So I just bought a PS4 fanatec wheel. I attached it to my playseat challenge following instructioms. When I opened the seat to sit in, the wheel base slid off and onto the ground. Litterally first use, one fall from playseat height.... And this is the result:
Fanatec Wheel Broke First Use because of fall From Playseat Challenge
- Thread starter oik01
- 78 comments
- 21,014 views
It was tightened. Whether it loosened somehow after, or it wasn't completely even w the table surface I'm not sure. Regardless... My expectations are that good designers expect certain types of accidents and design to accommodate them. This is obviously not the case here and I'm just pointing it out to potential buyers thats all. I've had multiple Logitech wheels over the years ... Each and every one of them would have come out of a simple fall like that unscathed.
- 6,838
- Europe
- GTP_Slim
- PzR Slim
The thread title is very misleading. You make out that you used the wheel in it's intended manner and it broke. When it reality, you dropped the wheel and it broke. I'm just baffled that you seem so surprised that it broke and want to blame the designers. Why would any designer design a product to withstand something that it doesn't experience in normal use. It's like blaming Apple when you drop your iPhone and the screen smashes.
is a defect may be the plastic is brittle or there is already a crack.when the wheel fall is already a sealed it faith.my t500rs fall sideway when i mounted on my playseat challenge.it hit hard on the floor.but never been damage.your wheel is a factory defect just return it.short fall would never been crack that much.
- 6,838
- Europe
- GTP_Slim
- PzR Slim
Hey @Fanatec... & @DomB_Fanatec this guy's wheel fell on the floor and broke. Can you help them out?
That's exactly my point, all other wheels dont break from similar falls. If you look at the connection between the wheel and wheel-base you will notice that it is made from very brittle plastic... It's just a poor design choice when you know that that particular piece will need to withstand a lot of force under many different accident scenarios.
Haha thanks lol.
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- 426
- United States
- andrewhake
What actually happened here? And yes your title is incredibly misleading. Did you not have the wheel properly secured to the base and pulled it off and dropped it on the ground? Was the wheel not even attached to the base and you knocked it onto the ground? That definitely isn't some small fall with the pins bend over like that.
I run my CSL Elite with very high FFB all the time for long periods and have had no issues.
Hopefully Fanatec can help you out getting a replacement.
I really love the size and shape of this wheel, it would be really cool to see Fanatec do a slightly higher end version of the P1 wheel that supports the full metal QR and will work with the Podium series when it is released.
I run my CSL Elite with very high FFB all the time for long periods and have had no issues.
Hopefully Fanatec can help you out getting a replacement.
I really love the size and shape of this wheel, it would be really cool to see Fanatec do a slightly higher end version of the P1 wheel that supports the full metal QR and will work with the Podium series when it is released.
- 220
- Germany
First i was think, how to manage something like this, did he forget the screws? But then, after reading twice,
....Playseat Challenge....
Dont wonder anymore about this sad&funny accident. Probably the whole camping stool fell over. Sorry but this camping stool are not made for seriuos simracing hardware. Tip..... throw that fail-seat into the garbage.
....Playseat Challenge....
Dont wonder anymore about this sad&funny accident. Probably the whole camping stool fell over. Sorry but this camping stool are not made for seriuos simracing hardware. Tip..... throw that fail-seat into the garbage.
Hmmm, how are all the pins bent as well?!
That is a fall with some force/weight behind it as it would have needed to not only break the quick release but shatter it will enough force to bend the wheel out of position too. How can you expect to drop a heavy item onto a bit of plastic and it not break?
Do you also expect the electronics to be waterproof in case you leave a drink on top of it whilst you drive and it spills all over it?!
That is a fall with some force/weight behind it as it would have needed to not only break the quick release but shatter it will enough force to bend the wheel out of position too. How can you expect to drop a heavy item onto a bit of plastic and it not break?
Do you also expect the electronics to be waterproof in case you leave a drink on top of it whilst you drive and it spills all over it?!
- 790
- Germany
So I think there is no doubt that this damage was caused by misuse of the customer.
In general even in such a case we make the customer a good offer in order to keep him happy.
Unfortunately in this case the customer decided to make a public post and tries to damage our reputation. If we would now help him this would just encourage others to do the same.
I can only recommend that the first thing you should do is to contact our support. And in case you dropped it I recommend to ask our team nicely for help instead of blaming the product quality. Beeing nice usually is always more effective
- 76
- Australia
- 220
- Germany
That is the first what i do after unpacking. I let fall everything from 1 m, especially electronic equipment. If it breaks, i claim how bad the quality and design. 
So I think there is no doubt that this damage was caused by misuse of the customer.
In general even in such a case we make the customer a good offer in order to keep him happy.
Unfortunately in this case the customer decided to make a public post and tries to damage our reputation. If we would now help him this would just encourage others to do the same.
I can only recommend that the first thing you should do is to contact our support. And in case you dropped it I recommend to ask our team nicely for help instead of blaming the product quality. Beeing nice usually is always more effective
Hey honestly your customer service have been quite reasonable and helpful. That doesn't take away from the fact that I still think you guys could have done the connection bit better. Hey we are all entitled to our opinions and it seems the majority on here think you shouldn't bother making sure your product can handle simple falls. It sounds crazy to me still though.
Also I'm not trying to ruin your reputation. I'm sharing my experience. I said I dropped it myself on my first use. It's only ruining your reputation if other readers expect your product to handle such a fall
I've had my DFGT and g27 fall before yes. Title is exactly what happened but I changed it to give more detail
I don't expect expect to drop a heavy item on a piece of plastic and expect it to break.
Also wouldn't expect to have a piece of plastic placed in a role where it may frequently need to support said heavy item
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How are you handling your wheel where the quick release on the rim would ever be supporting the weight of the wheel base?I don't expect expect to drop a heavy item on a piece of plastic and expect it to break.
Also wouldn't expect to have a piece of plastic placed in a role where it may frequently need to support said heavy item
Let’s say you are swinging around your wheel by the rim that is still significantly less stress than an impact which would have been at an odd angle too.
Also if you don’t think they should be using plastic there which personally I don’t like on the CSL line well the simple answer is there is a more expensive better built CSW rim line made of metal.
gt_fan
Premium
- 291
- Australia
- gt_fan
- GT3Fan
I'm glad someone brought a little balance to the conversation.
I think the OP's problem was to use a wheel made for a proper sim rig on a playseat challenge "cockpit" - it just looks too flimsy to support a heavy wheel.
And the OP's first observation was how bad the design was and how easy it was to break his wheel
- 76
- Australia
Also wouldn't expect to have a piece of plastic placed in a role where it may frequently need to support said heavy item
In fairness to Fanatec though, they are building the P1, Elite and PS4 wheels down to low price points and something has to "give" in order to achieve that. Obviously quite literally in your case. When you consider that the stronger wheels (which might not have broken) might cost double (and even triple depending on the models) what the cheaper wheels cost, I think that is a fair trade off given that the vast majority of owners will go to extreme lengths to avoid accidents with them.
Even then I would argue the wheel is still fit for purpose because no-one has ever complained about them breaking in normal service. Arguing it is flimsy is like saying you are disappointed that car manufacturers don't put armour plating on the front of their cars to prevent damage from running into trolley receptacles at the local supermarket car park.
Don't get me wrong - I do believe the retention / fastening mechanisms on the three least expensive wheel rims is a significant compromise, but it never bothered me that it's tensile strength was low, since those factors don't come into play in normal use. It was always the fact that the mechanism does not provide a truly rigid interface that was always the issue with me (and one of only two reasons I am considering a BMW rim versus an Elite one - the other being related to the paddle shifters).
I realise, however, that people wanting to play particular console combinations (as opposed to PC) are restricted in their wheel choices which in turn means they are forced to compromise on the choice of release mechanism. And that is something I think could be addressed.
- 549
- New York
- soundtiger95
Hey honestly your customer service have been quite reasonable and helpful. That doesn't take away from the fact that I still think you guys could have done the connection bit better. Hey we are all entitled to our opinions and it seems the majority on here think you shouldn't bother making sure your product can handle simple falls. It sounds crazy to me still though.
Also I'm not trying to ruin your reputation. I'm sharing my experience. I said I dropped it myself on my first use. It's only ruining your reputation if other readers expect your product to handle such a fall
If everyone is disagreeing with you and saying you’re wrong, wouldn’t it be logical to take a step back and analyze your own line and thinking and at least entertain the idea that you might just be wrong?
They’re reputation isn’t being ruined just because you say so. You mishandled a product and it broke. That’s on you, no one else. A racing wheel isn’t meant to be dropped because it’s one and only uses doesn’t involve dropping it. Same as a glass or anything else that’s fragile. Have you ever broken a glass by dropping it and blamed the glass manufacturer for not making it strong enough to handle a fall?
I've had my DFGT and g27 fall before yes. Title is exactly what happened but I changed it to give more detail
What exactly are you doing to your wheels to have them fall? One time I can attribute to a freak accident, but this is now the third time this has happened? If your setup is what’s causing the falls, that should’ve been changed after the first time it happened.
I don't expect expect to drop a heavy item on a piece of plastic and expect it to break.
Also wouldn't expect to have a piece of plastic placed in a role where it may frequently need to support said heavy item
Wait, did you really just say you don’t expect to drop something and have it break?
No one else has had this problem with the wheel breaking like this except for you. You can keep posting wink emojis thinking you’re being clever and blaming everyone else for things that are your fault, but that’s not a great way to carry yourself at all.
- 790
- Germany
A racing wheel is normally mounted properly and not an item you carry around.
A mobile phone or a laptop are made for beeing carried around and they break easily with a single drop and you have to pay for repair.
So what?
Should we make all our products more solid and increase cost because something like this happens once a year?
Of course we could do that but I doubt anyone wants to spend money for that.
Thank you for changing the misleading title. This is appreciated
A mobile phone or a laptop are made for beeing carried around and they break easily with a single drop and you have to pay for repair.
So what?
Should we make all our products more solid and increase cost because something like this happens once a year?
Of course we could do that but I doubt anyone wants to spend money for that.
Thank you for changing the misleading title. This is appreciated
- 6,838
- Europe
- GTP_Slim
- PzR Slim
Then your expectations are way beyond what the vast majority of people would have. That piece of plastic never needs to support the heavy item in normal use. That's what product design is, a designer designs a product based on it's intended use. If you using the item not in its intended way then more fool you.I don't expect expect to drop a heavy item on a piece of plastic and expect it to break.
Also wouldn't expect to have a piece of plastic placed in a role where it may frequently need to support said heavy item
It astonishes me that you think anybody but yourself is at fault here.
The photos in the OP show me that the rim is fixable. You can straighten the pins in the connector and glue the piece of plastic back in its place. If the connections (pins) to the electronics aren't broken inside, your wheel will be usable again.
Anyway, that is how I should do it because if I drop something and it brakes, I blame myself. I'd not make a thread about it, maybe mention my stupid mistake in an appropriate thread and laugh it away using one of these emoticons: 
Anyway, that is how I should do it because if I drop something and it brakes, I blame myself. I'd not make a thread about it, maybe mention my stupid mistake in an appropriate thread and laugh it away using one of these emoticons:
cjr3559
Premium
- 2,787
- Ohio
- cjr3559
Sounds like a case of drop-itis. How many wheels have you dropped? Ouch. I dropped a PS3 once and thankfully it still works, however I wouldn’t have blamed Sony if it broke.
My advice here is to invest in a sturdier rig. Those Playseats look like they’ll fall over in a light breeze.
My advice here is to invest in a sturdier rig. Those Playseats look like they’ll fall over in a light breeze.
- 5,051
- Netherlands
So I think there is no doubt that this damage was caused by misuse of the customer.
In general even in such a case we make the customer a good offer in order to keep him happy.
Unfortunately in this case the customer decided to make a public post and tries to damage our reputation. If we would now help him this would just encourage others to do the same.
I can only recommend that the first thing you should do is to contact our support. And in case you dropped it I recommend to ask our team nicely for help instead of blaming the product quality. Beeing nice usually is always more effective
An accident can happen. I agree this is the customers own fault and in no fault of Fanatec, but accusing him of damaging your reputation is going a bit far. He posted the pics here to ask for opinions and advice and nothing more. For all he knows the product could have been faulty. He did say he fastened the screw. The culprit most likely is his tile floor and could have been prevented with a wooden or carpeted floor. Dont get me wrong. Customer service should not reimburse him for the accident, but at least a good quote on repair or replacement since other parts werent damaged.
I dropped my wheelbase and it cracked in the middle. TM sent me a replacement cover, which I paid for myself, with the promise warranty would not be effected.
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- 549
- New York
- soundtiger95
OP had a title before changing it that I believe was along the lines of blaming Fanatec or saying their products were subpar. They have continued blaming Fanatec for having a poor product throughout this entire thread even though people have said repeatedly its OP’s fault. They’re not looking for opinions and advice, they’re looking to have their feelings justified and are now upset because people are saying they’re wrong.
- 5,051
- Netherlands
I didnt know about the edit of the title, but I dont see edits with his posts. It seems to me he attached the wheel like he supposed to and it fell off. He probably accidently didnt fasten the screw enough and was looking for people who may have similar stories. It could very well be a defect. And like I said it is his tilefloor, carperted or wood floor might have saved the wheel.
- 549
- New York
- soundtiger95
The title was changed, not the post. They also obviously did NOT attach the wheel properly, and they said this is the THIRD time this has happened to them with three different wheels. It’s not a defect, it’s OP’s fault 100%. Wheels aren’t meant to fall and hit the ground. I have a G27 which is one of the most durable wheels out there, but I’d fully expect it to break if I dropped it from three to five feet off the ground and onto a hard surface. That’s just common sense.
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