MartySantic
Well Known Member
From the CTForum.... The CT forum has a separate section on the Rotax that one can subscribe to. Have been a number of discussions on this forum regarding the Rotax warranty.
http://ctflier.com/index.php?/topic/2268-rotax-warranty/
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During a recent chat with Rotax we had a discussion about warranty and claims. There is a big misunderstanding on how it works and what to do.
Your warranty is with Rotax and not the aircraft Mfg. You must register your engine and that might go through an aircraft MFG even through it isn't their responsibility, but it should go through your nearest Rotax distributor or If you are the first time owner you can register the engine on line. It is the distributor's responsibility according to Rotax. Then you should follow through after 4 weeks and check to see if it was really registered. Only 20% of all Rotax engine ever register. You can go on the Kodiak Rotax website and put your engine serial number in and it will tell you if it was registered. If you did not register your engine and have to file a warranty claim you will need to register it first then file the claim. If you are the second or third owner then you must call or write the closest distributor and register that engine in your name.
www.flyrotax.com is the Rotax site that will always have the most current forms and documentation.
If you need a warranty form this is a good place to go for a CSIR (customer service information report) form. You need to fill in all the blanks or should write N/A. You must include copies of your logbook, you must have done the 25 hr. required warranty inspection, you must show good documentation and if you have a visible damage you need to send pictures. The 3 line annual in your logbook won't cut it. The 3 line annuals in a logbook many times gets denied a claim. good detailed documentation should be part of your maint. routine.
All your filled out paperwork needs to go through your nearest Rotax distributor. make copies before you send it in. Do not send claims through third parties. For instance if you pull up the CSIR form on Lockwood's site and submit it electronically it goes through Rotech in Canada. It is nice of them to help, but this third party submission may add 3-8 months of time and sometimes gets lost in the shuffle.
The warranty claims are all processed by the Rotax flying and Safety Club. You can not submit a claim directly to them and must go through your distributor.
You can at times submit a warranty claim after the engine is out of warranty. depending on the problem you may get a "Good Will" claim and some help. It may only be 50% off the expensive part, but that will get decided on a case by case basis and how far out of warranty you are.
If you fill out the correct paperwork, your documentation is good, you sent it through the right channels the warranty claim can get processed within 72 hours.
The other item to discuss is that warranty claims get paid after all the work is done and not before so all parts are accounted for and labor. If the claim is during the warranty period and is performed by a Rotax approved mechanic labor and parts are all paid for. There is a shop rate scale on Rotaxfly website.
I hope this helps clear up some of the confusion and why some have trouble with claims.
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Ignition module failure rates seem to be on the increase either because reporting and communications are better or because installation issues are causing this. These seem to be failing between 400-800 hours TTSN from the ones I have been hearing about. These won't be covered under warranty after warranty is past.
Here is the tip of the day.
Ignition modules can only take so much heat and with the huge increase in LSA Mfgs. and nice tight cowls the heat inside can get trapped with no where to go. The issue isn't usually when you are flying as there is usually good air and heat exchange. The problems start when you stop flying and park and the under the cowl temps climb and they can climb quite high. It would be nice if aircraft Mfg's had known this and given the heat some where to go. Some are lucky and have an oil door on top to open, but many don't.
It would be a very sound practice to buy some heat sensitive tape strips. The target heat to stay away from is anything over 175F. So a strip that reads anywhere from 150F-220F may be a good place to be. Place this heat strip on the ignition module. If the heat strip keeps popping above 175F you might think of a way to get rid of some of the heat after your done flying. If you need to replace your modules the newer soft start modules are going for around $750 for the pair, but may not be this way forever..
http://ctflier.com/index.php?/topic/2268-rotax-warranty/
............................................
During a recent chat with Rotax we had a discussion about warranty and claims. There is a big misunderstanding on how it works and what to do.
Your warranty is with Rotax and not the aircraft Mfg. You must register your engine and that might go through an aircraft MFG even through it isn't their responsibility, but it should go through your nearest Rotax distributor or If you are the first time owner you can register the engine on line. It is the distributor's responsibility according to Rotax. Then you should follow through after 4 weeks and check to see if it was really registered. Only 20% of all Rotax engine ever register. You can go on the Kodiak Rotax website and put your engine serial number in and it will tell you if it was registered. If you did not register your engine and have to file a warranty claim you will need to register it first then file the claim. If you are the second or third owner then you must call or write the closest distributor and register that engine in your name.
www.flyrotax.com is the Rotax site that will always have the most current forms and documentation.
If you need a warranty form this is a good place to go for a CSIR (customer service information report) form. You need to fill in all the blanks or should write N/A. You must include copies of your logbook, you must have done the 25 hr. required warranty inspection, you must show good documentation and if you have a visible damage you need to send pictures. The 3 line annual in your logbook won't cut it. The 3 line annuals in a logbook many times gets denied a claim. good detailed documentation should be part of your maint. routine.
All your filled out paperwork needs to go through your nearest Rotax distributor. make copies before you send it in. Do not send claims through third parties. For instance if you pull up the CSIR form on Lockwood's site and submit it electronically it goes through Rotech in Canada. It is nice of them to help, but this third party submission may add 3-8 months of time and sometimes gets lost in the shuffle.
The warranty claims are all processed by the Rotax flying and Safety Club. You can not submit a claim directly to them and must go through your distributor.
You can at times submit a warranty claim after the engine is out of warranty. depending on the problem you may get a "Good Will" claim and some help. It may only be 50% off the expensive part, but that will get decided on a case by case basis and how far out of warranty you are.
If you fill out the correct paperwork, your documentation is good, you sent it through the right channels the warranty claim can get processed within 72 hours.
The other item to discuss is that warranty claims get paid after all the work is done and not before so all parts are accounted for and labor. If the claim is during the warranty period and is performed by a Rotax approved mechanic labor and parts are all paid for. There is a shop rate scale on Rotaxfly website.
I hope this helps clear up some of the confusion and why some have trouble with claims.
-------------------
Ignition module failure rates seem to be on the increase either because reporting and communications are better or because installation issues are causing this. These seem to be failing between 400-800 hours TTSN from the ones I have been hearing about. These won't be covered under warranty after warranty is past.
Here is the tip of the day.
Ignition modules can only take so much heat and with the huge increase in LSA Mfgs. and nice tight cowls the heat inside can get trapped with no where to go. The issue isn't usually when you are flying as there is usually good air and heat exchange. The problems start when you stop flying and park and the under the cowl temps climb and they can climb quite high. It would be nice if aircraft Mfg's had known this and given the heat some where to go. Some are lucky and have an oil door on top to open, but many don't.
It would be a very sound practice to buy some heat sensitive tape strips. The target heat to stay away from is anything over 175F. So a strip that reads anywhere from 150F-220F may be a good place to be. Place this heat strip on the ignition module. If the heat strip keeps popping above 175F you might think of a way to get rid of some of the heat after your done flying. If you need to replace your modules the newer soft start modules are going for around $750 for the pair, but may not be this way forever..
