Lowrance units... what's your issues

[Tacklebuster]

I am less than a week away before dumping 2400 bones on a Lowrance unit and after reading a few "horror" posts. I would like to know of the issues or non issues you guys have had.

I have had a LMS-480m for three years with no issue execpt last Saturday. 20 something miles out in the ocean a pop up came up reading "Yikes, contact your customer service rep". I hit exit and all was good. No black outs or GPS cutting out or nothing. It's been fine since. I want to ugrade to a bigger color screen with more options and just don't want to buy the wrong thing.

I would like to hear opinions... good or bad from the people with the Lowrance units. Not so much about the guys with other units that have no experience with them. I find the Lowrance to be very user friendly and the bigger models are really easy to operate. I just don't want to throw away money on something I am going to have issues with... Been there, done that.

I plan on keeping the 480 and putting it on the passenger dash for a back up.

Thanks.

[Gundog]

Chris,
For that kind of money you could buy Furuno and the repair center is local in Camas but you probably won't need it. I had a Lowrance unit in my last boat the display lost its vacume and I sent it back they charged me over a C note and had it for 6 weeks. When I got it back the first time I used it the display lost the vacume and filled with fog again they said to send it back but I was in the middle of summer and I wanted to fish.

Lowrance is based in Oaklahoma what do they know about the salt? They are probably tops on bass boats but I would go a different way for salt water IMHO.

I have the Furuno GP7000F it has a nice sized screen 7" it is a chart plotter and FF in one. I have about 2K in it with the transducer and chart chip.

The unit probably weighs 2 times more than my Lowrance unit did. Good luck on your decision if you would like to play with mine let me know we can run down to the river.
Mike

[Catching Nemo]

I have a recent semi-personal experience with a Lowrance 113c HD. My cousin recently purchased one for his Trophy up in the Sound. I tried to dscourage him but he liked the LowranceNet features (mainly fuel management) which I admit are pretty cool. 1 week after install the transducer failed. Customer service sent him a new one immediately and he shipped the old one back to them. Everything was good for 2 more trips and then the screen went crazy and was splitting back and forth, sometimes looking like an old out of tune analog tv, then the screen went black and wouldn't come back up. He took everything back to the store and they agreed to an in store credit. He ended up with the Raymarine A65 and so far has been happy with it except for the memory card door as it opens a little too easily.

For $2400, I agree with Gundog, and you should take a long look at FURUNO or even Raymarine, Standard Horizon and Garmin before going with the Lowrance.

[oregonmuley]

Don't know any of the details but I know Slipknot just had his Lowrance die on him about 2 weeks ago. I think he said it was around 3 years old, he called Lowrance Customer No-service and they didn't have much to tell him - you might talk to him for the details.

[ICHTHYDEMON]

I had some issues with my Lowrance fuel flow guage. I'll bet I sat on hold for 3+ hours over 3-4 days trying to get through to customer service.

When I finally got through they did resolve my problem rather quickly. It just took forever to get through to a person.

[No Time]

I had some issues with my Lowrance fuel flow guage. I'll bet I sat on hold for 3+ hours over 3-4 days trying to get through to customer service.

When I finally got through they did resolve my problem rather quickly. It just took forever to get through to a person.
:yeahthat:
I had an LMS-337DF with a power-up problem and it took forever and a day to get through to customer service for a simple RA #.

But despite the wait time, I was still very pleased with Lowrance. They received my defective and out of warranty unit on Monday and two days and 180 dollars later, a brand new unit was on its way back to me.
The person I spoke to was also very knowledgeable and after asking what I fish for, tought me how to use a couple advanced features useful for spotting gators holding tight on the bottom

[Jason S]

Issues.

Overall a good unit. Before I did the software upgrades my GPS reception was spotty at best and I would loose it all the time. I bought the Dual Frequency with Speed unit. Speed wheel is good but I have a brand new defective transducer that won't read temperature.

When I bought it I was looking for upgradability to radar at the time. Well after a ton of research turns out Lowrance radar does not fair so hot.

Sell you mine and you can get a new ducer, sell it for 1700 still have box and all instructions and what not it came in/with.

By the way You can NOT beat a Lowrance for its fishfinder. It was the reason I went to this unit. Regardless of the combo unit I change it for I will have the 5" screen lowrance color fishfinder on board as well. Just miss my Garmin GPS and considering it is what gets me home I want one easy to operate and reliable.

[Bucolic buffalo]

I have a 337 CDF and the GPS module seems to quit every time I launch in Windy Bay. Disconnect and reconnect and it works. E-mailed them and got no reply. I like the fuel management program and the ability to network things together but I am saving my money to buy something more reliable.
Ron

[cptdarel]

Not defending Lowrance at all, I have a lowrance unit in my sport boat boat 102c, I use to have a Furuno 582 in my commercial boat, and sold it for a Sitex 1000watt unit, till this day I kick myself for selling the Furuno. I'll bet you there are 35 Lowrance units for every Furuno out there, so the horror stories are more common then the Furunos, one of my co-fisher buds has a multi mode Furuno on his boat and it has been giving him problems, he has just learned to live with it, can't send it in when the season is here and don't need it when it's parked. I personaly will not get a multi mode unit in one as if one thing goes wrong the you most likely to lose it all. and I love my Lowrance.

[fishing junkie]

If I was spending that kind of money, it would be on a Garmin or a Furuno. They make integrated units for that kind of money that do some pretty incredible things now (weather, radar, GPS, depth)

I've had 3 Lowrances. They all had problems in 2 years or less. I've had Garmins and Furunos since and have no problems.

The Garmins are the easiest to operate of any I've set in front of.

There's got to be a consumers report on these somewhere. I'll bet that would show some interesting results.

[Bluto]

I had a Lowrance LCX-15MT on my first boat. It was a great unit - no problems that I can remember. On my second boat, I put in an LCX-26cHD. It’s connected to my uniden 525 (NMEA183 in/out) and have also expanded the NMEA2000 network to include a Suzuki engine interface. The screen is big enough to see at the back of the boat when trolling. I definitely like the unit, features, bright colors, value, etc...

I’ve had the 26c for about two years… After the first couple of months, I had problems with my 26c GPS map refreshing (thankfully in the off-season). Lowrance replaced it within 2-weeks with no questions asked. More recently, I had an intermittent problem where the LGC-2000 GPS couldn’t be found... In hindsight, I think it started shortly after upgrading the 26c firmware. I just upgraded the LGC-2000 firmware and it appears to now be fixed.

If I would do it again (or if this head units quits), I would probably look at Furuno or Garmin for a FF/GPS/Radar combo, and then also have a small fixed-mount GPS (or GPS/FF) for a back-up (possibly with internal antennae).
:cheers:

[backlash442]

Here get one of these:

http://www.furuno.com/Furuno/Rooms/DisplayPages/LayoutInitial?ProductCategory=com.webridge.entity. Entity%5BOID%5B99ED2B4DBE5A4F4B85707E5D11BA323E%5D %5D&Product=com.webridge.entity.Entity%5BOID%5BC9EE667 6F7AB9943B6670BA917C6BAD0%5D%5D&Container=com.webridge.entity.Entity%5BOID%5BC7A60 84262399A4DA354180C9BD5E93C%5D%5D

Couple of friends have them. Unbelievable units. You'll be able to tell if there are bft mixed in with the albies no problem. Only problem is you'll have to cut a very large hole in the bottom of your Seahawk because I don't think they sell a transom ducer. Thing is huge. If you are going to fish in the ocean I'd never get a Lowrance because I don't think they were made with it in mind. That's my .02.

[Boats]

I had a Lowrance. Same story.. GPS quit working at the worst of times (in thick fog).
Older units were impacted by nearby radar that would knock them out. Usually there is alot of radar around when you really need your GPS.

They also seem to be behind the curve when releasing details of their new products.

On the positive side... I didn't have any trouble with their customer service. They replaced the GPS antenna without question. They also sent me a new cable on another occassion without question. Here is how I rate (Scale of 1-5. 5 is highest)

Features............ 5
Availability ....... 3
Connectivity........ 4
Reliablity.......... 1
Ease of Use ........ 4
Value............... 3

[fish_on]

Chris,
For that kind of money you could buy Furuno and the repair center is local in Camas but you probably won't need it. I had a Lowrance unit in my last boat the display lost its vacume and I sent it back they charged me over a C note and had it for 6 weeks. When I got it back the first time I used it the display lost the vacume and filled with fog again they said to send it back but I was in the middle of summer and I wanted to fish.

Lowrance is based in Oaklahoma what do they know about the salt? They are probably tops on bass boats but I would go a different way for salt water IMHO.

I have the Furuno GP7000F it has a nice sized screen 7" it is a chart plotter and FF in one. I have about 2K in it with the transducer and chart chip.

The unit probably weighs 2 times more than my Lowrance unit did. Good luck on your decision if you would like to play with mine let me know we can run down to the river.
Mike

Chris,
I have the same Furuno unit as Mike and love it, I also have a Garmin 498 and a Lowrance hand held. I had my Furuno screen fog once and they fixed it while I waited, they even gave me a free data cable. Like Mike said my power cables are 2x larger on the Furuno than the Garmin or my old Lowrance.

I had a X15 on the old boat and the transducer was DOA then the GPS puck took a dump. Lowrance hasn't come out with any new technology in many years, they keep rehashing the same units with just a couple of software tweaks.

[No Bail]

I have older units, a 100C and a 3300C plotter. I like the separate machines, but would go another direction when I replace them.

I had to deal with the radar issue and Lowrance took 6 weeks to get a new puck to me, and they wanted my old one first.

From all that I've read here and elsewhere, Furuno will get my money, as I have that radar (1715).

Lowrance will not show another boat's position on a DSC request for position, and I want that function for the ocean. I'm hoping the Furuno will have that function. I don't think any Lowrance has that function.

[#1 Okie]

I had a switch problem with mine. It would come on at random. Sent it to Lowrance. 7 days later i recieved a new one in the mail. So far happy since.

[jet]

I had a lcx16ci for several years and loved it, recently upgraded to a lcx112ci(the really big screen) love it even more. Best part is I can see it from the back of my 22' boat without asking what is the depth. No problem at all. Can't wait until I plug a radar into it and use the screen for all operations.

Jet~~

[8salmon]

I bought one of Lowrance's new 2007 models this spring LCX 27C with the 50 / 200 DF Transducer. The second trip out the temp sensor stop reading, next trip the GPS Screen would lock up and I would turn the power off and reset would be okay for a few minutes then it would lock up again. Very frustrating especially since I had a ancient $160.00 Eagle Finder that was 15 years old that never ever gave me any problems. After some assistance from a Fisherman's Marine Electronic sales person he walked me through the hard re-boot process. This took care of the unit from locking up but the Temp Sensor still didn't work. I bought a 200 Shallow Water Transducer and the temp sensor works. I plan on returning the 50 / 200 dual frequency unit if I can ever get a hold of customer service for a RO. I wonder if the Lowrance quality has deteriated since they moved their assembly out of the States.

[olybirds]

I had a lms-337. I sent it in for service on 6/25.. Got the run around on a timeline as to when I'd be getting the replacement.

Well I got the replacement back on monday 7/29.

I opened the box. It was a brand new head unit, and was upgraded to a LMS 525c. I thought to myself SCORE!!

I plug it all in, and used the sadaptor cable that came with it to let it work with the LGC 2000 antenna.

I power it up, all is good. I come back 2 hrs later to power it up and re load my waypoints.. "gps Module not responding" error message appears.

I power it off, then back on.... Works great... HMMM

I re-check the wires everything is good. I power it off.. Wait 5 minutes. Power it back on.... "gps module not responding" again.... ***?

I leave it on for about 3 minuts, "position aquired" Needless to say, im not feeling too confident using this thing to navigate..

Its reading 12.5v, so no, its not a poor connection

[HOOKUP]

I have a lowrance 104c, which was the first lowrance with a 10.5 inch screen. So far I have not had any problems with it or the gps. My research has shown that while some units have had problems, they seem to have them pretty well ironed out.

You should reseach the hull truth forums and ask those guys. Very knowledgable and deal with lots of saltwater applications. I have heard the newer units have had some problems.

If you do go lowrance make sure and get the salktwater-great lakes transducer its about 3x the size of a normal lowrance transducer.

[bullshooter]

I am on my second 337. the First one was sold with the last boat. Had it for two seasons. worked great the first season. The second season It would go through fits and keep posting the (GPS module not responding). I had rechecked my connections several times and all was fine. contacted Lowrance and they faxed me a diagnostic "cheat sheet". I cant remember what the procedure was but I followed it to a T. It worked trouble free from then on. The other problem I encountered was that I had the GPS antenna mounted too close to the unit. Lowrance told me this could also be causing the error message.

The current unit has not given any problems.

Oh yeah, Radar was also a problem with my first one. Especially along the shore north of Gig Harbor.

[Bucolic buffalo]

How could having the antenna too close cause the module to not respond? They sold/sell a model with the antenna mounted on the same base mount at the back of the unit.

[Catching Nemo]

How could having the antenna too close cause the module to not respond? They sold/sell a model with the antenna mounted on the same base mount at the back of the unit.

Shouldn't make any difference unless the head unit isn't shielded very well and it is putting out energy that interferes with the antenna.

[SlipKnot]

Chris

A couple of weeks ago when I went down to Depoe my unit wouldn't power up at all. I spent a couple of hours going through all the power and ground feeds only to find out it was the unit that was bad.

I immediately got on line with Lowrance and sent them an email regarding my issue and asked how to get it repaired. No response. I then attempted to call Lowrance and got a busy signal for a day and half. I finally got through and spent 51 minutes on hold.

When I finally got someone, they said they wouldn't service my unit any longer. I told them I was surprised because the unit was only three years old. Their response was that the unit was actually five years old because it was two years old when they sent it to the retailer.

Bottom line was they would send me a $75.00 coupon that I could use with my local retailer on a new unit or they would give me $400 off an upgrade unit. The problem was, they said it would be between 2 and 16 weeks for delivery. I had already heard from some local retailers they had been waiting for months to get their shipments so I was nervous about ordering one throught them and it taking the rest of the year to get it.

I probably should have bit the bullet and spent more money on a Furuno unit but I took the path of least resistance and bought another Lowrance at full cost. We'll see if I regret it.

SN

[Pelagic Captain]

I have a 104 c model that starting acting up ..turned out to be an anttenae issue...absolute frustration trying to contact LEI...went to Rodgers marine... they diagnosed the problem and many thanks to Jan she handle the part reorder and I;m back in business. No more LEI for me .

[Merch]

I have had an LMS 350a GPS and Global Map 2000 for over ten years. The 350 had the seal go out twice while relatively new, it still will fog occasionally. The GPS unit on the 350 died three or four years ago but wasn't used very much because I had a mapping unit. Other than the fact that it won't turn off without unplugging the unit the depth functions work great.

The GlobalMap is bullet proof and has been in rough use in two open Whalers. I love that thing.

I guess I would say I have gotten my money out of them and would look at Lowrance again.

Merch

[Hellibut]

I've had 3 Lowrances. They all had problems in 2 years or less.
Not sure why one would keep buying Lowrance?:)

Maybe I've just been lucky but I've never had an issue with Lowrance and have owned 2 over the last 10 years. Neither have I had a issue with Customer Service. Yes I've been on hold for seven or eight minutes on occasion but the person on the other end has always taken their time to help me. This is probably why the wait, they take the time to help everyone.
As for my Lowrance, I love my new LCX 28C Chartplotter. The fishfinder is what I'm still out on.

With this said, I would still take a hard look at Furuno. My brother in Alaska has Furuno on his boat and they are fine units. It was cost prohibitive for me however.

[FishTy]

I've had a couple problems with mine.. but they have veen good about the repairs, will I ever buy another $1000+ Lowrance ? probably not!!!

Mine wouldn't turn on once, and the second time the card reader wouldn't work

[Herring Impaired]

Okay, I guess I can add my story now....

Not a GPS unit, but my Eagle failed last friday. Just dies, right in the middle of our trip, so I did the usual checks, Voltage, etc... Determined the unit was brain dead.

Wrote to Lowrance/Eagle, and they said it wasn't feasible to repair.
I know it's several years old, but I paid pretty good money for it, and they wouldn't even look at it.

The E-Mail stated that there had been several advancements in electronics and that I should look at a new replacement unit. They were right, and I picked up a Garmin last night and will be installing it today.

[Bluto]

Okay, I guess I can add my story now....

Not a GPS unit, but my Eagle failed last friday. Just dies, right in the middle of our trip, so I did the usual checks, Voltage, etc... Determined the unit was brain dead.

Wrote to Lowrance/Eagle, and they said it wasn't feasible to repair.
I know it's several years old, but I paid pretty good money for it, and they wouldn't even look at it.

The E-Mail stated that there had been several advancements in electronics and that I should look at a new replacement unit. They were right, and I picked up a Garmin last night and will be installing it today.

Now that is some quality customer service working hard on customer retention! LOL

[WaterDog]

Apparently, my temp gage on the x26HD is broken now. It bounces from 30 to 90 deg F. :hoboy: A Little over a year old.

Guess this winter I just might junk this *** it and get a Raymarine or Garmin. :mad:

[8salmon]

My new LCX 27 C water temp went out after the second trip this spring. It was the transducer that was bad, bought a new transducer. After three attempts to talk to someone at Lowrance for a RO I gave up. I have until next March to send the unit transducer back. Very disapointing for Unit that cost over $1,000.00.

[BigB72]

LEI is pain in the butt to deal with. they sent me the wrong part wanted me to pay to ship it back and 15% restocking fee. Pain to order parts from LEI ,like adapter cords for lowrance net to add new componants to system. Spent $3500. Wish I would have gone with Raymarine. next time next boat right.

[Tilla]

When I had a problem with my Garmin GPS-Finder they had a flat rate repair/replace deal, about $110 or so. I thought that was acceptable.