Johnny,

Not a WARN, but I bought a Mile Marker SE12000 winch about a year and a half ago. It didn't freespool right out of the box. Same customer service experience as you. Told to pay to ship it back. The power out worked so I just kept it. No other problems though. Maybe we just got the winches made on a friday afternoon. I personally fee as though if your winch doesn't work right inside the warranty term, return shipping should be covered by the manufacturer. Makes me wonder if companies like WARN and Mile Marker actually stand behind their products. . . . .

 

SmittyBilt XRC Winches are cheap to replace and have begun to show they are reliable. You can get one with a lifetime warranty from 4wd.com for just over 350...I know its not a warn, but it hasnt left me stranded, and there are plenty of people running them now with no issues...you might want to check them out...

 

Hello,

Sorry no input, but the Warn 9.5TI is the one am saving for, I been reading my eyeballs off on any thread referring to winches, products review section and there's nothing but good reviews on the 9.5TI, I be glad to hear more info about it.

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f201/warn-9-5-ti-769504/

 

I have the Harbor Freight 8K winch since 2003. Has never burnt out. Replaced solenoid once.

I would like a Warn M8000 though.

 

where did you get a solenoid to replace that hf winch? same thing happened to mine

 

Write them a nice letter about all this, ask them about that sh..ty customer service. Ask them if that is normal with their winches. In the end of the letter ask them seriously if they could recommend a winch brand worth to buy. They will take great care of you...

 

Warns customer service has been pretty good to me. I'm curious about how much and what kind of winching has the OP done with this winch? Has it been under water?

 

I have used the winch 15-20 times and it has never been under water. It has been close but never has it been under water.

I has been a terrible winch since it was new. I am thinking that I am going to get it fixed and sell and buy a different winch. A cheaper one, I just need a basic winch.

Johnny

PS: Thanks Jerry, I appreciate the help but I am not going to hold my breath.

 

I've had a 9.5ti on my CJ7 since 2006, no problems at all.

 

I'm surprised, this is certainly not typical of a Warn winch. I sent a link to this thread to a very good contact I have within Warn, maybe she can help. No guarantees but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

 

Sorry Jerry, my mistake - Not a friend, just a very good contact that based on an email from you was able to have the OP's winch looked at. :cheers:

 

I'm tagging this to see what happens .

 

My contact at Warn emailed me to say they will contact the OP to see what they can do to help him.

 

Thanks for helping out the OP Jerry!

I also have a 9500ti. I bought it from Trick Truck in Winchester, Virginia, in January 2007. I hauled it home to Alaska and it sat in my garage until December 2007, when I was finally able to get it installed (long story, but I had issues getting the bumper I wanted to install it on). I did have some concern about essentially screwing myself out of my warranty - since it could be DOA and I would not know about it until the warranty was basically up, but that's how things played out.

Anyway - since installing it, the winch has seen real-world use on at least three occasions that I can remember, all of "winch" involved pulling someone ELSE out of the snow-filled ditch. I think I actually used it for this purpose 4 or 5 times, but I can only remember three clearly. I ALSO used it to help some neighbor winch a storage shed through his yard to get it in the location where he wanted it. Oh - wait - you know - I ALSO used it once for self-recovery, when I got stuck in the sand on a beach in Kasilof. So, that's a total of 5-7 times of real world use, after sitting in my garage in the box for about a year. In all instances, the winch performed as expected and without issues. Of course, for an $1100+ winch (not including the synthetic line I put on it), I should hope so!!

So, the point is, I'm happy with my winch - so far. But if it craps out on me any time in the next 5 years, I'm going to be pretty pissed off, esp. considering how little use my winch actually sees. If it dies on me in any kind of unreasonable fashion, it will be the last Warn product I'll buy. Instead, I'll just get the cheap Chinese stuff and just plan on replacing it every 2 years, and still come out ahead.

 

But if it craps out on me any time in the next 5 years, I'm going to be pretty pissed off, esp. considering how little use my winch actually sees. If it dies on me in any kind of unreasonable fashion, it will be the last Warn product I'll buy. Instead, I'll just get the cheap Chinese stuff and just plan on replacing it every 2 years, and still come out ahead.

I am kicking myself for spending this much money on something I use so little. And just like you said I could have bought a cheaper version every 2 years and still have spent less $ than I have on this.

Jerry, Warn called me yesterday and I missed the call. I am going to give them a call today and see what/if there is anything they can do.

Thanks again

Johnny

 

Update:

I email Warn and they called me back and I am very impressed. I explained the situation and they are going to help me out.

I am really impressed with the customer service.

This guy I talked to today really renewed my faith in Warn.

I will keep you guys posted.

Johnny

 

I have the WARN 9.5TI on my 02 TJ. I've pulled plenty of people out and it's worked every flip of the switch.

 

This thread really made me smile.I hate to see a fellow jeeper get in a bind but when things work out in the end its really gratifying.I hope Warn pulls through and you get a working winch! Keep us updated.

 

I was shopping for a Warn 95.ti, so this thread got me kinda nervous about throwing down that much money on one. Please keep us updated as to the FINAL outcome.

Jerry, you're crotchety, you're closed-minded, and it seems like you think your way is the only way. But I'd be a liar if I said you didn't have a good heart, and good intentions. That was mighty nice of you... It looks like you did both the OP and WARN a favor.

 

I have a Warn 9500i. It is the older version. I did need to have the gear and the freespool lever replaced after it was submerged in a mud pit. It was well out of warranty. I payed for shipping to Warn, they fixed it for free and paid for shippin back to me. This was about 6 years back. It has been problem free since. I use mine hard, anything from off roading, dragging trees, load scrab metal onto trailers and even pulling a tractor out (i had to use a pulley to get enough power, a straint pull wouldn't work).

When I did have the problem their customer service was excellent.

 

Johnny1720, any update?

 

Update:

Two nutserts broke off when I went to remove the winch... I got the box I am going to ship it in today. It should go out Monday.

 

Out of curiousity, since a winch is mounted at bumper height...

Is there a winch which performs flawlessly even AFTER it is regularly submerged? Don't tell me not to drive through water, tell me if there is a product that will do what I want it to.

 

Jerry will smack me, but my HF has been submerged in clear and muddy water on many occassions. Works fine for me. In the pic below was this past weekend down at Slade, KY. Got hung up on the both the front and rear pumpkin and couldn't go forwards or backwards. Pulled both me AND the rock forward, lifting the back of the Jeep a foot off the ground as the rear diff rolled the rock. I wasn't just stuck, I was stuck stuck. Nice thing about it is that I don't have some big upgraded battery. It did its work, didn't complain and it's not a huge drain on the battery. 640 CA battery with stock alternator.

 

Your Smittybilt should work ok in water, fresh water doesn't really affect low voltage electrical stuff. Think of all the pics you've seen over the years of vehicles that were submerged after accidentally in lakes, pools, etc with their headlights still shining brightly. Their headlights will continue burning until the battery dies. It's only in salt water where this stuff won't work.

 

Your Smittybilt should work ok in water, fresh water doesn't really affect low voltage electrical stuff. Think of all the pics you've seen over the years of vehicles that were submerged after accidentally in lakes, pools, etc with their headlights still shining brightly. Their headlights will continue burning until the battery dies. It's only in salt water where this stuff won't work.

I gotta disagree with this. I can only comment on Warn because that all I've owned, but unless the winch has seals Id bet other brands would have the same problems. Running it with water in the motor can wreck the motor. And if water gets in the drum it has no way out. The brake then rusts, and then something shears when the motor is powered up. Ask me how I know? And something else thats a PIA, if I submerge my winch, I can't just take it apart, clean it and reassemble. The brake needs to go back to Warn to be re indexed in some kind of jig. Around here there's a lot of deep water so it's a concern. :brickwall

 

I also have the warn 9.5ti and the winch has always worked with no problem. Its used more than I would like to say to pull stuff like trees and rocks but it gets the job done. If I had to find a complaint it would be the remote cable. Why the hell cant warn send someone over every time I use the winch to make sure I dont cut the cable or let the jeep roll over it?

 

Between my in-cab winch control switch and wireless remote, I haven't plugged my wired remote in in probably a year now.

 

Very Interesting Update:

After an email went unanswered and a voice mail last week I finally got a call back today. The winch was sent to Warn on 12/1/2009. The individual who I will not name called me back today. And said he had terrible news about my winch. He said that the winch was junk because of corrosion inside the motor and supposed sealed winch case. He said the entire winch was ruined and there was no point fixing it. I asked him if he had ever seen this before and he said no. He said this was he worst he has ever seen. He said that the reason the winch was not working was because the winch motor was full of corrosion and falling apart. He also said that every allen bolt he took out of the winch snapped off.

Then he offered me a "deal I can not refuse" he offered me a factory reconditioned warn 9.5ti winch for $400 including shipping. He said that this was the actual cost to manufacture this winch. (So I guess Warn and the other retailers have really been putting it to us Jeep people.) I explained to him that this was a little steep and maybe we could fix my old winch for cheaper. He said no he wanted to send me the Factory Reconditioned winch for $400. I asked him if I could get a cheaper winch maybe that wouldn't hurt the bank so much. He offered me an 8,000 pound warn winch for $280, I am not sure of the model. He also commented on how this was the "actual cost to manufacture the winch.

I thought about it long and hard and this is what I came up with.

-I spent $1100 to buy the winch.
-I spent $80 to send the winch to be repaired in 2003. (Which I found out later was a manufacturing defect, because no one put locktite on the allen bolts)
-I had the winch on the front of my jeep for 1 and 1/2 winters. The entire time I had a warn winch cover on this winch.
-The winch broke and left me stranded, (which really upset me)
-The company wants to give me a deal that I can not refuse.

GUESS WHAT! NO FREAKING DEAL!

I asked Warn to send my old winch back to me.

My winch was never submerged, it was only on the front of the jeep for 1 and 1/2 winters. If it rotted to the point it would not work within 18 months I don't freaking want another one that will do the same.


I hate to be like this but I kinda feel like I got the "treatment" here.

Jerry I really appreciate your help getting warn to help me but it didn't work out for me.



Johnny

 

I'm betting it's the salt on your NY roads that caused all that internal corrosion Johnny. Too bad it didn't work out though. However, I'll just say that manufacturing cost he quoted and the MSRP cost is right in line with what it takes to stay in business. They sell to dealers who then sell to the retail buyers and both have overhead besides the raw manufacturing costs that may appear to be low to those not familiar with such things.

What would you guess the raw manufacturing cost of a $25,000 Jeep is? Nowhere near what the dealer sells it for. I would have JUMPED at that $400 price he offered you, that was a steal on that winch.

 

I'm betting it's the salt on your NY roads that caused the problem. Too bad it didn't work out. And their manufacturing costs and MSRP costs are right in line with what it takes to stay in business. They sell to dealers who then sell to the retailers and both have overhead besides the raw manufacturing costs that may appear to be low to those not familiar with such things.

What would you guess the raw manufacturing cost of a $25,000 Jeep is? Nowhere near what the dealer sells it for. I would have JUMPED at that $400 price, that was a steal on that winch.

Jerry yes thank you for your help. But remember this jeep was only driven during the winter with the winch on it for 1 and 1/2 years. If the winch rotted that bad in 18 months my jeep must be nothing but a rust pile.

I have totally lost faith in this company. I had 2 other people write to me that have winches that do the same thing. They tried to send the winch back however they did not have an original receipt, I did. I gotta believe that this winch was one of the first ones that either not put together correctly or was not made correctly. I would rather spend the money on a winch made by another company. I already spent close to $1200 on a winch that was used maybe 20 times.

The fact of the matter is I don't have $400 right now to spend on a winch. I should have just bought a cheap winch and replaced it every time it broke.