faucn336

Just bought a Redcat Earthquake 3.5 last week. It was awesome until I actually got it running. First time I drove it the throttle servo went out. Brought it to the shop I got it from, and they changed it. It takes about 20 pulls to get the motor started. Had one day of fun driving with it. After the weekend I went to take it out and the steering does not work now. Put brand new batteries and still nothing. You would think for $250 the thing would work right. Bringing it back tomorrow to see if I can get a refund. Ihave not enjoyed it yet. WillNOT buy another REDCAT. Seems to me it's not worth the money.

nitrosportsandrunner

is this your 1st nitro? i had the backdraft 3.5(basically the same) and the only issue i had with it was the throttle servo dying. i contacted redcat and had a new servo at my door in a week.
my motor only took a few pulls to start. are you priming the motor? if you are priming the motor and it takes forever to start then your needle settings must be off.
sorry to hear that the steering went out. im sure redcat will send you a replacement if you fill out a warrenty form on their site.

the redcats i have owned have all had a small issue or bug, but were easy to fix and run great %95 of the time. and considering their models cost $50-$100 less then comparable models

Dale Gribble

My Feedback: (4)

The nitro hobby is not an easy hobby and there is a learning curve.. Based on what you wrote, I think you would have a challenge with ANY nitro car/truck.

basketballfan60123

My Feedback: (2)

I doubt if they will refund your money; most of the time once you put fuel in that engine you are stuck with it and most of the time when something is not working right is because you are new to the hobby and it is something you are not doing right and chances are that you will have the same issues with another brand I know this because I have been through it myself when I first started.
It has nothing to do with the brand of rc it is and if you did get a lemon or any of the parts or electronics are broken from the factory (not from user error) the LHS and mostly Redcat themselves will help you with any replacements you need.
And a word of advice; if you go to your hobby shop or call Redcat demanding or threatening they will not help you so your best bet is to be polite with them.

nitrosportsandrunner

agreed, you wont get your money back on the truck. the hobby just dont work that way. doesnt matter if it was a electric or nitro, or what brand it was.
but you should contact redcat. explain what happened to the steering and they will help you.
their trucks are pretty good IMO, but there were a few models that got shipped out with poor-quality servos. when redcat sent me a replacement servo for my backdraft 3.5, it was a different make then the stock. so, redcat is aware of the issue and they will take care of you....just gotta give them the chance.

buggyboy2010

Couldn't add anything better then what these guys have already said, Take their advice and I'm sure You will be enjoying Your Redcat in no time.

rchobbyunlimited

Very well spoken. it can all be worked out.

rccrazer

obviously your low speed needle is eather way to ritch or is starving = if it takes that long to actually start it. something i do want to ask you is did you mess with the factory settings? depending on your altitude and climate conditions you will want to tune it differantly. where are you from? i do 2.5 turns out on the high speed needle. and we are at 6000 ft above sea level. and i make the low speed needle flush with low speed slide or turn. also check your plug.

next thing is did you properly break in the engine?

and being in the buisness for 5 years has told methat 1 in every 200 rc vehicles will be defective wheater its team associated to new bright. it does happen. plus redcat has a 90 day warrenty. just go to thier website and click on the verry bottom it says warrenty. that's where you can get all the best things you need to be fixed and fixed right. so you should have no problems i run my redcat nitro's almost every day rain or shine, snow or hail, and i m still not having any problems. if you have any problems contact me and i will be happy to help.

rccrazer

=and yes i do drive them in the hail.

Valgath

i have a redcat EQ 3.5 the throttle servo went bad on me no big deal replaced it with a futaba s3003 servo ive broke or bent several dogbones but that was due to me being a noob and doing little adjustments on it a lesson learned there , personally i loved my EQ good product altho it doesnt look like stock anymore , ive never broken a plastic part but metal parts yes due to my own noobish errors the only thing ive really had probs with is bolts bending in the suspension or striping the bolts out in the plastic the bending bolts is due to bashing to hard again not redcats fualt there and prolly my fualt too for the screws stripping , im very happy tho with my EQ 3.5

harveylin

ClammyBallz

Make sure you don't have the steering control set to zero on the transmitter. It's the knob on the right next tot he throttle and steering trim. If it's at zero, you won't get any steering response.

BTW, I'm up to 8 vehicles and every one has needed something fixed, replaced or repaired. If you're someone who doesn't like to fix things, then you picked the wrong hobby.

nitrosportsandrunner

i second this. also, the repairs/maintinance on nitros is much more than electrics. for every 1hour of running a nitro i was spending 1/2 an hour fixing/tuning/cleaning!

chevymanmike1010

My Feedback: (11)

I know exactly what you mean faucn336. read my thread titled JUNK in this forum. Was in the same boat with earthquake i got for my brother. ran fantastic for 15 minutes then started fallin apart. just save a little more an get a savage x. thats what ive got and i never have problems.

DoGGY54th

My Nightmare after spending $250.00+on a NEW Redcat EarthQuake Truck 3.0 for my Son's Xmas gift.First problem; had to replace the Receiver and Controller.After 3 weeks ofwaiting I broke intheengine,I did itbythe book and it runs and starts great.

The next day I drovethe truckand notice Iwasn't getting full throttle, onlyabout 1/3 throttle. Hmmm what now.....I check everything andlooks OK. Istarted it up to makea fewpasses in front of my house butI still can't getfull throttle,thenmy worst nightmare, the throttle sticks WFO and I got no brakes, will not stop.

I was able to steerthe Truck in a wide archbutit went into second gear and I lost control, it wasn't a pretty event.Theservo for the throttle stuck open and the brakejust quite working.If there's anyone herefrom Redcat Supportreading thispostput yourself into my shoes.

It's going to breakhis heart, and minewhen he see this mangledNew Earthquake Truck that hewanted.

formula87

Just call Redcat they will help out esp if you just got it............  I had probelms with my Earthquake 8e with the gears messing up in the diffs and they helped me out and I fixed the problem and have not had a lick of trouble I don't know about the Redcat Nitros as never owned a Nitro myself but Redcat should help you out ..... call them!

DoGGY54th

I just called Redcat Support and left another message onthere answer machine to please call me with my name and number........................I'llpost when I get a call.

formula87

Hey its Friday so they may be busy they will call you back just give them till the afternoon. where did you purchase it from?

DoGGY54th

rchobbyunlimited

It's the holiday season they are very busy but they are good at returning calls and great customer service.

DoGGY54th

Thanks rchobbyunlimited for your posts andadvice, I' ll post when I hear from Redcat.

nitrosportsandrunner

note sure if i should do this, but here is one of the sales guys emails: [email protected]
i have found it better to email redcat, then call. as mentioned above, the holiday season has the guys working overtime!
also, i would go here: http://www.redcatracing.com/informat...anty-form.html
and fill out a warrenty form. you can write down what happened with the truck, and give them your email account.

formula87

I also did the warranty claim form when I had my issues and they contacted me within 12 hrs if not sooner. Chris will help or send you in the right direction.

rchobbyunlimited

Yes Chris is one of the best guys he will diffently help you out.

DoGGY54th