I have been going back and forth with Aqua Lung and Suunto regarding my recently deceased Suunto Cobra (bad depth gauge, same as everyone else) that I purchased new from an authorized reseller in 2001. I was asked by Aqua Lung to produce my receipt, which I did, only to be told that they couldn't help me, that I would have to throw away my unit since it was out or warranty and can't be repaired or replaced, and that my only option was to buy a new unit at full price. They refused to offer any discount on the purchase of a new Suunto Cobra 3 unit.
I was very displeased with this response, and so I contacted Suunto directly to check and see if it was true that the entire unit had to be replaced, and could not be fixed. I talked to a customer support representative, who told me she would check on the issue for me, and reply by email. She responded as promised, with the following reply:
Subject
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Suunto Cobra
Discussion Thread
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Response (Emilia Gennaio) - 06/30/2009 04:00 AM
Dear Sir,
Thank you for contacting Suunto.
The service center informed me that your Cobra can be repaired only by replacing the module.
Please, check if Aqualung if they can replace the module.
If you need further assistance, do not hesitate to contact us again.
With Best Regards,
Suunto Helpdesk
Response (Emilia Gennaio) - 06/29/2009 05:27 AM
Dear Sir,
Thank you for contacting Suunto.
I contacted the service center and I am waiting for a reply from the technician.
I will contact you again as soon as I have more information.
With Best Regards,
Suunto Helpdesk
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This was not what I wanted to hear regarding a very expensive dive computer that I had only used for approximately 50 dives. So I responded with the following message:
I purchased this computer new from an authorized Aqua-Lung dealer in 2001. I paid $700 U.S. at the time. I have only used this computer for approximately 50 dives, and have kept it in perfect condition.
Aqua-Lung informed me that since the unit is outside their warranty period of 5 years, that I will be unable to repair or replace the unit. They told me that my only option is to buy an entirely new unit, at full price. They refused to give me any discount off the price of a new unit, despite the fact that my old Suunto Cobra unit failed due to a KNOWN manufacturing defect. Given that this is a dive computer that many people, including myself, trust their safety to underwater, I am very displeased that Suunto did not notify customers that this unit's depth gauge is known to malfunction and give a bad reading. Not only is this a possible safety issue, but it seems that the main motivation on the part of Suunto and Aqua-Lung is to deny that this problem exists until the customer's warranty has expired and they can no longer obtain a replacement without purchasing a new unit.
I am frankly shocked that this is the way Suunto treats their customers. As a Divemaster, I can't in good conscience recommend a Suunto computer to students or fellow divers, when it is clear that Suunto has no interest in providing adequate customer service, but rather in protecting their bottom line at all costs. Aqua-Lung has already refused to provide me any help in this matter, and so I contacted Suunto, in the belief that they would hold themselves to a higher level of customer service. Your response makes it clear to me that this is not the case.
It would be one thing if the Cobra unit was no longer on the market. I would understand if it was an outdated unit that was long past its warranty period. However, the Cobra is still actively sold new at retail, and therefore I feel there is a responsibility on Suunto's part to, at the very least, maintain the brand image of the device by replacing DEFECTIVE units, whether they are under warranty or not. At the very least, give me a discount towards the purchase of a Cobra 3 unit.
As I told Aqua-Lung earlier, as a customer who was sold a defective product that had no hope of lasting the 300 dives (minimum) I expected to get out of the unit, Suunto has lost me as a customer, as well as an advocate for the brand.
For further reading on the extent of this issue in the dive community, I have posted some links below. I am clearly not the first to have this happen to my computer, nor will I be the last. However, I can tell you that I am terribly displeased by the way that Suunto has handled the situation, and will be looking into legal remedies to perhaps organize other unhappy customers and seek monetary compensation for being sold a defective and faulty product. It is always frustrating to deal with poor product quality, even more so when the product is being used in a "mission critical" application like diving, where fault tolerance is extremely low, and the result of a faulty product could very well be the customer's injury or death.
I hope that Suunto will change their mind regarding their unwillingness to help customers replace defective dive computers. By acknowledging that some of their computers are defective and require replacement, Suunto can proactively remove these units from the market and prevent them from being used for diving, where they might cause injury or death. Or, they can continue to pretend that there is no problem, in which case they accept responsibility for the malfunctioning units they have placed on the market, and the human cost with which it might come.
~~~.scubaboard.com/forums/computers-gauges-watches-analyzers/225212-suunto-cobra-depth-sensor.html
~~~.scubaboard.com/forums/computers-gauges-watches-analyzers/244497-cobra-depth-sensor-went-out.html
~~~.scubaboard.com/forums/computers-gauges-watches-analyzers/195116-beware-suunto-computers-d9-vytec.html
I look forward to your reply. Thank you for your kind consideration of this matter.
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It is clear that despite the length of this particular thread, and the obvious problems with these units (I took immaculate care of my unit, and yet it failed nonetheless), Suunto needs a wakeup call from its customers. I have posted an online petition to gather the signatures of Suunto customers who have experienced problems with a failed depth gauge. It can be found here: ~~~.petitionspot.com/petitions/listensuunto
My Suunto Depth Gauge failed. Customer Service? - Petition Spot
This is the first step in gathering voices to convince Suunto that it is cheaper to listen to our demands, and replace our units, than deal with potential fatalities from malfunctioning dive computers, and the ensuing legal conundrum that this type of problem is bound to create. This thread alone is an evidence trail that will one day provide the basis for a massive negligence lawsuit against Suunto Corporation when a diver dies due to bad deco times provided by a malfunctioning Suunto dive computer.
If you have experienced the problem described in this thread, please sign the petition. We need to get Suunto's attention, and this is the first step.
This is my first post, so ~~~ = www so that I can post urls.
