MrBarfly

Has anyone else had trouble with Shimano warranty? On my third use of a 5'8" xxh trevala jigging rod during red snapper season I hooked a UFO in 150' of water. Half way up my Trevala snaps right above the rod butt. This breaks the line and everything but the but goes over board. Now Shimano has basicly called me a liar and said they could not warranty a rod unless I sent back all the parts. I very patiently explained what happened again and their rep tells me that I don't know what I am talking about and that their rod would have snapped higher up if it had been a fish. By this time I have almost lost it and ask for a supervisor. This putz sends me to a voicemail with no name. I just want to see if this is common practice because in my book if your charging $225.00 for a rod you need to stand behind it.

First Light

All rod manufacturers will require you to return the parts for a replacement. And FYI, Shimano has one of the best warranty's in the industry.

jzd

snapped right above the rod butt? sounds like someone was resting on the gunnel

Regulator29

Broke one of my Trevala rods last spring jigging BFT, called Shimano US to get warranty procedure, sent broken rod back and a few days later a new Trevala arrives at my door step. Seems pretty good to me.

CB Haws

Those rods are a very poor design. They bend along their length instead of bending at the tip. I tested one at a trade show when they first came out. The guy would pull on the rod tip while you lifted. I saw right then and their they were selling a rod that caused you to put lots of stress on the butt to lift a fish. By the way if you think about a see-saw you are on the wrong end all the lifting weight is on you. I use Bogan custom Jig Rods. They have some bend at the top third of the rod, but not enough to affect the jigging. They have a real back bone, but then they weigh lots more then the shitmano rods.
Oh yea these rods have suffered many many failures. Do some searches. POS

silver bullet

I bought a Bent butt rod from J&M in Gulf Shores, It broke and I lost the fish and the other end of the rod.
They replaced it and it wasn't like pulling teeth.

J&M, you have a customer for life with that kind of service.

Regulator29

I have had very good luck with the Trevala rods for jigging & catching 150-300 pound BFT the past several years fishing out of NC. Not a single failure to fighting fish with the exception of the one I broke when the guy leading the fish wrapped up across the rod tip and I will take the blame for not paying attention. Fishing with 30# plus of drag and landing these fish in most cases under 30 minutes.

Irish Jig 78

Actually, I think it's a pretty good design - depending on what it's use is.

I own 3 Trevala 5'8" XXH's and a 6'6" MH spinning. I break 1 or 2 a year and my local dealer exchanges them over the counter. It's frustrating when you break a rated 220# rod on a 10 pound fish...I agree...but the design of the rod is unlike many others.

Most rod blanks are lightly sanded then coated w/ a durable finish to protect the blank - Trevala's are not. Not because they're skimping on the product - they're working to minimize weight and increase parabolic flexibility. I found the culprit on 2 of my broken Trevala's (and Shimano agreed), it was the barrel swivel. When underway, rod in the gunnel, the barrel swivel for the leader taps the rod blank w/ the boats vibration. Eventually this forms a "weak spot" in the blank. One wrong move with the rod and "SNAP".

If you're rough on your gear in general, these rods aren't for you. But a well maintained/cared for Trevala, is priceless in the heat of battle. Breaking at the handle is tough to digest initially - but I would venture to guess that you regularly have a butterfly style jig hooked on the rod ring and the jig is banging against that part of the rod...that would be my guess. That's why they came up w/ those "Rod/Jig Velcro Wraps"; to hold the jig stationary.

-Good Luck

alligatorgar

Thats why I use ugly sticks and Penn reels.

Wolakrab

They can tell what led to the failure with the butt end of the rod. It sounds as if the person you spoke to is following SOP to the detriment of good customer service.
Keep on taking it up the ladder.

bigfishhooker

Shimano has great customer service from my experience with broken Trevallas.

LI32

I am not understanding the OP, if it actually broke juts above the butt, which is at the reels seat (as opposed to above the foregrip), that would be a rather odd failure, which I could only see having if the person were fighting the fish in the rod holder, which is a definite no-no with anything but aluminum butted rods.

spineyman

Here is your answer straight from the horses mouth. Service Rep himself.

He needs to send the rod in for warranty replacement. He has to send what he has and we'll take care of it. He will need to include a note with his name, address, phone number and a description of what happened. If the model number cannot be read then he will need to include that as well.

Shimano
attn Rod Warranty
1 Holland
Irvine, CA 92618

I don't know who he spoke with but it sounds like a BS story to me. We always tell the customer to send the rod in with whatever parts they have. I am not a member on that site so could you post everything above for me?

Thanks!

Dan

bigtahuna

I was in a tackle shop one day and a guy brought a Trevala rod in that was broken off at the tip. The shop owner went over to the rack, got a new rod out and transfered the reel to it, handed the outfit back to the customer and sent him out the door, no questions asked. That service dosen't suck if you ask me.

spineyman

That has been my experience across the board with Shimano. There is no better service in the business that I know of.

Tropicmaster

No better customer service in the industry that I am aware of, or have ever dealt with. I have 6 of the Trevalla's in various flavors and have broken a couple here and there. I have yet to have the slightest problem with returns. I have put more heat on these rods than is anywhere near reasonable and I am saying that if it broke at the butt section something aint kosher with the story we are getting. I am talking WAY undertackled and crazy amounts of drag with no failures. The only times I have broken one was when I, or someone else on the boat did something stupid, or when we crossed the line from unreasonably undertackled to insanely undertackled.

However I will say this- the rods do not like to be " highsticked" under a heavy load. As long as you keep them low the power they have is pretty much beyond belief.

dandaman

I broke the only ugly stick jigging rod on the 2nd fish bout a 50# jack but did land him
Local shop did let me bring it back and exchange it for a shimano travala with a cash diff
The rods are tuffer than most give him credit for
As for customer service on the reels better be sending in a stella if you want to fish with it again this summer

dandaman

Oops

Saltybrad

Mine has picked up it's fair share of bottom fish for the past five years. Neither the Rod nor the avet LX have let me down yet.

GulfC

I had one break as well but BassPro replaced it. Although I did go up to a heavier class at the time. Since then I've put 2 to the test many times without a hitch.