Melting 2610 screen

[Droopy Dick]

Went out to my bike today to find that the top surface of the screen on my 2610 is starting to crackle up abd flake away.

It did this about a year ago and Garmin repaired it FOC, but the packing note came back with a sarcastic dig about not using caustic solutions to clean the screen.

It never was cleaned that way.

Nor did it get petrol splashes 'cos I've always draped my glove over the 2610 when filling up.

However, what I have noted that this time, just like last, seems to have happened when I've left the bike out in the rain and the sun has been on the screen. I thought they were supposed to be waterproof.

Anyway, before I get on the phone to Garmin (or to save time simply drive to Romsey), what should I be asking for by way of repair?

I'm not confident that a new screen will last any longer.

Is there any sort of upgrade I could/should talk them in to?

Or should I sell it and buy a BMW unit instead?

 

[Mr K]

Don't go mental: Just ask for repair or replacement.

I just got my 3rd Quest back today, without any arguement...

 

[Deleted account W]

Ask them for a new one but be polite

 

[Marty Hill]

I was given a new one last feb. By the way, the BMW unit is just the same garmin with extra buttons so it will not solve your problem other than being a different unit.

 

[PanEuropean]

Dick:

I suspect the screen damage to your GPSR has been caused by water landing on a screen that is already covered with dust that contains industrial fallout, and the subsequent combination of heat from the sun and the water and industrial fallout mixing and forming a caustic solution.

I can't recall any other complaints from riders about disintegration of the screen on any of the 2xxx series of GPSRs.

I also use 2xxx GPSRs, and I frequently leave the GPSR installed on my motorcycle when it is parked outside. But - I put a protective plastic cover over the screen when I leave the GPSR in place on the motorcycle. That keeps dirt, industrial fallout, and water off the screen.

Garmin already did you a courtesy by replacing the first GPSR you damaged by your own neglect free of charge. I will be very surprised if they replace the second one free of charge, especially considering that the protective plastic cover is supplied as standard equipment in the box when you purchase a new 2xxx series GPSR.

Michael

 

[Steve]

especially considering that the protective plastic cover is supplied as standard equipment in the box when you purchase a new 2xxx series GPSR.

Might be with a 27xx or 28xx, but it's not with a 2610.

 

[Shep]

Might be with a 27xx or 28xx, but it's not with a 2610.

Agreed I didn't get one with mine

 

[cookie]

nor me.

 

[Steve]

And if you look up the part number, it's only for a 2720 or 2820.

 

[judge]

Garmin already did you a courtesy by replacing the first GPSR you damaged by your own neglect free of charge. I will be very surprised if they replace the second one free of charge, especially considering that the protective plastic cover is supplied as standard equipment in the box when you purchase a new 2xxx series GPSR.

Michael

This has to be a first coming to the defence of Droopy Dick but Michael where do you determine Dick has damaged his GPSR through neglect?

The 2610 for the UK market has never shipped with the cover you mention so it is hardly his fault for not using it.

If you read the blurb Garmin tell you the unit has a waterproof rating of IPX7 so it should be determinable from that the unit should be OK when left on the bike (from a purely waterproof perspective).

Sounds to me like Garmin realise the screen is a problem with dirty water falling on the screen so have started shipping the units with a cover, i.e.they recognise the fault and have attempted to remedy it with an aftermarket fitment of a cover.

I would suggest not only should Garmin replace the unit FOC (and I have no doubt they will), but they should also supply him FOC with the cover now shipped as standard equipment to help ensure their poor workmanship doesn't cause the owner further inconvenience.

Personally I never leave my GPSR on the bike so in 2 years of heavy use in all weathers I have never suffered this inconvenience and that would be my reccommendation for DD's new one

 

[Marty Hill]

Very nice cover came with my 2720. Not possible to use with TT locking mount/perhaps only fits with the garmin mount.

 

[Droopy Dick]

Dick:

I suspect the screen damage to your GPSR has been caused by water landing on a screen that is already covered with dust that contains industrial fallout, and the subsequent combination of heat from the sun and the water and industrial fallout mixing and forming a caustic solution.

I can't recall any other complaints from riders about disintegration of the screen on any of the 2xxx series of GPSRs.

Industrial fallout? There isn't any industry in Southampton any more, and anyway I live right at the rural edge.

Might just be pollen and stuff from the farmers activitites.

You'd have thought that standing in 3 hours of rain would have washed the screen clean anyway.

Oh, and whilst you may not have heard of any problems with the 2610 screens, the chap at garmin who booked in my 2610 last year admitted that they'd had a 'large' batch of units presenting with exactly the same problem.

I do take umbrage at the comment about damage caused by neglect. Nowhere in the Garmin literature do I find that I need to keep the unit out of the rain/sun. The do, however, make great play of the degree of waterproofing offered.

After two attempts to get through to Garmin on the phone today, I've decided to ride over on Monday and drop it in.

 

[Tim Cullis]

When it happened to my 2610, I'd been in persistent rain coming back through Spain in January. I arrived at a hotel, unscrewed the Garmin and stuck it in the tank bag, then took all the luggage up to my room. When I opened the tank bag in the morning the screen film surface was crazed. Obviously no sun had reached the unit in the tank bag overnight!

Garmin sent me a new unit.

Tim

 

[BurnieM]

I have heard of a number of SP2610 (and Navigator II) units in the UK, US and Germany that have suffered from screen delamination.

It seems to be in countries with noticable variations in temperature (particuarly very cold temps followed by normal or warm).
I have not heard of it occurring in Australia altho we almost certainly have units from the same batches.

This is not a one off problem.

 

[Droopy Dick]

I have heard of a number of SP2610 (and Navigator II) units in the UK, US and Germany that have suffered from screen delamination.

It seems to be in countries with noticable variations in temperature (particuarly very cold temps followed by normal or warm).
I have not heard of it occurring in Australia altho we almost certainly have units from the same batches.

This is not a one off problem.

But I'd hoped that with the replacement screen last year that I'd seen the last of this issue.

It was only as I sat pondering on the situation that it dawned on me that I had reproduced the rain/direct sunshine event of last year.

That being said, the device has certainly been out in the rain since then with no obvious ill-effects.

I shall drive over on Monday and ask Garmin, politely but firmly, to repair/replace this defective unit.

 

[judge]

But I'd hoped that with the replacement screen last year that I'd seen the last of this issue.

I doubt they replaced the screen, more likely they swapped the unit with another with a screen of the same type. To my knowledge they haven't bought a new type of screen out which doesn't suffer these symptoms.

 

[PanEuropean]

This has to be a first coming to the defence of Droopy Dick but Michael where do you determine Dick has damaged his GPSR through neglect?

Hi Judge:

That first post I made didn't come across (in writing) the way I meant it to come across when I composed it. My apologies to Droopy Dick for the way it read.

What I meant was this: If any GPSR is left outside, mounted on the motorcycle, dust and industrial fallout are going to collect on the exposed surfaces of it. This is no different than what will happen to anything else that is left outside exposed to the elements. When it rains, the water is going to mix with the dust, and depending on exactly what fallout (pollution) is in the dust, you can sometimes get a very weak acid formed. When the sun then comes out, it heats up the water/dirt mixture, the water evaporates, and the solution becomes more concentrated. I think probably everyone has seen the effect of this on the hoods, bonnets, and boot lids of cars, although the painted surfaces of cars are designed to be as resistant as possible to to the effects of industrial pollution.

Anyway, my point was that the screen has probably become damaged from the result of getting wet, then having the water/dust mixture evaporate off as a result of sunlight on it.

Like I said, I leave my GPSR on my moto also, but I put a cover on it. I actually purchased the cover (for about $10) back when I got my first 2610. I checked the literature and saw that they are now included with the 27xx and 28xx - I didn't go back far enough to see if they were included with the 26xx or not.

My own opinion (and this is not meant to be a shot at Droopy Dick) is that when you own something, you have a bit of an obligation to care for it with reasonable diligence, warranty or no warranty. For example, if you buy a car with a convertible top, the interior is designed to be resistant to the elements, but if you park it outside overnight with the top down all the time, it's going to deteriorate. Same with the GPSR... it's designed to be reasonably resistant to the elements, but I don't think the design spec foresaw leaving it outside, uncovered, overnight, on a continual basis.

Hope this clarifies what I was trying to say. It's difficult, sometimes, to convey nuance in text-only posts.

Michael