Fanatec Support don't respond
Hi,
whats the rough time frame for tickets to be looked at? I waited a month for my csl 5 nm dd bundle to arrive. I've played for roughly 1hr and its overheats, shuts off, and stinks of burning plastic/wiring. Its a joke for how much these cost for it to break within 1hr of play time. Better yet fanatec support don't want anything to do with it! as it seems.
Comments
That sucks, sorry to hear that happening to you. Just bad luck getting a faulty device. Shit happens to even more expensive products though, look at cars, sometimes they come out of the factory as a lemon.
I'd imagine that Fanatec support isn't responding right away because they are probably super backed up in their support. I'd imagine their support team isn't big enough to handle all the craziness that happened with BF sales.
Hopefully they get back to you soon and get your base replaced. Good luck!
It's not since BF. This shit is happening for a half of a year by now.
My experience so far has been a little frustrating as well. I think it was 5 days or so between when I opened a ticket and when they first responded. Took 3-4 days to respond again after I responded to their first reply. Haven't heard back yet since then, but it's only been a couple of days.
Learning that it seems extreme patience is the name of the game here.
I have exactly the same scenario. I used my new CSL DD Wheel Base for about an hour, then it overheated, smelt hot and shut down. Restarting after cool down lasted about a minute. I attempted to raise an RMA over a week ago and received a meaningless automated response , but as per usual, absolutley nothing from a real person at Fanatec since. The absolutley most appalling thing is, when I went online to investigate this fault, I discovered so many others have experienced exactly the same fault over a long period of time. It is therefore clear to me that Fanatec are fully aware of this issue, but have seemingly continued to dispatch faulty, Chinese made CSL DD Wheel Bases. With the literally thousands of complaints on here and other media outlets, I am now seriously concerned about having bought into the Fanatec system, that they will still be in business in the very short term, or able to honor warranties in the future. Incidently, as of 11.01.24, my items are still showing as in their warehouse, even though delivered to me on 15.12.23! - I bet they'll get in a muddle as to them I do not have any items delivered, tracking number or serial numbers!. What a nightmare, yet they continue to post events on their Facebook page, spend millions (guess) on advertising and sponsorship, and promote themselves all over the place, but they can't service the customers who fall for it (me included lol).
I am sorry to read this but at least know I am not the only one. My experience is poor as well. I don't know why they dont have a tech support hotline. They really should have dealers so that they could help with product support. This is the price we pay........Here is my story:
I have been trying to get support on several issues I have had since starting my Fanatec journey on December 14th(original date of purchase). I ordered a wheel base/steering wheel/pedals/$1800. I am new to sims and I know you can spend more but I considered this a substantial order. First issue was with my order. Everything was in-stock when ordered and I placed and paid immediately. I would then check the order status to check its progress on a daily basis to track the progress since the purchases were for a Christmas present for my kids and I wanted to assure I could have everything in hand in time to surprise them and spend time using it with them over the holiday. After three business days and a weekend of seeing the status stuck at "transferred to warehouse" I made an inquiry through the website to make sure the order was under way and that I had not screwed something up. No answer or reply was ever made and I just crossed my fingers. Well nothing was sent till the on the friday after Christmas I was sent a delivery notice and received the product at that point. Unfortunately is was too late with holiday and the shipping etc to order another set from anyone else so My Christmas suprise had to incorporate the old G27 and pedals on the new chassis/pc/monitors etc, that all arrived on time. I was disappointed to have missed the holiday deadline and thought I had left enough time to get everything but was ok with it. I was only upset that Fanatec did not seem to have any way to be contacted and chaulked that up to the holiday season rush.
I was excited to get everything and updated everything on the PC side as recommended on the web and got started with plugging everything in. I followed the install process and tried to update the firmware etc and was not successful with that process. The only thing I could get to update was the wheel motor and it would fail after each attempt after that on everything else. I tried iRacing(which I had received a 3 month free coupon with the Fanatec product but could no longer use since I didnt have the product before lighting the sim up) and found things to seem to function. The force feedback was not detailed and I knew something was up but continued on. I opened a case online and kept using it. After a few day the kids called me and said that the buttons on the wheel quit working and it no longer had a display. I opened another case and got more serious about trying to trouble shoot the firmware and software. I opened a discussion on this forum to try and get some help as I had yet to get an reply from Fanatec. This went on for week......searching the internet for solution and having zero luck and getting more and more frustrated. I finally found a video on you tube through my discussion on the forum leading me to find that the usb interface between the wheel and the Quick release(motor side) had slipped out and needed to be reseated. After trying all torques recommended and still having it slip out after 10-15 minutes of use I found using Carbon Assembly Lube in the interface between the two parts to solve the issue. Now I have a working wheel again and was able to Update the QR/Wheel/Buttons. I was also able to Upgrade the firmware in the wheel motor and the force feedback improved quite a bit.
I had still not received any support from Fanatec at this point and it was a week of trying everything I could find. They have since then reached out but I am very upset with everything at this point. They have sent several boilerplate emails having me try to diagnose the current issue with not being able to update the wheel hub firmware and it crashing on update. I have sent them detailed responses with pictures/screenshots/video etc. I have asked repeatedly about an advance replacement, returning the product etc with no reply or indication of receipt. It seems to me this would be so easily handled with a phone number/contact and perhaps a screen share. I am really disappointed in my purchase and just want to be done with it. If I could return everything and purchase from another vendor who has dealers that will answer the phone and provide support I would. Has anyone had success contacting them or have any advice? Sad.