shell replaced. How can DJI afford to not address this problem makes no sense at all.

mtnmaddman Posted at 2015-9-27 20:41
I had a P3P bought in late May I kept it about a month it got shell cracks also bad Barometric alt ...

Because they know that the majority of installed base is going to crash within the warranty period and they won't have to pay to replace.

I have the plates from a set of removable prop guards that have been installed since flight 5. I'm up to 76 flights with no cracks.

I'm planning on purchasing a new shell and making a modification then flying without the plates.

Rigworker Posted at 2015-7-8 18:22
I did the same before It was flown for the first time.

I did the same, now at 110 flights with no sign of cracks.

Rigworker Posted at 2015-7-8 18:22
I did the same before It was flown for the first time.

Same here, 110 flights and no sign of cracks, hope it stays that way. I will say that those screws were VREY tight.

gregg1r Posted at 2015-9-28 09:31
Because they know that the majority of installed base is going to crash within the warranty period ...

Hi Gregg
Havent heard from you in a while,  I dont think I understand what you have said, are you saying that most people are going to crash there p3 before the one year warranty is up?  Reading these forums it is my opinion that most crashes, fly a ways, ect. do seem to be operator error related in some manor, one way or the other, also seems as though DJI fixes most issues whether it is operator error or not,  I dont believe any other company has ever done this to this extent. Is this built into the price?   Please elaborate,  I figured I would send in once about half way through the warranty and then glue the strong arms on the new shell, warranty would likely run out before I would need to replace shell again.

mtnmaddman Posted at 2015-9-28 16:43
Hi Gregg
Havent heard from you in a while,  I dont think I understand what you have said, are you  ...

The official DJI warranty on the shell (aka frame) is zero time per the warranty page. There have been numerous complaints of cracks around the motor screw holes as well as the two screw holes beside the LED light. DJI has stepped up to indicate that they will replace any frames cracked that aren't due to crash damage.

It's been a while that I've read of fly away crashes that weren't operator error like the early Phantom's. It could be that DJI has a handle on the initial problems or people are getting smarter. I still don't fly beyond visual distance and only use the FPV to frame a shot.

The Phantom can lull you into a false sense of security with your flying ability because it's so easy to  fly. Once you get into bad habits is when you get bit in the butt and the Phantom goes down. Reminds me of a new operator of a sport bike. It's not if, but when it goes down.

I wasn't going to mention this, but my hot fix for the shell is to inject expandable foam onto each shell half then sand flush. It's lighter than the external mounting plates and ties together almost 8 square inches of each arm. For the cost of a shell and the antenna kit, it's worth trying.

gregg1r Posted at 2015-9-28 15:23
The official DJI warranty on the shell (aka frame) is zero time per the warranty page. There have  ...

do you have any pictures of your foam procedure

mtnmaddman Posted at 2015-9-28 18:39
do you have any pictures of your foam procedure

No I don't. I'm planning on using plastic shim stock to dam the area in front of the motor and behind the LED light.

Shoot in the spray in place insulation foam and allow it to harden, then use a rasp file to level it off. If needed, the motor could be removed before the foam and just cut a grove for the three wires.

I'm debating purchasing the shell from DJI to use up my credits since it doesn't look like there is anyway to get them away. Just got to spend $150 or more to get free shipping unlike the hard case purchase. I cancelled purchasing props which weren't in stock, got hit with the $20 ship fee, then shipping was delayed for the three weeks that the props were back ordered. The case still sits unopened.

Has this issue been fixed with newer releases?  I got mine just a few days ago.  Do they have a date range of when the ones with this issue were sold?

There is another post about new motors and old motors and the suggestion that new motors may not have the cracking problem - wondered if it might be worth redoing the vote with a new motor old motor option?

I have seen where people who immediately loosened the motor screws about 1/4 of a turn have not had that issue.  Has anyone seen otherwise?

I just purchased a P3A two days ago and have not yet flown it. Upon finding this thread I inspected the screw holes shown in the video at the start of this thread and can see what clearly looks like a casting defect at the site of two of the screw holes on one arm. Having worked as a jeweller for many years I am familiar with casting and its issues. While there are no cracks yet I have no doubt that the weak area of the defect will deteriorate.

This is a known manufacturing defect and should be treated as a "Product Recall" on affected Phantoms. They are not a toy, they are not cheap and they are potentially dangerous if parts are faulty.

My P3A is 2 days old and has no flight time. Upon reading this thread I inspected the shell as indicated in the video at the start of this thread. The shell shows casting defects around two of the screws on one arm. As a jeweller for many years I am familiar with casting and its issues. While this shell shows no cracks yet, I have no doubt they will occur at the weak points.

The Phantom is not a toy and it is potentially dangerous should a manufacturing defect cause it to malfunction during a flight.

As this is a known manufacturing defect, DJI have a Duty of Care to ensure no such incidences occur. In this case a Product Recall on affected models would be wise.

I am very disappointed that an investment such as this has such fundamental issues out of the box.

Hey this is Swapnil Pawar from India, i am having phantom3 professional .I had purchased it from Mumbai( Andheri),2months back and using it regular its very beautiful and amazing product its giving very great level of output but today after the flight when i was removing the propellers i found the motor was loose and then i found that the base shell of the motor is gone cracked and it was alright before flight and there are 2-3 more cracks on other side also i am surprised that how did it gone cracked .I hope i will get any replacement of part or anything as soon as possible because its the cream season to shoot in India ,i hope you will definitely look into it and take an action towards it.As i know the quality of phantom is mind blowing and the service will be the same please help me as soon as possible

raanvata Posted at 2015-9-30 13:46
Hey this is Swapnil Pawar from India, i am having phantom3 professional .I had purchased it from Mum ...

It still amazes me that DJI hasn't yet come out with a newly designed bottom frame that really solves this problem.

Shell cracks?, I have them all, since flight #5, old shell, old motors, never crashed, never hit something, now after 20 flights it is no longer save to fly, waiting for my new X reinforced shell to arrive, so I can continue with my flying.

Guys and (gals)

We have been doing the shell replacement for customers who can't wait for it to be done under warranty.    Customers are mailing drones in and we can do the whole unit swap to a new shell and make it look like it's brand new.  Take a look at this customer's drone who we just serviced.  We are a DJI Authorized Dealer and use only DJI Genuine Parts.

www.cloudcitydrones.com

About 25 flights on mine and I have two cracks already...Definitely an issue that should be resolved.

P3A with 10 hours, 68 flights and 326K ft.  I have checked consistently for the cracks and yesterday found two.  I contacted my local authorized service center that I purchased it from, (Drones+) and they said it needed to be sent to DJI.  Looks like that's what I'll be doing.  

Dji is been so unhelpful. My dji 3 pro is only a month old and I have a crack. There happy to replace the shell but I have to send it back to China. That will put me out of action for two months easy as I am in Australia. My dealer is more then happy to replace the shell for me even I'm happy to do it myself. But Dji are insisting for it to be sent back It is so fustrating...

Hi all,

I had a stress shell crack on my previous P2V+  which I've just replaced with the new P3Pro. After many concerns and 3 months waiting, my vendor chose to replace my P2V+ with the new P3P.
I'm very afraid of new stress shell crack on the my new bird and for this reason I'm always following topics in many forums about this issue.
They also tell that the new P3s are manufactured with a new shell with X reinforcement below motor mounts. Actually my new P3 has the new kind of shells (just checked).
Do you have any news about crack on new kind of shells as well?

I'm really afraid of flying because as far as I can read, the issue continues to be very actual. I'm very sad about this, because DJI drones are very good but this is a very unforgivable issue because it's iterated. DJI should consider a big lesson learned.

Can anyone of you explain me some method to prevent at best the occurring of these cracks and fly without being paranoid, please?
I have a short list in mind, like:
- UAVbits motor reinforcements;
- glue, but which one?
- Any kind of tape?

Thank you all,

Regards,

Fabio

After +-20 flights, no falls, issues or or any kind of problem, from the blue 2 big cracks in 2 motors, on the same screws....

Im completely devastated with this and very desapointed, since i m a experienced power user with 0 problems....

Im grounded.....and now starts a new problem how to resolve this, after buy it 3 months ago...

fabio.dell.b@gm Posted at 2015-10-14 15:37
Hi all,

I had a stress shell crack on my previous P2V+  which I've just replaced with the new P3Pro ...

Fabio, do this. Just zip tie the shell at the area where the led lights end amd the arm widens for thenmotor mounts. I have the same shell as you and the new motors. On my old phantom 3, original first generation shell, it cracked to hell. Mind you, zip ties work for the two arm screws perfect. But not for the motor mount area. But this new shell, on the new motors with better support and less heat, it might just do the job. So just go and get some zip ties, I used clear, and zip it up snug. Don't King Kong force it, but make it tight.

edbighi@gmail.c Posted at 2015-10-14 17:59
Fabio, do this. Just zip tie the shell at the area where the led lights end amd the arm widens for  ...

Thanks a lot edbighi,

We will see.

Fabio

Tahoe_Ed Posted at 2015-7-10 00:24
I just turned my P3P upside down.  I fly this thing all the time and I am not gentle with it.  I hav ...

yap the same here. no cracks and no mercy either

Well....one more user with......old shell!

After my P3A was send 20 days ago to Germany, to repair the "cracks", today i finally receive it.
Made a small flight to check how things work, outside the store, and it seems ok.
First negative point:
- They replace the down side of the shell, by a new one, but the top of the shell was the old one! (with my contact phone on it, still)
- Second negative point: They replace the shell by the old version. Not the V2 more robust under the engines.
- Third negative point: The base of right antenna did loose out almost 30mm
frown emoticon

I know its not a big deal, but since im a power user, and im perfectionist, i share here my thoughts about the RMA from Germany, with you.

Moments ago, after inspect closely all screws i notice this:



Its a photo with the phone on my living room, but you can notice something odd on that plastic....and you can guess also, what will happen......

Its a shame, not only install a old shell, but already with structural material failures at sight vue....

Seriously thinking to open and modded my self with some kind of glue ....or buy and install myself the shell V2.

Disappointed.

One more "detail":

They forget to add the logo of "Phantom"......

Now i have to buy it on the net.....

cwilliams@trico Posted at 2015-10-11 22:07
Guys and (gals)

We have been doing the shell replacement for customers who can't wait for it to be  ...

Will your repairs void the DJi warranty? What is the cost and your best estimate of turnaround time? Does your company replace the old shell with the new and improved shell?

Mine came with the old shell....and someone on USA confirm they are using the old one....

Here in Europe, the store seller did ask DJI and if the user repair the shell, we don´t loose the waranty. Makes sense.

Suffered my first time shell crack this last weekend. I Have braking set at 75%, always fly this as a camera platform, not stunt or racing drone. I have 56 safe flights and on #57 it came back with the common shell crack in the rear recessed motor mount screw hole. I have added my vote to "I have cracks"

I'm thinking about sending my P3P back to DJI to have my shell cracks repaired. I'm just wondering from anyone who has done this before me, "have they been covering this under warranty or not"? The warranty information I've see says the Frame of the craft has "No Warranty". My craft has never been in a crash and has been flown gently.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Any one here experience shell cracks?
My Standard has cracks under it no crashes or any impact on my phantom ever. it has been a month since purchase....
I heard some people replaced and never had another crack even after 20 flights from repair. and some say that the cracks just come back after repair...
I am going to do a review of my phantom first and then contact DJI.

I think the last thing the DJI admin here, said in earlier pages, was that DJI will repair the shell, but we have to send in the phantom.

Tahoe_Ed Posted at 2015-7-8 18:14
DJI has stated if you are having this issue that they will replace the shell, but it will have to be ...

I had one small crack under the motors. 2 weeks since purchase.
Today, i found another small crack under another motor on the bottom shell - now it is 4 weeks since my purchase date.

The cracks are small. I am concerned. I am concerned about this becoming a hazzard , what if the crack opens further during a flight and it injures someone WHILE I FOLLOW MY COUNTRY'S LAWS and REGULATIONS, flying responsibly?

I have never crashed or bumped or impacted my phantom in any way. Always landing  on grass, never having any hard landings.

I don't want to send in my Phantom unnecessarily for 1-2 months period (I am in CANADA.)  

Is DJI working on anything or just continuing to ask people to send in, for testing, and if not crash and under warranty/cover, then will replace? ... If you were the customer, how would you wish DJI to help or respond? Imagine you were a student who just graduated and decided to purchase DJI over other products because you felt the brand is trustworthy . and Now your product seems to be having some defects not due to user error - no crashes or harsh flying etc..

Your honest response would be appreciated.

So... what should people who only have had their phantom for 1-3 months and find cracks?
I usually fly 150 m out and at about 50 m altitude which is not high compared to a lot of other users out there..

I found two cracks now... hairline though.

What to do??? No crashes, no bumps, no drops , always soft landings, on grass.  

I am concerned that the cracks will get bigger over time and then become a hazzard and possibly hurt someone. even though I am quite responsible in flying!

Darn you guys!

You made me go grab my P3A and check it out
8 flights total 50 minutes

cracks in 2 of the mount holes

I bought a Phantom 3 Advanced at the beginning of December, so far so happy with it.

Unfortunatley, I am very sad tonight. I was aware about these possible cracks issues on the arms. So far after 19 flights: nothing, so i thought i will not be affected.
But just after landing on my 20th flight, i had the surprise to find this crack on my back right arm...





What are my options? Contact the DJI support? Fixing it by myself?

Has anyone used the UAV Bits strong arm reinforcement plates yet?  How do they work / look?  Have any of you used the strong arm plates for awhile and then taken them off to check for damage?  If so what have you discovered?  I just ordered a P3A and am wondering if I should get the Strong arm plates and put them on before I even take off for the first time.  http://www.uavbits.net/store/p28 ... ith_Motor_Caps.html