Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Anyone else having problems with their paddle wheel speedometers on 2010 Benningtons? My speedo has not worked from the day the boat was delivered. Bennington has ackknowledged the problem but has not fixed it after several attempts since I took delivery in April of 2010. I've been getting the cold shoulder from them the last couple of months and was curious as to the extent of this issue.

Hard to believe Bennington is giving you the run around. There is a Bennington Forum that might get the right eyes on the post.

Thanks Rick, but I have talked to every relevant person at Bennignton more than once. They just keep telling me to take it back to the dealer for repair. The boat has been back to the dealer 7 times now and it still doesn't work. Bennington told me that the speedo head has been recalled but the system still doesn't work after 3 heads have been replaced. I suspect this is a bigger issue then they are willing to admit due to their inability to fix the problem. I wanted to see if anyone in this forum is having the same issue. After the 6th attempt at repair, I asked that Bennington replace the system with a GPS but they told me it cost too much.

Jake

Good luck, we spend way too much on these Toons to have them "not work" when we buy new.

i understand your frustration and you may not like my reply. even if your paddle wheel speedo worked, it would still be inaccurate. in some cases, way off. you will be better served in the long run by buying a gps. you can get a cheap hand held for less than 100 dollars. you can get nicer models with maps/fishfinders/etc for more money. gps will help you save money by allowing you to get your trim perfect for a given speed and thus maximize your fuel consumption. plus it really help when you are towing a skier, tuber, etc, as you are able to fine tune the speed of the pull.

Yes, I aggree. I regret my decision not to spend the extra money from the get. I have a Seadoo with a digital paddle wheel system that has worked perfectly so I figured why spend the extra money. I don't really even care to have the speedo but it is the largest gauge on the dash (5 inch diameter) and I'm tired of looking at it and explaining why it doesn't work to everyone.......especially since it is a brand new boat and has never worked more than a couple of hours!!!

Mine has had problems also. Sometimes it just does not read any speed or it is stuck at around 20-25 approx. Other times it works fine. When I had my first oil change at 20 hrs I had dealer look at it and they said it worked fine when they had it but first time out it acted up. They said sometimes things get stuck in it. It would be nice if it worked all the time but I just look at the GPS for speed now. Bill

Bill -

Thank you for your input. That's exactly what my speedo would do. Bennington told me that the speedo heads were bad from their supplier and prone to sticking. They replaced my speedo head twice (for a total of 3 heads in less than 3 months) and it still doesn't work. Benninton switched to a GPS speedo on the 2011's so I have a feeling they are getting a number of complaints especially since the speedos have been recalled. I'm just waiting for them to step up and take care of the problem once and for all.

Mine will stick at times, and I can get it to work by sometimes by putting the boat in reverse and blipping the throttle. If I really cared about knowing my speed though I would replace it with a GPS unit.

Most speedos I have seen are either inaccurate or broken altogether. I would go for a GPS for the most accurate speed.

My boat didn't come with a speedometer, so I added GPS and it is awsome. Every boat I have been on had a bad speedometers, but I would still be pissed if my brand new boat had a bad speedometer.

The pressure speedo using the lower unit pickup seems to work OK but it is just a rough idea of how fast you are really going.

I've never had a boat with a pitot type speedo that was anywhere near accurate. Use a GPS.

1roadking wrote:My boat didn't come with a speedometer, so I added GPS and it is awsome. Every boat I have been on had a bad speedometers, but I would still be pissed if my brand new boat had a bad speedometer.

That's exactly how I feel about this issue. I didn't spend a few hundred extra dollars for the GPS because I really don't care to have a speedometer. However, since it came with the boat and it's the biggest, most visable, gauge on the dash I expect it to work. Especially since it is a brand new boat and it has not worked from day 1. I'm pissed at Bennington's response and am trying to see if others are having this problem thru this forum. I've spent my hard earned money on this boat, have incurred a loss of use 7 times because of this issue, and the expense of taking the boat into my dealer over and over again. I called the warrenty repair rep at bennigton after a referral from Benningtons VP of sales in the midwest only to have him tell me that they can't justify replacing my system with the GPS option due to cost. However, they don't have a problem with me incurring a cost to take the boat into the dealer multiple times to fix the same problem.

Of they can't or wont fix it, then there warranty is junk. That doesn't make me feel real warm and fuzzy. We can't fix it, is not an option. I agree, they should fix it or replacement it with something else, ie GPS. Have they apologized and given you a plan or time frame?