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Thread: Minn Kota I-Pilot remote. Read and weep

  1. #1
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    Default Minn Kota I-Pilot remote. Read and weep


    Just want to share with everyone the mess I have been going thru the last year and a half with the I-pilot remote. As previously posted seems a lot of people have experienced the same problems. Batteries lasting maybe 2 to 3 trips at tops. Mine the back has never fit correctly and had to duck tape it. I called the dealer I purchased it from and he give me a 800 number to Minn Kota. Called Minn Kota and they said my unit is out of warranty. Maybe so but it wasn't out of warranty when I first started having problems. Would be nice for a company to step up to the plate for a change when they sell you faulty equipment. If your having trouble with yours you better call them quick.
    Last edited by CrappiePappy; 07-26-2016 at 10:27 PM.

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    I've been following this in other threads, seeing how I'm in the market for an I pilot or auto pilot TM.. don't sit well with me. I've heard batteries go out quick as you buy them and have to bend clips or put dimes behind them to make contact. Snubbys is a reasonable man by all means, but I ain't spending 2 grand to deal with malarkey.. if your remote is a hassle makes me question the whole quality control factor period with the product.. Course I ain't an owner of one and don't like to bash, just a consumer like the rest of us.

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    I am with you Snubbys....I been seriously thinking about adding I pilot to my powerdrive but if these kinda problems are happening then I don't know,especially since you gotta really depend on that remote with the powerdrive with the ipilot eliminating the footpedal.I wonder how common this problem really is or if its pretty rare.

  4. #4
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    I have the Ulterra 125 which uses the rechargeable remote and also has a wired foot control if needed; so far so good I'm love'en mine. Hate to hear others having trouble especially with the customer service department since that is the heart and soul of the company.

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    I have to think MK monitors these threads on various boards. I wonder if someone from MK would like to weigh in on the battery failure rate or the ill fitting parts. I am looking at possibly getting a new Ulterra in the winter when the new ones go on the market and I would like to make an informed decision before I part with $2600. Hope someone from MK will see this and weigh in.

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    I have the 12 volt Terrova which I bought in 2013. I have not had any problems with the motor or the remote since day one(Knock on wood) Just wanted to give the other side of the picture to the product. Also my remote batteries last a year or so, and I fish fairly regularly.
    Mark 1:17 ...I will make you fishers of men

  7. #7
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    I have a 80 lb Terrova....bought new in 2011.... no problems...remote batterys last a couple years.

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  8. #8
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    I have a terrova no battery problems yet last about a year.


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    My RipTide 112 I-pilot has the new style remote and the batteries don't last but a few trips. I have been buying the replacement batteries 10 per package on Amazon for less than $1.50 each. They were almost $4 at Walmart IF I could find them. Sure, I wish the batteries lasted for a year like the one did in my Terrova 80 but I troll for hours each trip and I'm constantly on the remote to change speeds, headings, turns, etc. I'll take buying a battery every few trips to having to go back to a foot steer motor.

    Mine is still under warranty and I have a new spare remote just in case.
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  10. #10
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    I have had an iPilot Ulterra 80# thrust for almost a year. Just replaced my first battery in the remote. My motor gets used 3-5 days a week....weather permitting....I don't like lightning. No problems with the remote at all...and I figure one year for a battery is pretty good considering how much I use the remote...I have never had my foot pedal hooked up. The motor does have issues though. It has failed to stow on two different occasions.....in May...and this past Thursday. Now there is a pattern to this. The first time it happened I deployed my motor when my speed was about 5 MPH.....I had cut the big motor off and didn't think it would be a problem deploying the unit at that speed. Well I was wrong. That much pressure on the shaft somehow causes the stow/deploy arm on the gear to jam and it will not move. The first time it happened it cut my fishing day short. I did not want to be on the water running around with that thing up in the air...keep in mind everything else still worked on the motor. This past Thursday there was a small stick that I did not see and when I went to stow the motor I saw the stick come up onto the motor mount.The motor sensed it had encountered resistance and it stopped....giving me the error beeps...and both lights blinking. I went through the reset procedure but it still would not stow. Headed back to ramp and took about 3 minutes to remove 3 screws...lift the arm....relieving the pressure....align the two arms for stow/deploy......putting the cap back on the manual stow arm and stow/deploy arm...installed the last screw.....and I'm good to go. Now here is the real problem. Minn Kota says they have never heard of this problem. A service center can't fix something that is not broke. Plus the service center I would use is subject to keep your motor for a couple of months....plus they are not the most courteous people on the planet either. They were supposed to order two parts for me that are what Minn Kota is calling an "upgrade". Those parts are the magnets and a new tensioner part for the belt. I was told in May that they would order the parts and call me when they came in so my boat would not have to sit at Tracker Marine in Hendersonville, TN for weeks and weeks....that was back in May and I am still waiting. When you call them and inquire all you get from them is "It is first come first serve". I am headed to Arkansas this week for some trout fishing and will get on the phone with Minn Kota upon my return. Here are the issues I have with Minn Kota. They know the magnets and part for the belt tension need to be changed out as they are flawed. Most folks have registered their motors so why not do a recall.....keep in mind these two problems are serial number specific and the new motors coming off the line today do not have those two issues. Some have talked with Minn Kota to send them the magnets and they replace themselves. One member on here had his Ulterra up there I think for 2 months and eventually Minn Kota sent him new one...as service center could not repair. Service center could not repair...what a joke that is...and not in a funny way. I was in the radar/missile field for 38 years. I am fortunate I have electronic and electro-mechanical skills and I don't mind tinkering with this thing when something goes wrong....but many are just stuck. All the autopilot motors are software driven....this is another problem. I can tell you the motors probably all have buggy software. Unlike an HB sonar unit that you can flash the firmware as they find out about a certain problem....can't do that with an iPilot. When my motor goes through the reset procedure.....comes up....goes back down to normal position and gives me green light that means it is good to go...yet it is not. Oh well....will worry about it after I catch some trout.

    Regards

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