POLL: Thrustmaster T300RS/GTE Reliability Poll

  • Thread starter VBR
  • 504 comments
  • 107,287 views

Have you had any problems with your T300RS/GTE?

  • Total voters
    313
VBR

VBR

Meme Dissident in Exile...
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ScapeGoat4U
WhippingBoy
With people having problems with these wheels, & reporting them in this forum, it can give the impression that they're very unreliable. So let's find out just how reliable these wheels really are.

Please vote if you own one of these wheel & have had no problems with it, & if you have the time describe your positive experiences.

Please vote if you own one of these wheel & have had problems with it, & if you have the time describe your negative experiences.



:cheers:
 
My launch T300RS had the "clunk" issue, bad tolerance somewhere in the steering shaft (part of an early batch, a couple of other GTP guys had the same thing). I had to RMA it, and got a brand new replacement.

The replacement is 7 months old and works fine, no issues.
Both pedal sets were fine.


P.S. A poll about reliability on the GTP hardware forum will always attract those with issues. Those without issues generally don't bother looking here, they are too busy talking about the games and playing them.
 
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My launch T300 GTE developed a strange clicking sound when going anticlockwise.. did it either by hand or when calibrating itself etc. I posted a video up in the main thread at the time... had a replacement within a week and that has been absolutely perfect:D
 
skazz
A poll about reliability on the GTP hardware forum will always attract those with issues. Those without issues generally don't bother looking here, they are too busy talking about the games and playing them.
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That's what people were saying about the T300 thread. That's the reason I'm running this poll. Hopefully people who aren't having issues will vote too, like they are already.


👍
 
My T300RS that I bought about 10 months ago has had not one issue since I've been using it.

EDIT: I own a G27, 2 CSR's, 2 (now 1) DFGT, and a T500. Even with the center spring issue on PS4, the FFB on the T300 with PCARS is the best thing I've ever felt on console. Looking forward to it getting even better after the patch.
 
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Edit #2 - had to change my vote to Yes see post #24

The wheel has been awesome - I have been using it on average 2 hours a day for 31 days now. 👍

I did have some FFB fading while playing project cars but that is an issue with the project cars FFB being set to high and incorrectly. I have cleaned up my setting and now have no issues with FFB fade. The fading is actually a design of the wheel to protect itself when it is being pushed to hard.

Edit - I first used it on GT6 and never had fading issues with GT6 FFB - but then again it did not feel nearly as good.
 
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The main issue I currently have is the downshift. It doesn't click like the upshift does. I have to press it a lot harder to make it click, like the mechanism has been pushed inside. Very annoying when you're turning a corner and the downshift doesn't click.

It's not like I've been overusing the thing either.

I also had high FFB drop out on my last race night. Very frustrating 6 laps in with an evening of two 13 lap races plus qualifying. All seems to be ok now, but my FFB isn't very weighty anyway, so it came as a bit of a shock when all the feeling in the bends decided to run off.

I haven't had this problem since though. All good at the moment in that regard.
 
Had issue with T300 GTE
- It wouldn't calibrate, couldn't reach max left turn during calibration. I had to pre-turn the wheel 360 degree to left to get it calibrated. (PC, PS3, PS4)
- The wheel comes with off-centered calibration (0.5% by TM control panel)
- Finally it ceased to work in the middle of pCars session with the infamous "disconnect" popup message (PS4). Never get it calibrated again only "humming" noise inside the wheel base. Bootloader method didn't help


Sent it to shop for replacement. Told me to wait after 10 days.
7 days later I came back to shop by chance just to check it out. The shop staff told me horrible story that within the last 2 weeks:
- In that branch, they sold 3 unit T300 GTE, and 2 unit came back for the same claim (1 of it was mine)
- Other branch report sold 2 unit T300 GTE, 1 unit came back for warranty claim

Now this might not be a representative sampling, but sure it doesn't look good, at least for local the customer there.

Finally I decided to accept shop's offer to upgrade to T500RS+Playseat Evo with additional OMR95 +/- USD250
 
My 1-month-old T300RS has been running perfectly (besides a minor off-center recalibration). I do have an issue with the d-pad, however. Continually clicking in any one direction makes it progressively harder and harder to push the button and to have it register (another reason why I wish we could use the DS at the same time). Not a deal-breaker issue, though. This wheel, alongside the TH8A, and the T3PA-Pro pedals is an outstanding combination. Now I just need to get better at racing...

My 13-month-old TX however is a different story. I purchased the TH8A shifter add-on, which for the Xbox version must be plugged in via the PS2 port. I was having an issue where force feedback from the wheel would cause issues with the connection, making the shifter instantly downshift from 4th to 2nd gear. It even caused the pedals to act up (it worked perfectly via USB on my PC, hence my conclusion that it was due to the PS2 connection). When working with Thrustmaster service, one of their diagnostics tests subsequently caused the base to completely fry and it would no longer power on. After about 3 weeks of back and forth, they sent out a replacement base and the shifter issue went away.

P.S. The T300RS wheel is leaps and bounds better than the stock TX wheel.
 
Hmm, 26 votes and we're still at 50/50.

I was hoping that we'd have a larger swing towards the reliable side of things.
 
Ian_83
Hmm, 26 votes and we're still at 50/50.

I was hoping that we'd have a larger swing towards the reliable side of things.
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Me too, but Thrustmaster's customer service is excellent if you register yourself and your products.
If something isn't right, they WILL make it right for you..
 
I don't know if it is an issue or not but I guess it is not normal.

When I set the T300RS to 1080° in the Thrustmaster controlpanel, I can't go any further than 1055° (97.7%) unless I force the wheel to 1080°. I have to exert/use much force to turn beyond the 1055°.
Turning to the left is the same. I can't turn the T300RS all the way to 40°. It gets stuck at 2.2%.

In pCars, there is the possibility to have a soft lock. To match the degrees of the T300RS with the degrees of the virtual wheel ingame. This doesn't work with my wheel.
 
Ian_83
Still 50/50 for reliability. :eek:

If I went to buy something and was told by the salesperson that there'd be a 50% chance that it would go wrong, I would walk away. :lol:
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Maybe, but if you bought it from a retailer like Amazon who have a superb hassle free exchange policy, you can just keep sending it back for a new unit until you get a good one.


:D
 
kikie
I don't know if it is an issue or not but I guess it is not normal.

When I set the T300RS to 1080° in the Thrustmaster controlpanel, I can't go any further than 1055° (97.7%) unless I force the wheel to 1080°. I have to exert/use much force to turn beyond the 1055°.
Turning to the left is the same. I can't turn the T300RS all the way to 40°. It gets stuck at 2.2%.

In pCars, there is the possibility to have a soft lock. To match the degrees of the T300RS with the degrees of the virtual wheel ingame. This doesn't work with my wheel.
Click to expand...
EDIT: I gave the wrong answer... see next post
 
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skazz
that is NOT normal. Both my 1080 degree Thrustmaster wheels turn from 0% to 100% without issue.
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Thanks for the heads up. As this is my first Thrustmaster, I wasn't sure. It didn't feel right for sure but you never know. Now, thanks to you, I'm sure and the uncertainty/doubt is gone, which is a good feeling.
 
kikie
Thanks for the heads up. As this is my first Thrustmaster, I wasn't sure. It didn't feel right for sure but you never know. Now, thanks to you, I'm sure and the uncertainty/doubt is gone, which is a good feeling.
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Sorry, I apologize for not reading your question properly. I doublechecked my T300 for safety to exactly answer your question....

If you are in the configuration screen and rotate the full 1080 degrees with a T300 then you do indeed feel heavy resistance and vibration from 0-2% and 98-100%. If you leave the configuration screen then you get normal centering spring and don't particularly notice that extra weight because you have steadily increasing wheel weight all the way to the end stops.

If the wheel is unpowered then it rotates just fine through the full 1080 degrees. That heavy feel at the last 2% is effectively the soft stop coming into effect before the full 1080 degrees, as you say.
 
skazz
Sorry, I apologize for not reading your question properly. I doublechecked my T300 for safety to exactly answer your question....

If you are in the configuration screen and rotate the full 1080 degrees with a T300 then you do indeed feel heavy resistance and vibration from 0-2% and 98-100%. If you leave the configuration screen then you get normal centering spring and don't particularly notice that extra weight because you have steadily increasing wheel weight all the way to the end stops.

If the wheel is unpowered then it rotates just fine through the full 1080 degrees. That heavy feel at the last 2% is effectively the soft stop coming into effect before the full 1080 degrees, as you say.
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So what you mean is that it is normal. I was in the controlpanel as you said. I never tested it without the controlpanel closed.
I returned the T300RS to the local computer store where I bought it.
 
Went back to the computer store to get the T300RS back. Tested it and whatever I did, the wheel locks at around 1050° (97.7% and 2.2%) >> in the controlpanel, leaving the controlpanel, switching off the FFB entirely, in Assetto Corsa, in pCars. Nothing what I did made any changes. And I also found out that there is a USB connector problem. I didn't notice it before because I'm using an USB extention cable (thick enough) and I secured the T300RS USB connecton into the extention cable connector with tape. Even connecting the T300RS directly into the USB port of the pc, didn't work.

So I brought it back and I asked for a refund, which is probably not possible.
 
Edit - Thrustmaster responded to my email after only 29 hours to start the RMA process. They must be working hard to improve customer service. So at least that is a positive.

I had to change my vote to Yes after 41 days as I am now having the "clunking" issue when turning around the center. When I am racing in Project Cars I can feel it through my wheel stand pro, to the pedals, to my feet. - Was not there a few days ago then I had a glitch in project cars that slammed the BAC hard right when leaving the pits, I gripped the wheel to fight it the second time (qualifying) and now my wheel sounds like this when turning back and forth against FFB...

 
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zr1chris
Man 50/50 is not good at all.
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It's interesting to see the results of the poll though. I'm fairly certain that there are happy customers out there with trouble free wheels that have no reason to come onto this area of the forum though.... Although similarly there may be a fair few that have had issues and haven't been on here either. :lol:

I guess that there's also a good chance that others may have to change their vote too if they get problems in the future. I hope that they don't, because the RMA process equals downtime and that's plain annoying when your hobby is sim racing.
 
My first wheel's FFB stopped working then soon after the wheel wasn't even able to calibrate itself (kept spinning again and again). No new problem since I changed for a new one back in December.
Can't say I'm really confident about the wheel's reliability, I expected it to stop working anytime. :nervous:

Edit: My first T300 lasted couple of days by the way !
 
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GTAndy36
The main issue I currently have is the downshift. It doesn't click like the upshift does. I have to press it a lot harder to make it click, like the mechanism has been pushed inside. Very annoying when you're turning a corner and the downshift doesn't click.

It's not like I've been overusing the thing either.

I also had high FFB drop out on my last race night. Very frustrating 6 laps in with an evening of two 13 lap races plus qualifying. All seems to be ok now, but my FFB isn't very weighty anyway, so it came as a bit of a shock when all the feeling in the bends decided to run off.

I haven't had this problem since though. All good at the moment in that regard.
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I went trough 3 rims and they all had slightly softer left paddle click. No issues with the wheel.
 

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