SMOKE/ Fried Drone

[ikedrone]

Hello, I had just completed a successful flight with my DJI Mavic Pro. About 1 hour later, while driving home, we noticed a particular smell in the vehicle, an electrical burning smell. A few moments later my daughter, from the back seat, yelled that there was smoke coming from the rear of the vehicle. When I looked back we the smell/ smoke got more intense. I pulled over and noticed my Mavic was smoking. I took the battery out and had a small flame come out from the inside of the drone. This was very scary for my family. If we had been a while from the vehicle who knows what damage it could've caused. I spoke with was someone on the DJI Chatroom and they stated I just bought it 6 weeks ago it was still under factory warranty. Now, DJI said they wont do anything to it/ replace it.

HELP!!!

 

[vashon100]

Did they give a reason why they won't even look at it?

 

[Former Member]

OP, who did you buy it from? Did you buy Refresh or have any other insurance? Did you already send it in to them?

 

[ikedrone]

Did they give a reason why they won't even look at it?

No, they didn't. I'm waiting on a reply from todays email and see if they'll even let me send it in.

 

[ikedrone]

Just guessing here but maybe they figure it was used with a battery mod.

It would be interesting to see if the removed battery is faulty to help determine if the battery contributed to the problem.

No battery mod. It was on the battery the pro package came with.

 

[ikedrone]

OP, who did you buy it from? Did you buy Refresh or have any other insurance? Did you already send it in to them?

No, I did not purchase the care package because my insurance (State Farm) said they covered drones and later retracted their statement. I bought it off amazon so I have contacted the seller.

 

[Former Member]

They will let you send it in and probably cover it under warranty. Be persistent with DJI, chat, email and call.

 

[ikedrone]

They will let you send it in and probably cover it under warranty. Be persistent with DJI, chat, email and call.

THANKS! From I have been reading on forums my case looks solid and promising. Any pointers?

 

[erkme73]

THANKS! From I have been reading on forums my case looks solid and promising. Any pointers?

Hate to go nuclear on them, but if it is as you say it is, then I would actually NOT send it in. Document everything. Pictures, video, everything short of taking it apart. Then contact the media. If you have a local "Channel X on your side" investigative reporter, give them a ring and let them know you think there's a potential liability issue that a major manufacturer is denying. It'll be like waving a red flag in front of a bull.

That reporter will likely contact DJI for comment - at which point DJI will do whatever it takes to kill the story. Ultimately, the decision to move forward with broadcasting the damaging piece will be YOUR choice, not the station. If that gets you the leverage you need, good. If, on principal, you think it needs additional exposure that only the media can provide, then stick it to them anyway.

The other route is to hire an attorney (likely on contingency) using the same bait - a large manufacturer who is denying liability on a very dangerous, possibly defective product.

But, that's just me. I hate it when someone is peeing on me and tells me it's just rain.

 

[vashon100]

Hate to go nuclear on them, but if it is as you say it is, then I would actually NOT send it in. Document everything. Pictures, video, everything short of taking it apart. Then contact the media. If you have a local "Channel X on your side" investigative reporter, give them a ring and let them know you think there's a potential liability issue that a major manufacturer is denying. It'll be like waving a red flag in front of a bull.......

I think of two reasons the Channel might be reluctant to act; rare burn occurrence and limited audience interest in a $1k drone (hard to relate to).

 

[Former Member]

THANKS! From I have been reading on forums my case looks solid and promising. Any pointers?

Chat with them again, begin an online warranty repair request, and they will send you a shipping label.

Expect it to take 2-3 weeks for them to get around to replacing it or sending you a bill. If they send you a bill, tell them it is a warranty problem, and they should pay for it. You have never crashed or modified it, so it's a pretty clear case of manufacturers defect unless DJI can prove otherwise.

Keep us posted, and I can give you some guidance when you send it to them and their responses. I have sent many birds in for warranty and other work, and this one looks like warranty.

 

[ikedrone]

Hate to go nuclear on them, but if it is as you say it is, then I would actually NOT send it in. Document everything. Pictures, video, everything short of taking it apart. Then contact the media. If you have a local "Channel X on your side" investigative reporter, give them a ring and let them know you think there's a potential liability issue that a major manufacturer is denying. It'll be like waving a red flag in front of a bull.

That reporter will likely contact DJI for comment - at which point DJI will do whatever it takes to kill the story. Ultimately, the decision to move forward with broadcasting the damaging piece will be YOUR choice, not the station. If that gets you the leverage you need, good. If, on principal, you think it needs additional exposure that only the media can provide, then stick it to them anyway.

The other route is to hire an attorney (likely on contingency) using the same bait - a large manufacturer who is denying liability on a very dangerous, possibly defective product.

But, that's just me. I hate it when someone is peeing on me and tells me it's just rain.

Thanks, but I'm going to play nice for now. Should the decline to replace my drone I have a contingency plan in play already.

 

[nismoz]

If you paid using your credit card then this is the time when your bank comes in to play. You dispute the transaction through your bank stating that the seller failed to provide the service. Your bank will ask you to first communicate with the seller to resolve the issue. If you have your proof that the seller, DJI in this case, is refusing to offer the service (warranty), your bank will then ask you to return the drone. You can contact your bank to get the return address and return everything to the address that you bank provides. Banks will always side with their clients/customers but remember to make copies of everything to cover your end.

If Paypal was used then you have to do pretty much the same thing. Paypal will 99% side with buyers.

I am bringing this up not for anyone to take advantage of his/her credit cards/Paypal and abuse his/her rights. Do the right things.

 

[ikedrone]

If you paid using your credit card then this is the time when your bank comes in to play. You dispute the transaction through your bank stating that the seller failed to provide the service. Your bank will ask you to first communicate with the seller to resolve the issue. If you have your proof that the seller, DJI in this case, is refusing to offer the service (warranty), your bank will then ask you to return the drone. You can contact your bank to get the return address and return everything to the address that you bank provides. Banks will always side with their clients/customers but remember to make copies of everything to cover your end.

If Paypal was used then you have to do pretty much the same thing. Paypal will 99% side with buyers.

I am bringing this up not for anyone to take advantage of his/her credit cards/Paypal and abuse his/her rights. Do the right things.

Thanks! My wife had mentioned that as well. I'll keep that in my back pocket should DJI refuse to comply and follow through with the warranty.

 

[Robbyg]

Thanks, but I'm going to play nice for now. Should the decline to replace my drone I have a contingency plan in play already.

I agree, keep it civil and be nice but also carry a big stick.
Make a full YouTube video titled "DII Mavic battery burst into flames"
Then if your nice approach fails privetly upload it to YouTube and send them a link. If that does not get results I would make the video public.

Rob

 

[Yoshimitsu]

If good manners fail, threaten to go to the Better Business Bureau. Very effective as they have quite a bit of influence with exporters (I assume you are in the US)

 

[nismoz]

It's good to play nice but what you want at the end of the day? You get the warranty or your money back, right? Assuming that you did nothing wrong and followed the instruction the entire time and on the way home, the battery and drone just burst into flame themselves then here's just my .02 cent, if it's me, I wouldn't waste my time with DJI in this case since first, everyone knows DJI service is horrible and it takes a long time to get your drone fixed or get a replacement. Second, for the amount of time, energy and effort that you are going to spend playing nice, you can just use a quarter of that toward dealing with your bank which is much more pleasant and you know the outcome. Not that I am a jerk or want to dispute anything, it's just that you have your standing ground in this case so does DJI. You can say the battery burst into flame and burned a hole on the drone. DJI could say you misused and abused the battery which caused the battery overheating and then burned. When both parties have a good standing ground, there must be a third party to make a decision. And when you have the advantage of picking a third party and you know that party is most likely to side with you, why not go for it? Again, assuming that you did nothing wrong and the products failed on their own, then this is the way to go. Why going through the hassles to solve somebody else's faults?

Now, some may say it is better to post a video on YouTube to spread the words and you would still get your drone fixed by DJI (If DJI decides to do you a favor just so you remove the video). Well, Mavic is #1 top seller and it has no competitors atm. Mavic sales is off the roof. The drone is just that good and if I am in the market looking for a drone that has millions of good reviews and just a few negatives, I would still get the drone.

 

[Robbyg]

--SNIP---
Now, some may say it is better to post a video on YouTube to spread the words and you would still get your drone fixed by DJI (If DJI decides to do you a favor just so you remove the video). Well, Mavic is #1 top seller and it has no competitors atm. Mavic sales is off the roof. The drone is just that good and if I am in the market looking for a drone that has millions of good reviews and just a few negatives, I would still get the drone.

Any videos that involve batteries bursting into flames seem to get way way more attention than a regular complaint. I suspect DJI does not want to go down that road because if two or three such videos end up on YouTube it could be devastating for them.

Rob

 

[diveinstructor]

Did yo

Hello, I had just completed a successful flight with my DJI Mavic Pro. About 1 hour later, while driving home, we noticed a particular smell in the vehicle, an electrical burning smell. A few moments later my daughter, from the back seat, yelled that there was smoke coming from the rear of the vehicle. When I looked back we the smell/ smoke got more intense. I pulled over and noticed my Mavic was smoking. I took the battery out and had a small flame come out from the inside of the drone. This was very scary for my family. If we had been a while from the vehicle who knows what damage it could've caused. I spoke with was someone on the DJI Chatroom and they stated I just bought it 6 weeks ago it was still under factory warranty. Now, DJI said they wont do anything to it/ replace it.

HELP!!![/QUOTE

Did you buy the extra 12 months insurance??

 

[Oingo Boingo]

Im curious... What's the white stuff near the battery terminal