garmin vector 3 replacement

If you have read my last post on garmin vector 3 pedals (and a lot of you did!) you will know that despite the previous “fix” I was still sceptical about their fundamental long term robustness. Well, time flies and here we are again . . .

A few weeks ago I started to have problems with my vector 3 pedals again. At first I got a few random drop outs and “right pedal missing” errors but it then started happening more often.

So my first step was to change out the batteries for some fresh ones. At the same time I gave the battery contacts a wipe with a cotton bud dipped in alcohol to ensure they were clean. They were actually looking just fine but since I had the battery covers off it would be rude not to.

Initially that seemed to fix the problem and I rode for a few more weeks without incident. However one morning as I prepared for a ride I could not get the power meter to connect to my head unit. I spent a few minutes faffing around but eventually I had to go, I had people to meet and was out of time. Blast it!.

A few minutes into my ride suddenly I started getting power data. It looked about right so I thought that the problem was fixed, good news! Or so I thought. On returning home and checking the data it would seem that my head unit had only got left side data and must have been doubling it automatically to fool me in to thinking I had both. The right pedal was completely dead, there was no data from it at all.

So I fired off an email to Garmin asking for help. Within 24 hours I got a relatively standard response suggesting I change the batteries, clean the battery contacts, update the firmware, unpair and re-pair the pedals. I did all that and after unpairing the pedals could not get them to re-pair again. It wasn’t looking good.

So another email to garmin who got back to me confirming that;

“from the information you have provided we have determined that your Garmin device will need to be booked in for a replacement”

They requested I confirm the serial number and supply proof of purchase. Hmm I started to worry. My pedals were clearly outside of the 2 year warranty period, I was getting concerned that this was going to cost me a chunk of change.

Garmin got back to me prompty again with a return number and confirmation that my pedals had been booked in for “replacement”. OK I thought but how much is this replacement going to cost?

I clicked on the link they sent and completed the online returns form. In the cost section it came up as £0.00. It looked promising but it sounded a bit too good to be true. Were Garmin really going to replace my 2+ year old pedals free of charge?

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So after a few minutes with an old box, some bubble wrap and packing tape I was on my way to the post office. It did cost me £8 to ship them tracked and insured for next day delivery but OK I can take that.

The pedals did indeed arrive next day, before I had time to check the tracking information I received an email from Garmin to say they had arrived!

The following day I got an email from garmin to say my replacement pedals had shipped, followed shorty by a UPS tracking number.

The day after that a UPS guy was at my door with a box from Garmin!

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Inside the brown corrugated shipping box was a plain white box with minimal branding, clearly for return products only. And In that box, a pair of brand new vector 3 pedals! I was really quite astounded, all of the way through the process I didn’t quite believe Garmin were going to replace them free of charge. But here were a pair of shiny new pedals, on the table infront of me and my credit card had not left my wallet!

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So what do you say? I can’t fault Garmin for quite exceptional customer service They offered to replace the pedals, I didn’t even have to ask and the whole process was done swiftly in just a few days. Given I was out of warranty I was expecting to at least pay repair fee so chapeau to Garmin for a free replacement.

I am back cycling with power hurrah! But what happens next? Well I still think the Vector 3 pedals are a fundamentally flawed product and this experience has only reinforced that view.

Are these pedals going to last for 2 years and then stop working as well? If they do what happens then? I really can’t imagine will replace them for a second time.

To me the replacement pedals look exactly the same as the Vector 3’s I returned. The battery contacts look the same as the last Generation 4 battery holders and doors even down to the lettering printed on the circuit board. So there is nothing obvious to suggest the design has been changed or improved over my old pedals.

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But there is one change. Rather than supplying the pedals with 2 x LR44 batteries in each pedal, now they come with one CR 1/3N battery. That is interesting right? I wonder if that will fix some of the issues on its own?

I can see that it reduces a contact surface which could be a cause of poor connection which is a good thing. However the cost of these batteries is not. I checked them on Amazon. To replace 2 of the CR1/3N batteries with Duracell will be a whopping £9. In contrast a 4 pack of the smaller LR44’s is just £2.50.

Oh and incase you are wondering my new pedals are running firmware 3.80.

In the mean time I see that Garmin have released and updated version of the pedals called Rally. Interesting choice of name. The price in the UK has also increased from £790 to £970. That is quite an astounding price rise. I hope the Rally pedals are a new design that resolves all the vector 3 issues for that money. The Favero Assioma pedals are still only £699 and word is that they are much more reliable.

If the vector 3’s fail again I am thinking I will go for a powermeter cranks. The 4iii Shinamo 105 dual sided crank based power meter is only £575 right now. This will surely be more robust than the vector 3 / Rally pedals and at half the price I could get one for each of my bikes for the same money as one set of the new Garmin pedals. Surely that puts them out of the game?

Anyway, If you are a Vector 3 user, I hope this post is of interest. The moral of the story is, if your vector 3 pedals fail out of warranty, don’t be afraid to contact Garmin, you might also get a replacement free of charge. Good Luck!