Tom Tom Rider Fault

Hi,

Just got back from a month in Spain & France, guess what?? My Tom Tom rider failed to charge off the mounting assembly due to dodgy connections with those crap pins. The unit has hardly been used at all since I bought it in June, in total I would say its only been on the bike for about 2500 miles & that includes the euro trip.

It was a real pain in the arse when it ran out of juice towards the end of the day. I know lots of others seem to have had the same problem which appears to be a design fault.

I have emailed tomtom but would apprciate any info as to what their reactions may be. Merely replacing the unit will probably not solve the problem and I wonder if anyone has tried to get their money back etc on the grounds that the device does not fulfil the function for which it was designed.

Any help please!!

Thanks

Chris

my tom tom is great

my tom tom fitted to my 1200 adv with motorard concept works great i just run a cable tie though the tom tom safety bar and around the sceen brace take up slack it pulls the two together so no vibration and its a good safety back up

chrisB said:

Hi,

Just got back from a month in Spain & France, guess what?? My Tom Tom rider failed to charge off the mounting assembly due to dodgy connections with those crap pins. The unit has hardly been used at all since I bought it in June, in total I would say its only been on the bike for about 2500 miles & that includes the euro trip.

It was a real pain in the arse when it ran out of juice towards the end of the day. I know lots of others seem to have had the same problem which appears to be a design fault.

I have emailed tomtom but would apprciate any info as to what their reactions may be. Merely replacing the unit will probably not solve the problem and I wonder if anyone has tried to get their money back etc on the grounds that the device does not fulfil the function for which it was designed.

Any help please!!

Thanks

Chris

Click to expand...

same happened with mine

chris...below is the responses i have had with tomtom...starting with the most recent. the tonkatech mount is what tomtom should have shipped with their product. as you can see from their response, there will be no "fix", so its going back for repair, and instead i will have forked out 70 quid to one company, to make another companies product work....@rse

Dear Mr. Sk8,

Thank you for your recent email.

We regret to hear that you are disappointed with the TomTom products you have purchased and the service you received thereafter. We strive always to provide customer satisfaction and to resolve any problems which may arise in an efficient and timely fashion.

Our repair and service engineers are highly skilled individuals, fully trained to analyse and take the appropriate action for all TomTom products sent to them. Please take advantage of the repair and service order that has been created for you at your earleist convenience.
We are confident that the problems you have experienced will be resolved.

Our Customer Support department is also at your disposal to answer any queries you may have regarding our products, the repair & service procedure or any other aspect of TomTom.

Kind regards,

Rory Carr,
TomTom Customer Relations Dept.

Customer 11/08/2006 07.10 PM
Hi again. I had a telephone conversation with tomtom a few weeks agao, and i was told that no one had complained about the problems i have encountered, now i am told that some people have,. but not enough for you to consider it a "known issue".... so, basically, someone aint telling the whole truth.

the bracket i have ordered from touratech will not be poeted to me in the near future, as and i quote "so many people have had the same problem you are talking about, and unfortunately, demand for a better bracket has meant we are still waiting for more brackets to arrive".

i know your technicians will be looking into this when i send it back, but i am in engineer and i have tried several solutions, including using 2 brand new mounts (the easiest solution) that my friends have when they ordered their tomtom riders...and on both occasions, the rider moved too far that the contacts were not made.

so, whether you repair the mount or send a new one, i cannot see how it will solve this problem. if we could meet face to face, i could show you what i mean, and we would not be having this conversation, as a picture paints a thousand words. i really cant see what the problem is...the mount is not strong enough to hold the rider in a safe and steady position, and that is the problem.

i will include a video clip on cd for you to show you what i mean when i send the rider and bracket back. this will not be until i return from holiday at the beginnig of sept.

for the moment, i have cable tied and taped the rider into the mount to try and stop the 'drilling" of the contacts.

and i have to tell you again, if you send me back a new mount, and it allows the rider to move in it the way it has done, you will be getting it back again. i really think that this solution will be a great waste of time and money.

and i repeat, if you cannot offer a better securing arrangement, i would like a refund, as i am not going to continually cable tie and tape the rider in position every time i want to use it.

yours sincerely


Response 10/08/2006 01.33 PM
Dear Mr. Sk8,

Upon receiving the mount it will be inspected by TomTom technicians and determined if it should be repaired. If it is not repairable then they will have it replaced. We are confident the issue will then be resolved.
Please refer to the automated email reference DER06081034115 for further instructions. Alternatively login to your account on our website and select the 'Support' tab. Once you have done so then select 'My Repair and Services' and edit this reference number where you will receive instructions on how to proceed. Please include only those items listed and a copy, not the original, of your proof of purchase.

With kind regards,
Dante Pereira Passaro
TomTom Customer Relations Backup Coordinator

Customer 10/08/2006 01.09 PM
The rider and its mount being tested on a range of motorcycles is not the issue here...the issue is that the mount is not strong enough to hold the rider in position, thus allowing the problems already mentioned to occur.
If i send the rider back to you, what exactly will you do to repair it?
And if it has the same problem when i get it back, will you want it back for repair again?
And, exactly how many times will you carry out this repair?

What i want is for a tomtom representative to come and have a look at my mount, and when i show them exactly what the problem is, and it is not a repair issue, as i have already stated, i want them to tell me face to face that there is no problem with t he mount. And it will take some convincing for me to agree that there is not an issue here.

I will be sending the tomtom rider back to you when i return from hoilday. can you send me a link to any returns procedure please.

Response 09/08/2006 03.43 PM
Dear Mr. Sk8,

Thank you for your feedback. Feedback is an integral part of improving our products. The issue you have mentioned has indeed been risen by other customers. However, this is within the 1% technical faults rate and thus not a known issue. If you are experiencing issues with your RIDER mount we will be more than willing to have this brought in for repair. Please inform us if you would like us to do so. Please note that the RIDER and its mount have been extensively tested on a range of motorcycles before being released and we are therefore confident in our product.
We trust in having informed you sufficiently,
With kind regards,
Dante Pereira Passaro
TomTom Customer Relations Backup Coordinator.

Customer 07/08/2006 08.39 PM
Hi there. I have just bought the touratech mount (see attachment) for the rider as i am very concerned that the contacts on the back of the rider are going to get damaged because of the vibrations allowed by the cradle. Until the new cradle arrives, i have used cable ties, and have wrapped them around the outside of the rider and the cradle, but this still allows the rider to vibrate. i have also used cable ties through the security strap fixing, and attached them to the rear of the cradle. this puts a slight twisting force on the rider, but stops the vibration.
If you require some pictures, i can send these to you.

I was told by the helpline that i was the first person to highlight this problem, and that there would be no solution. My friend, whom i reccommended the rider to is also experiencing the same problems.

I want you to read the information supplied on these websites...

http://www.yournav.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=6512
http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=79546

and I DO NOT WANT ANYONE ELSE FROM TOMTOM TELLING ME THAT THEY HAVE NOT HEARD OF THIS BEFORE.

I hope to hear from you very soon.

Nice on SK8, I have a Tom Tom and am waiting for the same problem to happen now as it is obviously a design fault. Please keep us informed of your progress, I hope others on this site who have suffered the same problem will support you by adding their names to future correspondence. Seems to me the product is not fit for purpose and you should get a full refund.

Good luck.

JDH

mike wright said:

same happened with mine

Click to expand...

and mine I think they are pish

Thanks guys,

Wathch this space for I will now declare war on TOMTOM.

In the meantime, if anyone else out there has suffered the same problem, please let me know and I will use the volume of faults as evidence to prove that the system is not fit for purpose and hopefully we may get some action.

Chris

Persist ....

chrisB said:

Thanks guys,
In the meantime, if anyone else out there has suffered the same problem, please let me know and I will use the volume of faults as evidence to prove that the system is not fit for purpose and hopefully we may get some action.
Chris

Click to expand...

Chris, I posted this thread some while back as I was first aware of some reported problems. http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=78071

The Goldwing rider has shown me two broken cradles, TT did replace one and he was made to pay for the other. Also the Harly rider had his losing and falling out of their cradle, TT have sent registered owners a lanyard. I know some forum members have not had any problems, so maybe its down to the bike and where its fitted. I am aware of various TT replies so far including using the wrong mount, I also has a TT customer service reply advising one customer to source a RAM mount as the TT offering did not suit one guy's bike. It seems the usual game of deny and deflect as its never their cradle, sorry TT it is.

Chris, if needs must, email TT the forum bike links as it may be effective to get a result.

chrisB said:

Thanks guys,

Wathch this space for I will now declare war on TOMTOM.

In the meantime, if anyone else out there has suffered the same problem, please let me know and I will use the volume of faults as evidence to prove that the system is not fit for purpose and hopefully we may get some action.

Chris

Click to expand...

Hi there!
I have the same problems with the crap contacts of my TTRider after 2500 kms on a 1200GS. Here in Germany the same procedures apply: Ask for help in a forum > there, everybody is convinced that it really IS a design problem > contact TomTom > have it "repaired", eventually on a regular basis > as a matter of fact it won't function properly after repair > when you ask TomTom, they never heard of this contact problem before because you are always the first to complain..
See the similarities? It does not matter where you're from or where you bought the Rider, it is simply their way of doing business. As I am not sure about legal possibilities in UK: Has anybody been successful in being refunded or did TomTom pay for a better docking-shoe (Touratech or the like)?

Regards from Cologne

Klaus

A chum of mine who looks after misslies and stuff for the RAF experienced this issue.

He 'cured' it by affixing some coipper strips to thos on the back of the TomTom using a conductive glue. The strips are thin, but he says the contact is much better, and any arcing will involve the 'sacrifical' strips he's attached and not the device itself.

Strikes me that you shouldn't need to do this a toy that's new out of the box.

I've had issues with the screen coating on my 2610, but there's never been any problem with the electrical connections.

i had a few conversations with the tt customer support, and it was them that told me they had never heard of it before...a few days later, my mate calls, same answer, no one has heard of it before.

but after emailing them the links via their website, (the txt i posted here wasnt it all, it had links to this site as well), they replied with this less than 1% pap...

now, is that 1% of all "riders" that have been sold, or 1% of all tomtom products, cos looking at the complaints from those with "riders", i would be surprised if it was less than the 1% they state...

my problem now is that it is going back for repair...and no doubt it will, but it will come back with the same mount, which as we know, is rubbish. fortunately for me, but not for the cause of getting tt to sort their mount out, i will be putting it in the touratech mount which has finally arrived, and i call tell you now, if it moves from that thing, then i'm in trouble...

but i will continue to harass tt, as why should i have to pay through the nose for a product, only to have to fork out another wedge to another company to sort their stuff out.

as for the "not fit for purpose", and getting your money back, the customer support line tells you to "write"...not email or phone, via their complaints procedure details from the website. and as you can see frommy previous post, i mentioned the money back bit, and they gave it a damned good ignoring too.... i normally find that meeting face to face with people works best...anyone fancy a trip to amsterdam?

I gave my opinion of the TomTom Rider on a previous thread TomTom is girlie, But was pounced on.

Interesting to see that it is now classed as "not fit for purpose".

Say it with me, folks: "G-a-r-m-i-n"

Al

Just to keep you informed, TT have requested that I return the item for evaluation/repair or anything else they can cobble together. I am compiling an appropriate covering letter which will contain some very searching questions.

Watch this space

Chris - Add me to the list of TTR owners that is having this problem - Its a shame as it is the the best portable SatNav on the market in terms of performance (IMHO), however the customer sevice department is staffed by muppets who want to wriggle out of their obligations rather than trying to fix the problem. My problem is still intermittent, but its getting worse - I was toying with putting a plug on the power lead and soldering the connections together on the back of unit - Any thoughts anyone?

Interesting twist ....

[QUOTE='Nuffsaid]Chris - Add me to the list of TTR owners that is having this problem - Its a shame as it is the the best portable SatNav on the market in terms of performance (IMHO), however the customer sevice department is staffed by muppets who want to wriggle out of their obligations rather than trying to fix the problem - Any thoughts anyone?[/QUOTE]

I shall call this 'gossip' for the time being .. but from an informed source and since my last post, I hear TT has approached *** to help them with a mount for TT Rider.

Read into it what you want, maybe it speaks volumes.

After all the problems I have heard of people having with the Rider I still went and bought one but have come up with this retaing strap to stop both the arcing of the contacts and the chance of it falling off.

Side view.

Other side.

And front. The ends are crimped ends formed into clips which I have coated in plastic and the strap itself is rubbber that does not stretch very much.
I knocked it up at work today.

Mr Egon - You are a god amongst TomTom owners ......this looks like the dogs dooberies .... I reckon you have a businsess there if you were to sell them ....Count me in as customer No #1 if you are interested in knocking a few of these up!