Hey,

Just thought I’d post about my new Superwinch EXP 10,000 Synthetic. Installed new beginning of December. Did not use (accept to tighten line when installing) until last week. It started making horrible gear noise (will try to post video) then oil appeared out of the cover the clutch handle/switch sits in. I ceased use and brought mine back in. I was going to try and test again today (big ride tomorrow) and it won’t even turn in now. Won’t even light up.

The shop I bought through has contacted Superwinch. And I also sent them an email with video and pictures. It took considerable time and effort to install this unit on my hard rock bumper. Not sure I even want s replacement at this point. I believe either a full refund or a new unit with partial refund is in order.

I will update this thread when I head back from Superwinch so that the Jeep community will know how they handle situations like this.

Extremely disappointed in what has been touted as the most advanced winch in the market.

I couldn’t get video to load. Here are pics of the oil. If anyone knows a Superwinch rep please
Tag them. Thanks!

Video:

https://youtu.be/bGdmBO2sJF4

That sucks, I have a superwinch talon for about 6 years now never failed me. Always ready to work even after sitting a year with out use.

Sorry to hear that hope they make it right.

Me too! Just DREAD taking it off and reinstalling. And confidence has been lost.

Update:

Spoke with Jason at Superwinch today. He issued not a single “I’m sorry” or “man I hate to hear that”. Asked me to send him the videos which I did. I’d already sent them to the customer service email on the website but he said that that email would never reach him. ??

Sounds like they are going to want me to package up and ship to them OR send me parts to fix. As if I know how to repair a winch.

Not sounding very promising and certainly not what I was expecting to hear.

Will update with how they handle the situation.

I never received any reply to my video email today. I called Jason back and left a voicemail that was not returned.

OK, so you have a warranty, you just happen to be the guy who fell into the MTBF bucket, the mfgr is honoring the warranty, and the problem is??

"I believe either a full refund or a new unit with partial refund is in order."

You want more than the warranty said you should get? I am surprised that they didn't just honor the warranty and cease discussions.

"I will update this thread when I head back from Superwinch so that the Jeep community will know how they handle situations like this."

Know how to handle a warranty replacement situation?

Lucky it is just a winch. Folks blow reman engines under warranty and have to eat the cost to swap out and in the new one.

IMHO you are taking this way too much to heart.

Ignoring above comment, as I’m sure you’d feel differently if it were yours.

Spoke with a different rep today. My only recourse is to pay out of pocket to ship back to them. An item that was obviously defective from the beginning.

That’s poor customer service. No matter how you spin it.

"I believe either a full refund or a new unit with partial refund is in order."

I have had a few installed & big ticket items need warranty repair.... so it HAS happened to me and I also believe your expectations are unreasonable.

You should have read the warranty. Any valid warranty will be in writing. They are only responsible to fulfill the requirements of their written warranty. If their written warranty wasn't to your liking, you should have bought another product.

All of us buy products, hoping we won't be one the few that need some kind of warranty assistance. But that is why you should consider the written warranty when choosing a product.

Unless they have an "xx day money back guarantee", you are not entitled to a full refund.

You installed the unit yourself? I know of no product that is installed on a motor vehicle of any kind, that will reimburse for any installation costs.

Even, if you had paid a shop to do the install, unless they stated such in their installation warranty, you rarely will get a shop to eat the labor to uninstall/reinstall a unit that is faulty through no fault of theirs.

Nothing is perfect, issues happen, how a company responds to an issue is certainly important. Those companies who go "above & beyond" exist, and usually have a very loyal customer base.

However if a company fulfills the requirements of their written warranty, that is all you can expect. You can't fault them because they are not one of the few companies that go "above & beyond" what they need to do.

It would be great if after you pay for the return of the winch, and they find it in fact has a manufacturing defect, they send it back fixed, for free, and refund your return postage. But again, unless it's spelled out in their warranty, that would be an example of "above & beyond", not something owed or to be expected...

I wish you well with your repair....

If you bought it at a local shop, normally they would be the place to get the replacement, they ship it back etc no?

I was thinking about this. Did you try going through the retailer? You may have received better customer service. I agree with OP. Having him pay for shipping is not good customer service.

I’m not saying this is the OP’s case, as I don’t know all the details, but many want to buy online at a cut rate price, that’s fine, but there’s risks to that. Sometimes it pays off, other times it doesn’t.

It doesn't matter what you buy, if it is made by human hands you are bound to get one every so often that has a manufacturing flaw or material flaw. If it is new then it should be under warranty,take it back and get a new one or get it fixed. If you bought it used or on line with no recourse to getting problems resolved.....well.....steep learning curve.

I would remove it and bring it back to the shop that sold it to you to handle the warranty. If nothing else they may be willing to handle the shipping? But this is the direction I would have gone.

I know some others have already said this but I think you are expecting too much and seem to be taking this very personally for some reason.
If it makes you feel better I had installed a Warn ZEON 10S for my buddy that didn't survive the process of winding the synthetic rope tight. We were dragging the Jeep up a slight incline with the emergency brake barely applied and the winch died half way in. Warn exchanged the unit out and he paid to ship the old one back just like Superwinch has requested you to do.

Sometimes this crap just happens.

As a follow-up to this thread, the shop had a new EXP sent to me. We swapped them out. Same issue.

Then superwinch is absorbed by Westin. I contact Westin. They said the EXP is discontinued due to design failures. They are sending me a new Talon 9.5 Synthetic due tomorrow. They asked no questions once they heard it was the exp and only required proof of purchase.

Same deal for me. Had a SuperWinch EXP go bottoms up. That isn't oil coming out, its rusty water. The seals leak and the winch fills up with water through the clutch handle and shorts out the motor. I actually tore mine apart and tried to rebuild it, before giving up and trying a warranty claim, which happened within a week of the Westin buyout.

I went through the same process with Westin and they gave me the same Talon 9.5. It seems to be doing great. Props to Westin for honoring the SuperWinch failures that happened before they bought the company.

Wow! Talk about starting out on the Right foot!
That is a company I can respect. When I get a winch I will be looking at them for sure.