Infokey Damage from faulty holder

[herbw]

Both my wife and I have had our Infokeys fall out of the Infokey holder when pressing the Information Display Button. My wife's Infokey recently failed (the power button won't turn the Segway on or off). She's now using her spare InfoKey. We brought the Infokey into the dealer, who indicated that the failure is not covered by the warranty, since the Infokey was dropped.

I argued that the damage should be covered by the warranty, since the damage was caused by the faulty design of the Infokey holder. The dealer responded that it is necessary to hold the Infokey while pressing a button to prevent the Infokey from falling out of the holder. My response was that there are no instructions in the Segway manual to this effect, and the dealer never told us this as part of the training when we purchased the Segways.

The dealer also showed me how they wrap a cable tie around the Infokey holders on their own Segways, which resolves the problem of the Infokey falling out when pressing a button, and provided me with two cable ties to install on our Segways. Since installing the cable ties, neither my wife nor I has had any problems with the Infokey controller falling out of the holder. In order to remove the Infokey, the release button must now be pressed firmly. Although this looks a bit kludgy, my wife and I are both prefer the performance of the Infokey holder since we have added the cable ties. (See attached photos.)

My position is that the Infokey should be covered by the warranty, since: (1) The failure was due to a design defect of the Infokey holder, and not to our negligence or misuse. (2) The dealer was aware of the defect, and had developed a workaround to mitigate the defect, but had made no effort to notify us of the defect until I complained about it. (3) ORS § 72.3150 Implied warranty: fitness for particular purpose (Where the seller at the time of contracting has reason to know any particular purpose for which the goods are required and that the buyer is relying on the seller’s skill or judgment to select or furnish suitable goods, there is unless excluded or modified under ORS § 72.3160 (Exclusion or modification of warranties) an implied warranty that the goods shall be fit for such purpose.) overrides Segway's limitation of warranty coverage.

I would be to hear whether any other Segway owners have had similar problems with the Infokey controller and Infokey holder. I would also be interested in any recommendations on how to proceed.

[Joushou]

I have once had the InfoKey fall out, but that's because there was a second person on the Segway behind me, and i was therefore required to lean completely into the LSF, pressing the release thing down.

Now i'm wearing my InfoKey as a watch, so that's not a problem.

If you're 100% sure that it was correctly inserted (All the way to the click), and you didn't lean so much forward that you pressed the button with your stomach, and that you didn't drop from a very high curb, i would say this is covered. (If you dropped from a curb while doing it, you're not following the operating-instruction fully, and then they're no longer responsible...)

[glen_d]

Originally Posted by herbw

I argued that the damage should be covered by the warranty, since the damage was caused by the faulty design of the Infokey holder . . .

. . . I would also be interested in any recommendations on how to proceed.

You might win this in small claims court. Probably not. If the dealer paid, that would probably terminate your relationship with the dealer. If Segway reimbursed the dealer, that might still terminate your relationship with the dealer. I'd want a good relationship with my dealer - to the greatest extent possible - since they are a conduit for either direct service or service from Segway for that expensive new thing or two you've got there.

If I were going to pursue this, I'd contact Segway directly and ask them to provide a replacement InfoKey under either the provided warranty or a good will warranty. (A good will warranty may be offered by a business, covering part or all of your expense, in order to retain your future business.)

Not that you'd have a duty to know, but a lot of people here have reported problems with the InfoKey holder.

Glen

[wwhopper]

I agree with Glen, who I mistakenly called Bob, Give Segway a call and explain the issue in a non combative way. I would say they would probably extend the courtesy of a new infokey to you if you were still within the warranty time frame. If you were beyond it, I really doubt it.

Depends on who you talk to and how you approach it.

[theglide]

This happen to me on the first day of gliding.I took it back to the dealer
and since the dealer couldn't repair the infokey they replaced the x2 with
another new one.

[quade]

Originally Posted by herbw

I would be to hear whether any other Segway owners have had similar problems with the Infokey controller and Infokey holder. I would also be interested in any recommendations on how to proceed.

Stop sounding so lawsuit happy and maybe you'll get better results from people associated with the company.

Seriously, if you're going nuts over this, then I doubt they're going to want to deal with you since it immediately make them think about the next lawsuit you're going to file when you fall and break a leg.

Lawsuits are not the answer to every problem in life.

[behindblueeyes]

I had the same problem. If you lean into the info key holder it would release the info key. So I went to Wal-mart and bought a belt "D" ring. I installed the D ring on the infokey with the attachment made for a string or rope to go through. Now its on a lanyard worn around my neck. Now the infokey is never left with the i2 or x2. This seems to work for us.

[Arturas]

Send the info keys to me and i will fix them

[Bob.Kerns]

Originally Posted by wwhopper

I agree with Glen, who I mistakenly called Bob, Give Segway a call and explain the issue in a non combative way. I would say they would probably extend the courtesy of a new infokey to you if you were still within the warranty time frame. If you were beyond it, I really doubt it.

Depends on who you talk to and how you approach it.

I also agree with Glen, who I don't call Bob.

There are limits to implied warranties. I don't think a court would uphold your position. I'm not a lawyer, but an engineer, so I could be full of it legally, but as an engineer, I'll state that the lawyers would be full of it if they LEGALLY require this sort of design perfection.

As an engineer: It is a design that needs to be improved. However, the part did not fail -- it was pushed out. This is a usability problem, more than a design defect. Popping out has the advantage that it is less likely to be harmed by impacts!

I do believe they should replace or repair it for you! But not due to legal obligation, or because you threatened them with a lawsuit, but because it is good customer relations (putting on another hat), and as a thank-you for calling the problem to their attention. (Though you won't be the first, it's important for companies to judge the frequency of problems to know where to put their resources).

And I do think they should fix the design. I'm not defending the design; I just don't think it lines up with my understanding of implied warranties.

Now, the kickstand, on the other hand...

[Gihgehls]

For what it is worth, my infokey (and console trim) have fallen out when hitting smallish bumps, 2 inches high max. Luckily it didnt break but now i wear it around my neck.