Hey Jeff....Whats this all about???

Found this statement on another site....
Yamaha voided my warranty because I drilled holes in my cleanout plugs when installing EZ locks.

Is this true??

Yamaha won't void your warranty because of adding something. But they will probably no longer warrant the cleanout plugs, because they are modified. We had this fear tactic a few years back. Several service managers made claims that they (yamaha) wouldn't modified boats. After the dust settled, it was clarified by my dealer, that they wouldn't cover modified components, but that wouldn't void the warranty overall. But get this...they won't warranty your stock plug if it blows either!

No hysteria intended but I wanted some clarification

A lot of the story, pretty much all of it, is being left out of that statement. In my opinion it's unfair to post that everywhere with no explanation. @Cobra Jet Steering LLC

Just send a private conversation to Jeff, that would be the best way to get an answer directly.

txav8r said:

Yamaha won't void your warranty because of adding something. But they will probably no longer warrant the cleanout plugs, because they are modified. We had this fear tactic a few years back. Several service managers made claims that they (yamaha) wouldn't modified boats. After the dust settled, it was clarified by my dealer, that they wouldn't cover modified components, but that wouldn't void the warranty overall. But get this...they won't warranty your stock plug if it blows either!

Click to expand...

Even if modified they would need to prove that the modification specifically caused the failure to deny the claim.

Jeff has provided an answer at https://jetboaters.net/index.php?threads/yamaha-clean-out-plug-blow-out-poll.65/page-2#post-6510

Just an FYI, I use both Corba fins and ez locks and I am pleased with the purchase.

This is probably one of the worst quality and reliability issues that Yamaha has, and refuses to address. They refuse to warranty damage due to plug blow outs because they claim a blow out is due to user error. Apparently they took the stance with @Norboo that because he had modified the plugs this voided their warranty...a convenient way to avoid the fact that it wasn't user error! That said, Norboo was forced to modify the plug because the problem has nothing to do with user error, and has all to do with a shitty design of the plugs in the first place!

So vendors like @Cobra Jet Steering LLC and @JetBoatPilot have come up with creative ways for us to ensure these plugs don't blow out when seated properly. If I was in Norboo's position, I would take them to court, but that is mostly because I'm tired of Yamaha dodging bullets on this issue. The plugs should be recalled and they should provide an alternate solution that ensures they don't blow out! And until someone takes them to court and pushes for a recall, we will be stuck dealing with workarounds.

That Yamaha claims that drilling a hole in a plug voids the warranty is TERRIBLE. But like many big companies they get away with things.

It is good to know they take this stance....so Norboo....thanks for letting the community know! At the vendors, probably worthwhile you letting your clients know Yamaha's position on this.

#plugblowout

All that said, I installed a bilge alarm so that if I ever get water in my bilge as soon as there is > about 1"....my boat screams at me! And plug blow outs was the reason I did this primarily....

Has Yamaha Corporate ever acknowledged the issue?

It would be nice if the original poster of this could clarify that statement. It makes it sound as if you drill a hole in your plug they will not warranty your boat. That is just not true.

Yamaha has acknowledged that we are incompetent and don't know how to insert the plugs into our boats. They claim user error, which is true in some cases, but not all. And if it were a car, and it was easy to crash your car because of a slippery foot pedal (for example), it would get recalled because injury attorney's would get involved. Thankfully there have been no injuries due to this bad design yet.

And don't get me wrong....this is the ONLY thing I rail on Yamaha for with regards to these boats. And I've never had a plug blow out (knock on wood).

I'm pretty sure Norboo's problem was they wouldn't warranty his engine submersion claim because the plugs were modified. Well they won't warranty it if they aren't modified either.

Norboo, I am curious what you have done with your cleanout plugs since this incident. Have you purchased new ones that have not been modified so that you do not have the risk of falling into the same situation, or are you continuing to use your EZ Locks? Have you done anything further to protect yourself, including a bilge alarm and second bilge pump?

I do not remember seeing the original thread on this back in 2012. There may be much more to it than I am aware of. However, I don't think that Norboo's experience should be dismissed as user error just because there is no evidence of failure before or after his case either. The problem may be real, just extremely rare. As far as warranty denial, Jeff is 100% right, and Yamaha has to prove that a modification that we made was the direct result of the failure (I have been down this road before with another manufacturer, and I won). I suspect that they just gave you the easiest answer they could come up with and figured you would except it and not push back. Regardless, my dealer was clear with me that water damage to motors due to a plug blowout would not be covered under warranty, regardless of whether or not I had modified my cleanout plugs.

That is correct, the won't cover water ingestion.

Boat Crazy said:

It would be nice if the original poster of this could clarify that statement. I makes it sound as if you drill a hole in your plug they will not warranty your boat. That is just not true.

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This is in someones Sig I saw and it started me wondering.
Signature
Yamaha voided my warranty because I drilled holes in my cleanout plugs when installing EZ locks.
Costed $14K to learn the hard way.

Julian said:

All that said, I installed a bilge alarm so that if I ever get water in my bilge as soon as there is > about 1"....my boat screams at me! And plug blow outs was the reason I did this primarily....

Click to expand...

x2

Guys, can you elaborate on this bilge alarm, sounds like a important mod now that I know this.

Evil Sports said:

This is in someones Sig I saw and it started me wondering.
Signature
Yamaha voided my warranty because I drilled holes in my cleanout plugs when installing EZ locks.
Costed $14K to learn the hard way.

Click to expand...

I saw the same, exact thing and was wondering also.

Evil Sports said:

Guys, can you elaborate on this bilge alarm, sounds like a important mod now that I know this.

Click to expand...

X2 where did you end up mounting the bilge sensor?