Now for the Saga of my overheating VTX

When purchasing my VTX I opted for the the Monsoon from Indmar since, my previous boat had the Indmar 350 carburated engine in an I-drive Moomba Outback. Now I had the Moomba for 10 years with a seasonal replace battery,starter,shaft packing and pump the boat always started and had very few issues till year 9 when I had the carb rebuilt. 

So now to my less that 25hr old Malibu that overheated all the time and had a surge in startup

 to add to my issues. On my 6th launch( probably the boat's 10th) from the worst trailer ever built into my lake which is admittedly low. While throttling it off the trailer as described by a manufactures customer service rep. the boat overheat blinking screen of doom came on saying OVERHEAT. So I shut it off as I float off in to the middle of my lake waiting for the boat to cool down . Now to review the boat has overheated 3 other times and I mentioned it in the first service ticket to the dealer(where they claimed to have changed a sensor???) Now I go to the dealer and call Malibu Customer service where I was blessed to have the good fortune to talk with Stephanie J who

 claimed in a second phone conversation with me where she says it was some how my fault and sides with my dealer who is telling me I must have destroyed my new boats pump. ( the Dealer says the same ) so I fold even knowing that I couldn't have, I play along. I get stuck buying it then pulling it and checking it on a new boat . This is like buying an new car and the dealer telling you to fix the water

 pump(just not right) Well the the pictures tell the story(not an easy picture to get) looked like when they built the boat.((A must have is a inline sediment filter thankfully I am smarter than the dealer and had one installed it gets the grass algie before it gets in the engine and is in a clear cylinder so it can be visually checked quickly.)) We checked it as well a little sand nothing more.

Now, After a not so funny e-mail from my dealer I call them where the dealer sends one of his best techs to do a dock side repair. His tech arrives and looks into the over heating and a new problem a random popping(sounds like popcorn) when the boat gets warm not hot. First as I had told the dealer the 90degree elbo hardware on the exhaust was loose and could be the problem(note made of plastic and I believe will be an ongoing issue) and it was part of it. Then we plug in his pc and motor around for a while to recreate the popping noise and we do as well as check for overheating. The Tech spent 3 hrs on this and felt it was fixed and recorded the data from my boat popping to send to Indmar support.(I think they may want to switch to mac since the data collected on their pc was corrupted no help from Indmar)

Then my nephews arrive and of course they want to go on the boat not more than 10 minutes on the water it starts with the Doom notifications of overheating and add a new one which I 

expected from the beginning ECU(electronic control unit)failure. Oddly the boat would be hard and at one point had to be tricked into restarting to allow me to get back to the dock. On one occasion in the same session the boat started ran and would have the screen flashing the above message.

Well as with everything on this boat it's a fight, I take my nephew and his friend with me to the dealer and discuss the issue and he then tells me well we as a industry have had many issues and a high failure rate with these MMDC

 modules and it controls everything on the engine and gauges. 

So he sends a tech out late on a saturday to his credit and they replace the module and feel they have it right. Except now apparently a missing gasket on the afore mentioned filter may cause more problems. I found the missing gasket and wasn't sure where it came from but later installed it as instructed by the dealer.

After 4 weeks of this I'm happy to report  the boat seems to run great still a little uneasy about the throttle surge at start up. Once again the dealer says that's normal but the last time I started any of my cars none of them surge up and down. 

For the Repair ........ Not even close

Now below in red is the first E-mail sent directly to my service advisor at my dealer with problems and concerns before my first service along with a short group of questions that were latter sent to Malibu Corperate on the Mux Switches.  I also outlined issues with the Mux controllers that had no options or aux switch openings. Worth noting once again calling around finally led to the document with instructions on how to change around controls. Why Malibu doesn't put that film crew to work on a DVD showing how to adjust and use everything on this boat is a mystery to me instead a fluff dvd of pros wakeboarding.

Got a two page doc from the my Malibu dealer's lead tech showing how to modify the mux controls( not in my owners manual I checked) . Ok here are a few short comings
1) No instructions on how to add switch to blank spot
2)Switch options disappeared all together prior to editing I saw a front tower and rear tower switch only one shows up now.
3) No open aux switch options? for adding other powered accessories(lights on rear swim platform/other mood lighting(since tier is no place for other regular switches) ( I could use the switch called vent,I guess? still no documentation on your site or any where else)
4)No instructions on how to exit programing mode?
5) Why not add horn button to the steering wheel and free up 3 possible switch modes since the factory lighting options end up on 2 pages ( I gota believe every one would know where it is).

Hit list of problems not pictured
1)Dummy screws in table post
2)Dummy screw in rear compartment for 90 deegre brace
3)Loose nuts in right side gunnel area
4)tower super loose rattled like a 20 year old tower towing 300lbers instead of the hot little Arwyn weighing in at 103lb.
5)Same no tower stop needs adjustment other wise it sits on dash
6)Believe it or not one of the 2 screws holding the Led up in the storage area below glovebox is loose( I'm sure it's not alone)
7)Tons of butt connectors everywhere felt like they clipped down a harness from a vlx to fit
8)All of the accent lights joined with but connectors
9)When I removed malibu lit logo on right side,plastic was cracked before I got to it(very thin not very impressive). (can any one point me to your Led supplier so I can order blue leds to replace the red ones and since they are butt connected I know I will do a better job)
10) I expect Malibu to run and connect tower power leads into the medalion unit so all I need to do is install my bar and put fuses in.(I think it is inexcusable that the wires are not pulled and loomed to their desired locations like speaker wires from tower to stereo area and to medalion control box.
11) I also believe it is Malibu's responsibility to supply a solid place to mount my aftermarket head unit wether it be Sony or Alpine or Pioneer if i choose not to  get the JBL black box as well as a universal connector to control all major head units with the mux switches( since the only place to add third party controller is the glass). If you do get JBL Black box you need add a Mute on the remote  Mux controller so when you come around to verify rider is ok or offer instruction it's a simple tap away.
Fix the air tube hanging down in the front right gunnel in plain sight(it's just sad)

I have a few other issues
1) While the windshield is super cool I have a huge collection of dead love bugs in a place I can't get to but can see.
2)Trailer cover sucks ( if you try to put it on from inside the boat , many of my attempt have left me crawling under the cover going to the front and having to get the nose of the cover back on  and pulling it over the windshield is just plain hard. Once you get to the tower it's done as long as the wind doesn't blow) 

So that was the list and other than a service and a few token newer style heat shrink butt connectors.

What makes it worse is I went to pick it up and the service manager went into the boat and the few loose screws I actually mentioned weren't even touched as demonstrated in front of him. Then the tower issue he claimed was all-ready adjusted as best as it can be.  As my pictures will support the tower was over tightened and the gasket is worthless now, as well as being able to lifting it up and down I will video tape and demonstrate in latter blog entries. The dealer fix for the Loose tower rattle was a piece of foam and then they didn't even bother to put it in. the Dive platform lights were rewired to a switch called heater on the right bank. The tower lights were wired at an expense to me of a 150.00. Where Malibu clearly has slipped and is in denial since most of these features have existed for years on previous VLX's that had the mux controller.

Quality for which Malibu Based their reputation On

Now I have a refund check for my JBL in hand and want to install a radio/IPod controlled unit in my Malibu. Of course Malibu made no provisions for this so you guessed it either I kiss my glovebox good by or get creative with my storage locker where the my amps are.  

Now I proceed to remove the the Jbl and start working on my strategy for my stereo. Here where I get my first up close example of quality, Ready When I pull the panel in the storage area away their is the radio connected by what appears to be a bunch of butt crimp connectors(understand that this is still a unsealed electrical connection when moisture from the air gets in it can corrode and destroy the connection most marine installers will solder and heat shrink their connection) and then on top of that a huge ball of wire from the Usb/Mini audio connector at least 20ft of wire(see Pic) (someone didn't order the right length) Not excited so far then go to the drivers side to run a sub wire when I see even more butt connectors and even better a very large 4 ga positive feed wire sitting on the ground strip spade connectors ready to wear it away and eventually shorting out the entire electrical system(see Pic).

Along with this I find numerous loose screws all over the boat keep in mind the boat was only 5-7hrs old and I was already enjoying my new boat being on my back having to put a stereo in since the factory one was a dud and no fix on the horizon. This is only the start.....

According to Stephanie J at Malibu their is no misrepresentation

Let's start with the dock lights put on my boat,When I ordered my boat at the dealer I had discussed dock lights and was shown two boats on the lot with billet aluminum or stainless with a inset lamp. then at the factory where these incredibly cheap looking tinplated stick on huge fish eye shaped led lights . When I returned home to my dealer and pointed out that both the brochure and the web site still showed the old ones at his expense had swapped them out. The online brochure was recently updated and the site as well but the lights I wanted are sill on page 40 see pic of current web brochure. (oppps) Malibu boats online brochure

Now on to the next one the JBL BB3(Black Box 3 Radio unit) Shown on page 6 and in the back under options connected to a Apple Ipod nano one generations back from current. Listed as a IPOD CONTROLLER none of the ones at my disposal or the dealers nor any one on the malibu forums and other sites discuss this fraud it may work with one Ipod made back 7 years ago that no one has access to but it didn't work with the one pictured in their literature ( see online brochure listed above or pic)which is the one I have. After making calls to the manufacture and customer service and my dealer who was completely unaware of and had no ideal how it was suppose work  after a month of my time and effort gave me a refund and left me to figure out where to put a radio and a controller. Which will leave you with a very cool controller on the right side of the steering wheel that runs only the wedge and leaves you looking thru two screens of radio controls that do nothing. (this feature was so bad my dealer has decided to not offer the factory JBL units at all) If you call any of the dealers they will break down and eventually inform you of this major defect. Which lead to the next Item mentioned in their January blog (has been removed because of me )where the integration of the JBL BB3 would allow you to select a playlist to play under rider profile. Once again a huge feature I was looking forward to was the user profiles well guess what the Wedge is not controlled under the user profiles as described you have to manually put it up and down and the controls are very sketchy as to get it exactly where you want it twice. The power wedge was  a very expensive option and I thought would be great the dealer once agin has no way of fixing the switch and Malibu didn't think to have the wedge controller drop it at increments that a single button control could act on or their integrated Medallion controller could be set with like the balast tanks that fill in increments.

Now on to the tower where I was told putting it up and down would be a breeze since the guy who built my boat house built it low since  he had no tower when it was constructed.  So once again the dealer shows me the tower tells me it is a easy lift and lower and it is counter sprung for this purpose. Ok so I go to lower mine for the first time and the thing lies on my very cool stitched Marine vinyl covered dash had the tower been mounted inches forward or back it would have been clear of the dash. Now I was told by my dealer and his salespeople and found and article that the tower could be adjusted so it would stop short of the the dash. now I'm told that can't happen by my dealer and Malibu's own Stephanie J in customer service says their is an optional spring kit which is not on their site and I guess at birth I was suppose to know this. (Ok it took me two years of shopping to buy this boat and the dealer knew it had to be lowered to get in and out of my boat house why was this option never brought up and now they want to sell it to me) So the dealer is oblivious to this and gives me a support pole (made by the manufacture of the tower  (cost 75.00 he gave it to me to try yo solve the problem)that is going to make this all better. Not... 

Now putting this tower  up "wow" If I was only 3 inches taller since at 5'5 I can't get the tower up and that wonderful spring mechanism won't keep the tower up enough to allow me to put the pins in and I certainly can't reach the pin insert locations and hold the tower up. Now that super fix all pole is about 2 inches short of holding the tower up so to finish putting it up I get to use my best quarterback moves and shoulder it up enough to put the pins in . Please go to the following link and read his review and ask yourself why are the two so far apart apparently his dealer knew about the secret spring and knew how to adjust it. WakeWorld Malibu Illusion X Tower review

All of this and their are other items I feel are inaccurately represented. Some of the features may work but, no solid instruction from the dealer or manufacture exists. Like their unified user profile presets very cryptic instructions and even funnier than that is that the dash lights up but the buttons that control the ballasit and unified controls in the center of the dash are not. You might think this is the first year they built this boat with that center dash control module NOT and ask yourself why no instructional videos showing theses great features and their operation.  Their are some very sophisticated controls here buried deep in menus and not as clearly marked as they need to be.  As an example the cruise control,well I've been driving ski boats for years and I take a gradual pull approach and over throttle by maybe 10-15%. So I never had a problem with this but when my room mate and my best friend tried to pull me they over throttled past the cruise control and until it was mentioned on a service ticket where I was informed about the fact even with it set you should try yo only throttle to the speed you want to go with in 10% a training video would have been a help their. While I understand using pro riders to market the boats why not have them show how to use the boats.

Now on to the JBL, just try to find that list of approved Ipods on their site or more detailed information on their $1,200.00 JBL radio that sells for $325.00 minus speakers on ebay. Not even the manufacture of the JBL BB3 Prospec Click on link to see manufactures site offer a list and once you get the boat denial time starts. Even talking with Sephanie J her aproach with me was that these units worked on sombody she knew in the office and I must be crazy (yea that's why it has 6 threads on the Malibu crew forum and even a couple of new articles on line on it as always just me)

So these are a quick over view of only some of the things that were misrepresented to me by the dealer and the manufacture. This in no way represents the hours of research calls and personal expense went into these problems which Malibu hesitates and even trys to deny and to date has not resolved

So the Problems begin

So I put the boat in my lake and it is really windy and actually looked like it might rain so I decide to pull it out and put it on my new Boatmate tailer. After many years of owning a Moomba and loading it figured it would be a snap. While the boat was aligned with the trailer a manufacture engineering screw up allows the prop to come in and hit the trailers prop guard and destroys my first prop with less than 3 hrs on the boat. Boatmate claims it is my fault and removes them self from blame. Now of course I get stuck with the cost of the prop and and damage on the trailer. For any future Malibu boat buyers don't let your dealer talk you into these or Extreme trailers unless you live on a wind free lake. Since the boat can move left to right one foot it can hit this poorly designed trailer and cost you an instant $600.00. While Malibu doesn't make a trailer for their boat they do show other manufactures that do and once you have damaged your boat they suddenly remember other manufacture that make better fitting trailers. The dealers will say no body gets their boats on crooked they lie... While at my dealer a ranked pro rider got their boat on crooked and Acme props who manufactures the OEM props acknowledged it happens. So Be very careful of your dealer they are in the business to sell stuff that may or may not be correct for your boat and once you ding it then suddenly everything is your fault. Notice though in the picture of the nautique trailer how the prop guard is way forward of the prop and the back of the trailer protector goes from rail to rail clearly designed for incident free launching and loading.  Now since Boatmate wants to stay neutral they offer no instructions with their trailer for launching and loading the trailer. But a conversation with them they suggest dropping it in as pictured wetting the bunks and hitting the throtel and punching the boat on the trailer as hard as you can ramming it into the eye loop on the front of the boat is the preferred method. While washing out the ramp behind it using all that force is ok.  But then this method should not be so strong as to wash up debrie around it so that it may get sucked into the boat and cause cooling issues which again is your fault.  Oh and if any of you have had this situation pleas contact me. The dealers and malibu belive I am the only guy who has ever done this.

The boat arrival is kept a mystery till the day before

Picture of the boat at the dealer

Pictures at the Plant of my Malibu VTX in the rigging stage

I was so Excited I actually went to the Factory

Should have been worried from the start when they couldn't even get my name right on the sign. Oh I mean on the sign, I mean put it on the sign(

they couldn't spell it Frierman but HUSTAK Yea