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Typhoon H toilet bowl crash video

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May 19, 2016
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07/30 Update - Received the drone back from Yuneec 2 days ago and the problem still exists! According to the inspection report the GPS module was replaced. I conducted 3 successful accelerometer calibrations followed by seemingly successful compass calibrations and the toilet bowl continues to happen, starting at the 15.3v spot. It starts off gradual and then by 14.7 it's in full toilet bowl mode. I have to resort to hand catching it to prevent another crash. The third time I did the calibration I waited a day and went to a completely new area. I had 16 satellites, full turtle mode, obstacle avoidance was off and I was in angle mode. The firmware is up to date and the UAV forecast didn't indicate any issues. I called Yuneec customer service and they are having me ship it back for a 2nd time. Luckily this time they sent me a shipping label instead of hassling me to pay to return ship it. I really hope they actually fix it this time around, or replace it entirely. It seems like they didn't do anything or that the issue wasn't with the GPS module. I suggested that they do a full flight test down to 14.7 volts before declaring it repaired. I'm thinking they didn't fly it for more than a few minutes at their location in California.

07/21 - Update on this post
- Yuneec Support has replaced the faulty GPS module that was resulting in my toilet bowl issue however they are refusing to reimburse the shipping costs. When I originally called I was advised by Yuneec Support that because the drone crashed that I would be responsible for shipping costs unless they determined the issue was as a result of the equipment. They identified the GPS board as being the issue and replaced it however the support individual I spoke with today says Yuneec does not reimburse shipping costs and that I would be responsible for it. Not only is that conflicting information from multiple customer service representatives but also their policy is if you send in your drone and they refuse to give you a prepaid shipping label you are out of luck.

!!Be sure to get a prepaid label if you plan to send your drone in, otherwise Yuneec will just take advantage of you!!

Like others in this forum my Yuneec Typhoon H has crashed as a result of the dreaded toilet bowl syndrome. It occurred on 3 separate occasions, one of them being with the wizard. One of the events ended up crashing my drone into the ground and breaking 4 propellers and causing the camera to come off the drone. The propellers seem to be the only broken parts. The camera was re-attached and appears to work. Because this occurred 3 times I called tech support and they setup an RA number for me, however they said that since it crashed that I had to pay shipping and any repairs unless they determine the crash is covered under warranty. There is no doubt the cause of the crash was caused while the drone was malfunctioning, luckily I was recording. See here for video-

The last 5-10 seconds, the actual crash, did not get recorded because the camera disconnected from the drone while still recording thus losing the last bit of video data.

I tried placing the drone into different modes and correcting for the orbiting but ultimately nothing could make it recover and I had to land as the transmitter was vibrating about low battery power.

Prior to the symptoms occurring I had conducted a compass calibration. After the first time it exhibited this I did a 2nd compass calibration and 2 more instances of toilet bowl happened.

I am really hoping my experience with Yuneec customer support continues to be a good one, I'll keep this thread/forum posted of all the details of the process in case anyone else needs to RA their drone.
 
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I had the same issue with a DJI Phantom 3 in May. If I let it land, it would crash. I had to hand catch it each time. Warning to all... never attempt ground landings when the drone is doing Mr. Toilet Bowl flying, it will tip over.

The problem is always a disconnect between the GPS and the compass. The IMU should sort it out but as it tries, you get the never ending toilet bowl effect. In my case DJI replaced the GPS module and a few other items (free of charge). Yuneec will no doubt do the same. It works fine now. Below was the video I made for DJI about my issue. This problem is more common then either company will let on.

 
Captaindrone- great tip, definitely if I encounter this again I'll attempt to catch it instead of attempting to land. My bigger concern is that when I contacted Yuneec support they said since it crashed that I could be responsible for the shipping and subsequent repair costs to the aircraft and GPS. I'm hoping they end up doing the right thing in this case. The other threads about their experiences with Yuneec support have me pretty concerned
 
I had this happen, 2 weeks ago.

I thought it was because I did not wait to get enough sat's but I'm pretty sure I had 6 on the controller and 8 on the H. I was flying in Angle mode and as soon as I went 60' up it started going crazy. I dropped the landing gear and attempted to land in my front yard (more space). at this point I was trying to correct the erratic flying manually and was having a difficult time to getting it to sit still for my final approach. When it finally touched down it slammed hard enough to break the camera connection rail (dropping the CGO3+ in my yard) then immediately darted to the right skimming the landing gear across the ground into a busy street. I was finally able to kill the motors, I stopped traffic and grabbed it out of the street.

I ended up calling Yuneec and bought a replacement camera mount. I thought this was my fault because I didn't wait long enough for the satellites to get a good lock. It was a cheap fix for the camera, but now that I see this is happening to others I'm thinking its was not really my fault and Yuneec should have paid for the replacement part. I had just done a calibration of the GPS and sensors 1 week before this event in the same location.

The worst part was my whole family was visiting and they witnessed this disaster of a flight. Now they think I'm a terrible pilot :/
 
07/21 - Update on this post- Yuneec Support has replaced the faulty GPS module that was resulting in my toilet bowl issue however they are refusing to reimburse the shipping costs. When I originally called I was advised by Yuneec Support that because the drone crashed that I would be responsible for shipping costs unless they determined the issue was as a result of the equipment. They identified the GPS board as being the issue and replaced it however the support individual I spoke with today says Yuneec does not reimburse shipping costs and that I would be responsible for it. Not only is that conflicting information from multiple customer service representatives but also their policy is if you send in your drone and they refuse to give you a prepaid shipping label you are out of luck.

!!Be sure to get a prepaid label if you plan to send your drone in, otherwise Yuneec will just take advantage of you!!

That doesn't surprise me. From my experiences so far, they don't seem to feel accountable for anything, even if all signs point to the unit being defective. My experience so far was no better, and now I'm to the point of returning the defective unit for my money back.
 
When my "H" did the dreaded toilet bowl, I captured it on my Gopro which I was wearing on my hat to show that I was not giving my "H" any input and it would toilet bowl and J hook. So now EVERY flight I record with my GoPro just in case something goes wrong...
 
Sorry to hear about your experience. My H showed the same issues and is at Support in California now. Recieved an email yesturday stating they got it, UPS (pre paid by yuneec) tracking showed it getting there 3 days prior. Hopefully that means they are looking at it.
 
Sorry to hear about your experience. My H showed the same issues and is at Support in California now. Recieved an email yesturday stating they got it, UPS (pre paid by yuneec) tracking showed it getting there 3 days prior. Hopefully that means they are looking at it.

It might be a few weeks. Enjoy the wait!
 
Got the same thing and it refuse to land at times
Yuneec sent a return ticket for repair they think a gps mod is the problem
Did not want to wait for it to crash
 
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Got the same thing and it refuse to land at times
Yuneec sent a return ticket for repair they think a gps mod is the problem
Did not want to wait for it to crash

Mine just become unresponsive as it spiraled downward into shrubbery, and crashed. 5 motor failure was the only error I could see when I looked back at the screen, so I'm not sure when it actually happened (before or after impact). Telemetry showed it spiraling down.
 
07/30 Update - Received the drone back from Yuneec 2 days ago and the problem still exists! According to the inspection report the GPS module was replaced. I conducted 3 successful accelerometer calibrations followed by seemingly successful compass calibrations and the toilet bowl continues to happen, starting at the 15.3v spot. It starts off gradual and then by 14.7 it's in full toilet bowl mode. I have to resort to hand catching it to prevent another crash. The third time I did the calibration I waited a day and went to a completely new area. I had 16 satellites, full turtle mode, obstacle avoidance was off and I was in angle mode. The firmware is up to date and the UAV forecast didn't indicate any issues. I called Yuneec customer service and they are having me ship it back for a 2nd time. Luckily this time they sent me a shipping label instead of hassling me to pay to return ship it. I really hope they actually fix it this time around, or replace it entirely. It seems like they didn't do anything or that the issue wasn't with the GPS module. I suggested that they do a full flight test down to 14.7 volts before declaring it repaired. I'm thinking they didn't fly it for more than a few minutes at their location in California.
 
07/30 Update - Received the drone back from Yuneec 2 days ago and the problem still exists! According to the inspection report the GPS module was replaced. I conducted 3 successful accelerometer calibrations followed by seemingly successful compass calibrations and the toilet bowl continues to happen, starting at the 15.3v spot. It starts off gradual and then by 14.7 it's in full toilet bowl mode. I have to resort to hand catching it to prevent another crash. The third time I did the calibration I waited a day and went to a completely new area. I had 16 satellites, full turtle mode, obstacle avoidance was off and I was in angle mode. The firmware is up to date and the UAV forecast didn't indicate any issues. I called Yuneec customer service and they are having me ship it back for a 2nd time. Luckily this time they sent me a shipping label instead of hassling me to pay to return ship it. I really hope they actually fix it this time around, or replace it entirely. It seems like they didn't do anything or that the issue wasn't with the GPS module. I suggested that they do a full flight test down to 14.7 volts before declaring it repaired. I'm thinking they didn't fly it for more than a few minutes at their location in California.
7/30/16 UPDATE - Yep I just posted the same thing in Typhoon H Help Thread. and noticed that at 4.7v on battery mine gets worse. Just got mine back 2 days ago as well. two different flights on two separate days with the same problems. I am at a loss on what to do... It flys well at first then when I go to land it goes crazy. Calling them now.

Well talked to support and getting another RMA to send it back. Asked about an exchange or my money back and they said they wouldn't do a return/refund. Might do an exchange if they cant fix it. Well ****, they didnt fix it the first time. Looks like another 3 to 4 weeks without it.
 
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My H was just delivered back to Support today 8/8/16. Sent it on 8/1/16. Now to see if they figure out the issue.

Skydivindronepilot- you get any resolution yet?
 
They received mine on Friday 8/5/16. The last time I sent it in it took a week for them to move it from shipping to the repair department and I think I recall reading elsewhere that it is their policy for the shipping department to hold onto the package for a week before releasing it to the repair department. It feels like at this rate Yuneec will have had the drone longer than I have had it and I was a pre-order customer. I'll likely need to get another box too since this current one has quite a few miles on it now. Sure hope you and I get a functional drone this time around
 
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They received mine on Friday 8/5/16. The last time I sent it in it took a week for them to move it from shipping to the repair department and I think I recall reading elsewhere that it is their policy for the shipping department to hold onto the package for a week before releasing it to the repair department. It feels like at this rate Yuneec will have had the drone longer than I have had it and I was a pre-order customer. I'll likely need to get another box too since this current one has quite a few miles on it now. Sure hope you and I get a functional drone this time around

They had mine for 3 weeks previous and add this time. I feel our warranties should be extended by 2 months, however I just be happy with one that is stable.
 
I feel for you guys !
I went weeks with the same problem..
Erratic Flight Video "Toilet Bowl"
finally got Yuneec to send me a NEW unit.....
Thank You Yuneec Customer Support !
A week after I got the new unit they sent my old one back repaired...
I flew it for a few times and it flew like it should...
so I know if they try, it can be fixed !
One thing I noticed is that on the new ST16 controller there is a small blue sticker on the screen that says
"QC 17 Passes" and on the flight log there are two flights from the Ontario,CA Service Center.
There is hope !
 
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