Mavic 3 hairline crack under motor

Bob in Savannah · Jan 21, 2023

Filmarik said:
My Mavic 3 has exactly the same line on all legs. It is a moulding line, not a crack.
No reason to worry about it.

Yes! Seems like I read this months ago, as well. You are correct sir. Im sure with a thorough search you will find more posts supporting this.
This is NOT a crack but the "seam." +1

Chrislaf · Jan 21, 2023

Filmarik said:
My Mavic 3 has exactly the same line on all legs. It is a moulding line, not a crack.
No reason to worry about it.

Thanks! Makes me feel better. Funny how I never noticed it before. I am very careful with all my drones and although I fly them year round in weather that ranges from around 30C to -10C, I take good care of my drones so am surprised I hadn’t noticed them before.

Chris

GadgetGuy · Jan 22, 2023

Coskier said:
But there is also the risk of getting one with a bad camera, so there's that.

Not to mention RID possibly already activated and broadcasting prematurely!

vindibona1 · Jan 22, 2023

Chrislaf said:
That’s much worse than mine, but I imagine if I kept flying it would get worse or it would fail in flight and I would end up with a crashed drone or worse loose my drone.

Regardless, I’m hoping DJI will cover it under warranty as I’m still within a year. I don’t think this is a refresh issue so am hoping not to have to use my Refresh.

Chris

It probably started off as a hairline and then got worse. The only thing I can think of is that at some point while landing it moved forward a bit while the legs were touching the ground. I have short leg extensions on it so that I can put an Arc V on the belly.

@GadgetGuy Mine was far out of warranty and the 2nd year of care/refresh had expired. DJI capitalized on the premium on this drone, with 2 years of premium payments and no replacement needed... until just a few weeks outside of C/R. They say "the house has the advantage" and this is certainly true in this case. DJI beancounters sure have the game figured out.

JoelP · Jan 22, 2023

I am now convinced that this isn't a hairline crack. I see 2 of these under a couple of the motors. When I looked with an eye loupe, I could see the plastic flash from the injection mold. In one place there seemed to be a crack, but it was actually a groove that didn't penetrate the thickness of the plastic and seemed to be an artifact of the molding process.

GadgetGuy · Jan 22, 2023

vindibona1 said:
It probably started off as a hairline and then got worse. The only thing I can think of is that at some point while landing it moved forward a bit while the legs were touching the ground. I have short leg extensions on it so that I can put an Arc V on the belly.

@GadgetGuy Mine was far out of warranty and the 2nd year of care/refresh had expired. DJI capitalized on the premium on this drone, with 2 years of premium payments and no replacement needed... until just a few weeks outside of C/R. They say "the house has the advantage" and this is certainly true in this case. DJI beancounters sure have the game figured out.

I usually self-insure as long as I have a backup aircraft for any mishaps. DJI is really reasonable on their repair costs when it is your fault. You get a new aircraft when they "repair" it, so the longer downtime is the only drawback over a quick Refresh replacement at a far greater cost, especially if you never use it in time. Warranty replacements are also always free within one year.

Don Testme · Feb 8, 2023

Suren said:
Hi Chris

Yeah better to send it in as a warranty claim. Quick question, when you take off are you doing it with props fully opened or closed?

That's happened to me a few times. It's usually from hard landings. Oh, and the design of the landing portion is angled toward the drone. This causes the end portion to bend inward toward the drone if it hits the ground mildly hard and then it cracks.

cameracamel · Feb 16, 2023

GadgetGuy said:
Glue for the win! However, DJI might replace it under warranty for him with no deductible.

I guess Duct tape, Flex-Seal and baling wire might weigh too much?

blackbirdsr72 · Feb 17, 2023

Chrislaf said:
Noticed a hairline crack under the left front motor today after an earlier flight as I was dumping my memory card. The crack is difficult the see and at first I thought it was a piece of hair - guess that's why it's called a hairline crack, but it definitely is a crack. My M3 has never had any hard landings or crashes and is in perfect condition. I'm assuming this is a warranty issue even though I have Care Refresh on it as it is still under a year old (purchased in March 2022 from an authorized dealer here in Canada). I don't feel safe flying it in this condition especially in the colder weather even though it is rated to -10ºC.

Going to contact DJI tomorrow and see what they say.

Here's a photo:
View attachment 159724

Chris

My Air 2S has it all over the joints, not a crack. No worries.

GadgetGuy · Feb 17, 2023

cameracamel said:
I guess Duct tape, Flex-Seal and baling wire might weigh too much?

I tried tape on my P4.
Didn't work out so well...

Filmarik · Feb 17, 2023

cameracamel said:
I guess Duct tape, Flex-Seal and baling wire might weigh too much?

Holding critical parts of an aircraft together with those materials?
I'd like to be a fly on the wall hearing you explaing that to FAA. How you thought it was a good idea to make an aircraft airworthy with Duct tape, until it was not....

GadgetGuy · Feb 17, 2023

Filmarik said:
Holding critical parts of an aircraft together with those materials?
I'd like to be a fly on the wall hearing you explaing that to FAA. How you thought it was a good idea to make an aircraft airworthy with Duct tape, until it was not....

It was Gorilla Tape! LOL!

MavicMover · Feb 17, 2023

Filmarik said:
Holding critical parts of an aircraft together with those materials?
I'd like to be a fly on the wall hearing you explaing that to FAA. How you thought it was a good idea to make an aircraft airworthy with Duct tape, until it was not....

It was literally called "100 mph tape" and was used by the US Airforce for just that. So it's not that far off!

Chrislaf · Feb 17, 2023

blackbirdsr72 said:
My Air 2S has it all over the joints, not a crack. No worries.

Yes, it’s seems like they are mold lines. On one motor it looks more like a crack but the line is perfectly straight and vertical. Cracks usually don’t form that way. Anyway, I have decided to just keep an eye on it to make sure it stays the same and doesn’t get worse.

Chris