I had a little incident with the Mavic the other day and broke the rear gimbal anti-drop hook. Thankfully, the gimbal itself still operates fine. I was a little worried the lack of the rear restraint would affect gimbal performance during abrupt maneuvers (i.e. hard acceleration) but it doesn't. It seems as though the hook is purely there to help retain the gimbal in the event of a crash or hard landing.
Is this a part I can order and replace or should I fashion something myself? If it were affecting gimbal performance, I would send it in for repair. Since it's not, I'd prefer to take care of it myself than rather spend the money on a diagnostic/repair.

I would make something myself. As you say, it's mainly there to prevent damage from a crash or hard landing.
The tab sticks up about 6mm, is about 1mm thick and 6mm wide.
Find some lexan or similar plastic. I would try and glue it to the remainder of the tab, so that it can be easily swapped for a new one when they become available.
From pictures and videos i have seen, it is quite the challenge (and warranty voiding) to replace. Best wait for the ifixit teardown.

Thanks, stian. I was trying to determine the attachment method if a part were available. It's unclear to me how they did it. Very small rivets? Doesn't looke like screws! In any case, I think you nailed it. I'll clean up what's left of the hook, fashion a new one, and epoxy it on. Too bad I can't just zip tie it like my old zenmuse.

Wow, I consider you a bit lucky justflie, as my Mavic arrived today, December 29, 90 days after ordering from B&H and would you know, the gimbal won't work properly because it strikes the "anti-drop hook," constantly resetting and then overheating.  Three hours old.

fans2a649053 Posted at 2016-12-29 17:14
Wow, I consider you a bit lucky justflie, as my Mavic arrived today, December 29, 90 days after ordering from B&H and would you know, the gimbal won't work properly because it strikes the "anti-drop hook," constantly resetting and then overheating.  Three hours old.

I'm having the same problem fans2a...
My first power-up and I'm getting a "gimbal overload" warning and it keeps resetting. I haven't even flown it yet. The gimbal lock and cover are off and it's never been powered with them on.

If you find a solution/fix, let me now. I just received mine today

Fans, I'm definitely lucky.

I'm surprised you both have have issue. Poor quality control in your cases, it seems. Is the gimbal seated properly in the front? Even if it were rubbing the hook, I'm surprised the dampers didn't just allow it to shift forward. They're fairly loosey-goosey. If you tilt the mavic forward, does that create a gap with the rear hook? If so, does the gimbal now operate freely/properly?

if you wanted it repaired, you would have to send it in.
Just be careful, if you had a really hard landing it could pop the gimbal out and damage the ribbon cable and the gimbal if it hits the ground.

Justlfie - title...,  Thanks for commenting.  In my case, the gimbal is seated correctly and when it contacts the "anti-drop hook," it not a rub or brush, it hits with considerable force, almost sounding like it's beating itself up.  The initial calibration sequence is extremely rapid - perhaps unnecessarily so - and it is during this operation that the problem occurs.  I've looked carefully at the rubber dampers and other gimbal components and I can not detect anything amiss.  I've never had any problems what-so-ever with my Inspire.   I find it especially frustrating since it just arrived after a three month back order and has never been flown.  I'm going to have to return it for a replacement.   I could post a video of the problem, but I'm not sure it will solve the issue.

fans2a649053 Posted at 2016-12-30 03:00
Justlfie - title...,  Thanks for commenting.  In my case, the gimbal is seated correctly and when it contacts the "anti-drop hook," it not a rub or brush, it hits with considerable force, almost sounding like it's beating itself up.  The initial calibration sequence is extremely rapid - perhaps unnecessarily so - and it is during this operation that the problem occurs.  I've looked carefully at the rubber dampers and other gimbal components and I can not detect anything amiss.  I've never had any problems what-so-ever with my Inspire.   I find it especially frustrating since it just arrived after a three month back order and has never been flown.  I'm going to have to return it for a replacement.   I could post a video of the problem, but I'm not sure it will solve the issue.

My gimbal appears to be seated correctly as well and it moves in all axis's smoothly. It's had this issue from the very start and I'm in the same situation as you....waited since Sept. for this and just received it yesterday (12/30/16) with a broken gimbal. I flew it for 2mins yesterday to make sure nothing else was wrong and that went fine. Like you, I've had no issues with my Inspire or my 3 other Naza's or numerous Zenmuse gimbals.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-12-29 21:22
if you wanted it repaired, you would have to send it in.
Just be careful, if you had a really hard landing it could pop the gimbal out and damage the ribbon cable and the gimbal if it hits the ground.

DJI-Ken, It seems as though I'm going to have to send this Mavic in for repair. It's really disappointing given I've waited 3 months for this and it doesn't work right out of the box.

What's the fasted way to get this repaired? Can I get a shipping label created from DJI?

Thanks,
Tom

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-12-29 21:22
if you wanted it repaired, you would have to send it in.
Just be careful, if you had a really hard landing it could pop the gimbal out and damage the ribbon cable and the gimbal if it hits the ground.

DJI-Ken, It seems as though I'm going to have to send this Mavic in for repair. It's really disappointing given I've waited 3 months for this and it doesn't work right out of the box.

What's the fasted way to get this repaired? Can I get a shipping label created from DJI?

Thanks,
Tom

Ive had major issues with that hook piece. It broke off as well and im finding that you simply dont need it. I tried to replace it with some plastic and found that any any pressure to the gimbal anti stabaltion pad causes jello effect. So I think im going to just leave it off and be very careful landing. Hope any of that helps. Also i found running the gimbal calibration option works best with an iphone and not on android,

ttittelbach.gma Posted at 2016-12-30 09:52
DJI-Ken, It seems as though I'm going to have to send this Mavic in for repair. It's really disappointing given I've waited 3 months for this and it doesn't work right out of the box.

What's the fasted way to get this repaired? Can I get a shipping label created from DJI?

Fastest way is to call 818-235-0789 and they will email you a shipping label.

BelugaOne Posted at 2016-12-30 12:13
Ive had major issues with that hook piece. It broke off as well and im finding that you simply dont need it. I tried to replace it with some plastic and found that any any pressure to the gimbal anti stabaltion pad causes jello effect. So I think im going to just leave it off and be very careful landing. Hope any of that helps. Also i found running the gimbal calibration option works best with an iphone and not on android,

Just be careful like I posted above.

Thanks for the input, Ken.

Guys, that's a shame about your issues. Hopefully they'll be able to sort it quickly. I think Ken mentioned in another thread (for US repairs) it only takes 1-2 weeks. Small consolation when you waited as lon as you did, but once fixed, you're going to love this little guy. I've flown it a few times so far. I'm impressed and I've been flying RC fixed wing for almost 20 years and started in the drone scene with an F550 three or so years ago. The amount of tech packed into this thing is simply amazing. Can't wait until it warms up and we start visiting Cape Cod.

I also had a mishap and I didn't see that it slipped above the tab and when I flew it showed an error message on screen "Abnormal Gimbal Vibration" and the video was terrible. I then decided to send it in for repair but thankfully I looked at the preflight tutorial and it said to check the 3 tabs and I caught that it was out and then I put it back in place. It is odd that yours still works with it broken.

Jim, you will get abnormal vibration if it's outside AND contacting one or more of the tabs. The vibration from the mavic will travel through the plastic tab and into the gimbal. In normal operation, the gimbal should ONLY be touching the rubber dampers (which help absorb vibration) and not the hard plastic. The gimbal would work fine if I popped all the hooks off (right up until a crash or hard landing, that is!).

I've ordered a 12"x12"x 1/16" Lexan sheet for like $8. I'll fashion a new hook and epoxy it on just in case.

justflie Posted at 2016-12-31 07:58
Jim, you will get abnormal vibration if it's outside AND contacting one or more of the tabs. The vibration from the mavic will travel through the plastic tab and into the gimbal. In normal operation, the gimbal should ONLY be touching the rubber dampers (which help absorb vibration) and not the hard plastic. The gimbal would work fine if I popped all the hooks off (right up until a crash or hard landing, that is!).

I've ordered a 12"x12"x 1/16" Lexan sheet for like $8. I'll fashion a new hook and epoxy it on just in case.

i was thinking about doing the same thing with epoxy. Do you think that could void the warranty?

justflie Posted at 2016-12-31 07:58
Jim, you will get abnormal vibration if it's outside AND contacting one or more of the tabs. The vibration from the mavic will travel through the plastic tab and into the gimbal. In normal operation, the gimbal should ONLY be touching the rubber dampers (which help absorb vibration) and not the hard plastic. The gimbal would work fine if I popped all the hooks off (right up until a crash or hard landing, that is!).

I've ordered a 12"x12"x 1/16" Lexan sheet for like $8. I'll fashion a new hook and epoxy it on just in case.

i was thinking about doing the same thing with epoxy. Do you think that can void the warranty?