Are you happy with your Minn kota trolling motors quality

[croixflats]

Ive got a Minn Kota Power Drive standard 55# thrust. Hardly been used maybe 2 or 3 years old, It know only turns to the right and periodically runs the prop. Tried replacing foot peddle it turned both ways but didnt run the prop.

I lost the receipt so I dont know if warranty is still good or not. I called Minn Kota and they were not willing to work with me not knowing the purchase date.

I'm getting so frustrated buying something and it not lasting more than 2 or 3 years and the manufacturer not standing behind their product.

Is there another brand that is better quality than Minn Kota or are they a good product and its just my usual bad luck.

[dakotakid31]

there must be alot of us with bad luck.

[Esox_Magnum]

I have a 05, 24 volt 74 pound thrust Power Drive that has several hundred hours on it and no big issues

[rtwills]

I have the 80lb 24 volt and I love mine..it's just over 1 year old,can use it constantly for 16+ hours per charge.Only issues I have had have been with the circuit board in the foot control going bad

[Sandmannd]

The foot controlers are junk. If you use them be prepared to replace them around once a year. That's something I don't like. I use the copilot and never have a problem with that. I've had a 12 volt and now a 24 volt and have had my share of problems with them. I don't know if any other brand is any better or not. When it works good, it's an awesome unit, but it can be a frustrating one as well.

[Neighbor_guy]

no troubles so far with mine. (fingers crossed) THe only time I do have troubles it is my fault. Electrical hookups and what not.

[PerchJerker]

I've had several Minnkotas, never had a problem with any of them. Autopilots, foot controls, circuit boards, etc. they've all been solid.

I've had 3 or 4 MotorGuides, one of them was good but the others had never-ending problems.

[danfall]

I've got the 2nd on my boat. The previous unit was a little undersized and someone tried to steal it and did some damage to the pins holding it in place. The footpedal failed at one point and I needed to replace it after years of use.

The current unit I have works well.

A friend had a footpedal fail in the rain [while I was onboard]. Odd as it sounds I don't think the rain is always the best for them. A thought is putting a clear bag over the unit, but I've generally stopped using it in heavy rainy wet weather.

I use a shortstop ckt breaker on mine..

I truly try to use it as little as possible as a general rule, but somedays it delivers the best speeds..

[Christopher Quast]

There customer service reps aren't very nice either and I know one thing because of that and the foot pedal issues they can't get resolved I will no longer give them my money in the future thats for sure!!!

[Matt C]

Love my PDV2 70lb 24v. Had a 55lb AP 12v on my old boat before that,. No issues.

[croixflats]

Thanks for the input all, I guese when we're out in the elaments anything can happen. I kick myself for not investing in the

co pilot. At the time it was a fairly new option and I wasnt to familular with it and I didnt have the extra cash.

I'm kinda of leaning towards GOLDTIP's veiw. I to was not treated verry well by the reps.

I'm happy to see people with good experiances. Just wish they would back their prduct up, that puts me off.

After hearing they have foot pedal problems makes me think the new one was faulty also.

[LwnmwnMan2]

On the Grumman boat we had, we had that boat for 20 years, had 1 foot pedal replacement. Needless to say, it wasn't under warranty.

In case you don't know, they've got a shop (or had) in the Bloomington area. When we needed ours, we just called down there, and they said bring it in, we'll take a look at it.

We stopped by, they looked at it for about 15 minutes and said "we can fix it for $125, or you can buy a new foot pedal for $85". Well, obviously we bought the foot pedal.

I personally would have nothing but a MinnKota.

I'd agree to the comment about the elements factor and electronics. You can seal stuff up all you'd like, but eventually water and [PoorWordUsage] is going to get in there.

Also, I'm sure it's no different than any other item. You're going to get 1 bad one once in a while.

As for the customer service people, that's the biggest downfall in any business, IMO.

[Sandmannd]

I agree with you, customer service is lacking today anywhere and that's all over the place. It's a whole topic in itselfe.

$85 for a new Pedal? I got one at Fleet for $70. You would think it would be a little cheaper or at least comparable at the dealer. Unless this was a few years ago and the prices have dropped, that I'm not sure of.

[Minnesota Fisher]

Just bought a 55 lb PD V2 this year and it does have a minor glitch. If you bump the wires, it will sometimes shut off. When you push them into the unit, it starts up again, so it's probably just a loose connection. When I have time, I'll tear into it and see.

[hhguide]

The only thing I had wrong with my minnkota's I have a bow and Transom ones. but my advantage during a tournament got stuck in the down position. sent it in to minn kota and they sent me a brand new one. I have been happy otherwise.

[Down Deep]

In the past I had major issues with MinnKota quality. I've used their motors for over 25 years. I had motors that had parts fall off, blow circuit boards, discontinued motors and thus no parts for repair, etc. I even went to MotorGuide which was a much better quailty motor. 4 years ago I bought an 80lb Power Drive Auto Pilot with sonar. It is a much better constructed motor and I haven't had one problem with it over 100's of hours of use. I think that MinnKota has turned the corner on quality issues that they may have had in the past.

[muddpuppy]

I have been having issues with the footpedal on my 55#er It is out of warranty. I called a Local certified shop in town they were easy to work with. According to the shop the deal with the pedals is due to sand and other depree buildup. he recomended to dip the foot pedal in the water a couple tims to loosen the debre I have to do this a couple times a year but it fixes the problem. I am looking into getting the co-pilot though as I hear it's the cat's meow

[croixflats]

After buying a new foot pedal and that not fixing the problem I went to an autherised sevice shop to have the moter tested. Moter tested fine. My bad luck I chose a faulty new pedal. I bought a new one from the shop and all works well now.

Makes you wonder when they put faulty equipment up for sale.

I'm sure my bad luck had to do with that also

[fishgutz77]

I got the 80# 24v and the drive is fine but the tension controls never seem to work well, you can tighten them up and still no response and in rough weather you need somthing you can count on.

for what we pay for these things you'd think they could get it right.

[rascalP]

Looks like I'm one of the few that have a cable drive - 48 AT. When I bought my boat new in 97, I skipped the depth finder/trolling motor package that came with the boat(they gave me a pretty good credit) and went out and bought my own, gave it to them, and they(Nelsons) installed it all - no charge - before I picked up the boat.

Anyway, I would never get a power drive. I like the instant control of a cable drive and way more reliable(less electronics). I've used mine HARD and ALOT - many more hours than the outboard in 10+ years. I've replaced the brushes and seal about 3 years ago and thats it. When I replace it, if and when it finally dies, I'll get a Maxxum.

Seems like all new boats get setup with a Power Drive unit. I don't know if this is because of a lower initial cost to the boat dealer or what, But if you're buying a new boat, or replacing - look into putting a cable drive unit on.

rascal

[Northlander]

I am very happy with the performance of 5 out of 6 I have had. The one bad one had a bad foot control and also had a poor cumpass or whatever controls the auto pilot. They did take care of the cost of repair under warranty though and it worked ok until I sold my boat 5 years later.

Overall I would say 9 out of 10.

[zepman]

I use my powerdrive hundreds of hours each year. Have the co-pilot on it since it was new and have had a few problems with the motor along the way. I live in Mankato so it's easy for me to bring it in to their service center to get checked out. My experience with their customer service people and their service department has been much different than the previous posts. Same day service--completely handled any and all problems AND never once was I charged for their service work or time spent looking at it. Earlier this year I was having problems with the co-pilot not steering correctly and they replaced the co-pilot at n/c. The previous one was three years old. I can definately see how frustrating this must be for those of you not as close to their headquarters as I am but I know one thing for sure and that is a MinnKota will be the next motor on my boat when the time comes again.

[solbes]

Powerdrive 50 lb, 12 V. No problems in the 4 years I've owned it. I will not hesitate to buy another when I get a new boat someday. I will be watching to make sure whatever I get is well established and not some new tech that was just released.

[196thDLR]

I have two MK's, one, a 4.3hp on the transom which is 10-12 yrs old and a universal transducer auto-pilot which is 5 yrs old. Both are 24 volt. Knock on wood, I have had no trouble with either one. I hope you can get your problems resolved.

[EBass]

70lb Maxum Uni Sonar cable driven that's 2yrs old. Not one issue. I love it and I fish a lot and run into rocks, stumps and what not.

[iFishMN.YT]

I bought a 40lb thurst motor last year and it quit working on me in the fall, not even one year of use. Something wrong it the motor area at the bottom, seemed like it tightened up and couldnt spin the propeller any more. Couldnt find receipt, didnt even attempt to get it fixed without one, although I did take it appart to see if I could find any obvious problems. I had a hard time getting myself to buy another one, but I needed one and got a new 55lb motor this year. No problems yet but I am worried. I have had problems with other minnkota's in the past, I wish we had more, better quality options so that minnkota would be foreced to look at the quality of their motors and service to compete.

[zepman]

Just a curious question: For those of you looking at going to Motorguide or elsewhere on your next purchase, where would one take this to get it serviced if a problem should arise? Are there localized service centers around these parts?

[weld1]

Just talked to a friend today, there trophy 180 and motor burned up in the garage.... turns out the minnkota started it!! lucky it was cought before it burned the house down, anyone ever heard of this??

[rtwills]

i have been considering putting the powerdrive on my 80# 24v .

Is there a major lag in control with the remote compared to wired?I guess I never thought of that until I read rascals post.It seems like that could be an issue when hitting structure areas.

2nd question... where do you put the tiny remote when your using it? Is it a pain to use while navigating (I mainly use mine trolling lindys)

[311Hemi]

You guys with the foot control problems might pull the large pedal (used to turn left/right) off the control pad and make sure the plastic slide underneath is fully moving to each side. It is only held on with 2 springs. Mine bow mount would not turn right this spring (first time out of storage) and I ended up fixing it by cleaning the plastic slide piece under the large pedal and forcing it back and forth a bunch of times to make sure it moved freely. Once I forced it both ways and saw the motor move both ways I knew that was the problem and it works good now.

Not sure if the new systems have the same pedal but I would guess they may have updated it.