2008 DTS Recall?!

J

jennyg

New Member
May 27, 2014
19
Northeast
Boat Info
2008 Sundancer 310
Engines
Twin 350 MAG w/ Bravo III
I had a scary incident this past weekend. While I was returning from a nice cruise in my "new to me" 2008 310 Sundancer, I received a throttle alarm on my smartcraft guages for my port engine. It said returned to port immediately – which I was doing already.


The fun started when I attempted to dock (Stern in). I am the last slip in my dock which abuts a wall of rocks that lead up to to the parking lot. I slowly approached my slip and put my port engine into reverse so I could begin to turn (in reverse). Generally, when I am in the Marina I am running on my twin stern drives and do not touch the steering wheel. Unfortunately, when I expected the boat to swing backwards to starboard, the boat lurched forward and I attempted to throw both drives into reverse to avoid hitting the rocks. In doing so, my boat swung port and drifted into an empty dock (thankfully). Once I got my boat into the slip (on my starboard engine), I googled the issue and came up with the following Mercruiser recall:


http://www.marinepartsexpress.com/M...Boat Safety Act DTS Bulletin No. 2008-08.pdf


Obviously, the issue was that my port engine never shifted into reverse – and when I tried to put it in reverse and increased throttle it only made me go forward even more. Because my starboard engine was in reverse, I naturally swung to the left,


Has anybody have a problem with their 2008 DTS and experienced the same issue? There is a recall on this but unfortunately, when I look at the serial numbers by one month off for the recall. I did call Mercury directly and they told me I wasn't covered but hinted I could if I whined. My dealer is confident that I will be able to get this covered as it is a serious safety issue. But i have to wait three weeks for my dealer to fic it. Thankfully I was lucky and there were no other boats nearby and I drifted into a safe dock. Noone was hurt. I hope I've explained this clearly as I'm interested to see if anyone else had a similar experience. Sorry for the long post.
 
The bulletin is very confusing. The last 4 of my HIN is J708, does it fall within the recall?

All DTS boats with a hull identification number (HIN) of K7 to E8 in the ninth and tenth position, in conjunction with 07 or 08 in the eleventh and twelfth position, need the command module updated to version 76.
 
ziekman@cox.net said:
The bulletin is very confusing. The last 4 of my HIN is J708, does it fall within the recall?

All DTS boats with a hull identification number (HIN) of K7 to E8 in the ninth and tenth position, in conjunction with 07 or 08 in the eleventh and twelfth position, need the command module updated to version 76.
Click to expand...


If I read it right, you are October 2008, which falls out of the range.
 
I had this issue on my 2008 280DA and the dealer fixed the issue per the recall notice. You can contact Mercury and give them your HIN and they will tell you if yours had already been fixed under the recall. If it had been fixed, or you are not part of the recall, they can help you identify what the issue is.

I was very pleasantly surprised with the customer service at Mercury. I contacted them a few weeks ago via the website contact form regarding a question about my 1997 Cobalt throttle remote control and I got a phone call the next morning from a technician who answered all of my questions, gave me part numbers, etc. Amazing service.
 
Tonka Boater said:
I had this issue on my 2008 280DA and the dealer fixed the issue per the recall notice. You can contact Mercury and give them your HIN and they will tell you if yours had already been fixed under the recall. If it had been fixed, or you are not part of the recall, they can help you identify what the issue is.

I was very pleasantly surprised with the customer service at Mercury. I contacted them a few weeks ago via the website contact form regarding a question about my 1997 Cobalt throttle remote control and I got a phone call the next morning from a technician who answered all of my questions, gave me part numbers, etc. Amazing service.
Click to expand...

Thanks - I do fall out of hte range but my dealer is confident that mercury will honor it as htis is a safety issue - and almost sent me into the rocks. Hoping I can not twist my mechanic's arm to get out to fix it sooner then the three weeks he initially quoted me due to backlog. I have him now to two weeks to get on my boat.

Thanks
 
ziekman@cox.net said:
The bulletin is very confusing. The last 4 of my HIN is J708, does it fall within the recall?

All DTS boats with a hull identification number (HIN) of K7 to E8 in the ninth and tenth position, in conjunction with 07 or 08 in the eleventh and twelfth position, need the command module updated to version 76.
Click to expand...
The HID is a little weird to read. The last two digits refer to the model year and the letter/number refers to the month/year of manufacture. So J708 refers to a 2008 model year boat that was built in October (J) of 2007. Check out this site for the decoder ring: http://www.boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/hin.htm
i just had to check so I could make sure mine is outside the recall range too.

The way I read the bulletin is they are targeting 2007 and 2008 model year boats that were built between November 2007 (K7) and May 2008 (E8).
 
Lanier Tom said:
The HID is a little weird to read. The last two digits refer to the model year and the letter/number refers to the month/year of manufacture. So J708 refers to a 2008 model year boat that was built in October (J) of 2007. Check out this site for the decoder ring: http://www.boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/hin.htm
i just had to check so I could make sure mine is outside the recall range too.

The way I read the bulletin is they are targeting 2007 and 2008 model year boats that were built between November 2007 (K7) and May 2008 (E8).
Click to expand...

Just be careful as my HIN was out of range and I experienced the issue they were trying to avoid. Check and see if you can get it upgraded regardless. Doesn't hurt.
 
I just got off the phone with both SeaRay and Mercury. This recall is only for OUTBOARDS. Sterndrives and V drives are not affected. If you call Mercury and provide your engine #s they will confirm.

Peter
 
Carbo said:
I just got off the phone with both SeaRay and Mercury. This recall is only for OUTBOARDS. Sterndrives and V drives are not affected. If you call Mercury and provide your engine #s they will confirm.

Peter
Click to expand...

That's fine - but my boat exhibited the same issue as outlined and created a huge safety issue. Something that I would think they should stand behind and fix. Am I wrong?
 
I'm just passing along exactly what I was told this morning. Call for yourself and inquire.

Peter
 
thanks for passing this along. Looks like there is another recall number 2008-08. Hoping I can get his resolved. Assuming since you have a 280DA, you are I/O not Outboards.
 
exactly,.... the first paragraph specifically says outboards. Those of us with V drive or IO are not included.

Peter
 
When I bought my boat in 2009 there was what Mercury called a "White Glove Service". Which had to be Requested by the Dealer . It consisted of Software Updates, a replacement GPS Antenna , and a Coupon for $150. off of Upgraded Batteries (31 Series). Now this was a couple of years ago, but it took care of all my Axius and DTS problems and we were having a Bunch!!
 
I had this recall done by my dealer when it was first issued. Kind of a scary thing when the fault happens.
 
Just a quick update - local dealer was able to fix. All covered under recall. Kudos to Portside Marine in Danvers MA.
 
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