Horizons Unlimited - The HUBB - LoJack Warning for First Timers

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LoJack Warning for First Timers

Stowed my bike for winter. I didn't bother to put it on a trickle charger. I figured I would just charge it up the following Spring when I was ready to ride again.

In fairness to LoJack, I'm sure they have it clearly documented somewhere, that if you allow your $800 LoJack to go completely dead, you've completely lost it forever, but I never saw that section of any manual.

I mistakenly thought that it would just come back to life when I recharged my bike's battery. A call to LoJack customer service delivered the crushing news.

"No, sir. If the LoJack's internal backup battery goes dead, it's pretty much just dead. Older LoJacks had a replaceable battery, but even that would cost a few hundred dollars to replace. The newer LoJacks cannot even be opened."

Stunned, I asked, "You mean, my $800 LoJack is like one of those greeting cards that plays music, that you just throw away when its battery runs out?"

"Well, if you keep it charged, it will last a pretty long time."

Stunned silence. You mean, I just lost almost $1000 because I let my bike's battery run down over the winter months.

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry that the sale person did not explain that adequately to you." :confused1: :stormy::censored: :oops2:

That's my story, friends. Do not let this happen to you.

Regards,

MJS

hell yeah ... sue em :censored:

For those of us who don't live in the US, a Lojack is an anti theft device which when activated gives its location. It derives most of its power from the vehicle battery. Any battery (the majority) need constantly recharging when in storage and if allowed to discharge far enough will never recover.

Pretty cr@p design fault IMO, esp as Lithium Ion mobile phone batteries have exactly the same propensity and yet phones manage to include circuitry that ensures they shut down before reaching that low point-of-no return.

Michaelstr - sounds like this might be an answer to your problem.

Manufacturers are forever engaging in nasty little restrictive practices to 'encourage' people to shell out for expensive tools / throw away their products and buy new ones eg How To: Replace the iPhone 4's Battery - YouTube

But thanks to the internet there's usually a way around it!!

LoJack Made it Right

First, thanks to everyone for the great responses, especially to _CY_ for the clever work-around. That alone could have made this posting worthwhile if it helps even just one person avoid the $$ bite.

That said, I have a good but ...
SHOCKING DEVELOPMENT bier :clap:
... to report:

A LoJack representative contacted me the day after I posted this. She expressed regret to learn of my loss as reported on this forum and on ripoffreports.com. She apologized that the risks of not using a trickle charger at all times had not been adequately conveyed to me.

To my dismay, she told me that LoJack was going to send, not just a technician, but one of their regional supervisors to replace my LoJack at no cost!!!

This exceeds all my expectations for customer service. I am blown away.

It's a little bit of a bummer that I have to keep my bike tethered to a trickle charger, but now I know what the rules are for having a top of the line LoJack protecting my bike. Once I get the trickle charger setup in the garage (perhaps mounted on the wall), and get pig-tales for the battery, it won't be any trouble. So, it's a very small, initial hassle.

I'm scheduled to meet them next week at the cycle shop. I am extremely grateful to LoJack for so quickly responding to this posting, and for their eagerness to make it right. While I still wag my head at the design, this goes a long way to redeem the image I've had of them in the past.

It was my duty to report the good along with the bad.

Cheers.

I would have a word with the manager and see if there's any kind of firmware update out there that makes the device cut out before the battery gets too low.

Just a thought.

Quote:

Originally Posted by michaelstr (Post 365807)

glad you got it resolved!

bad on Lojack that it appears they would have stiffed you for cost of another unit. had you not applied pressure via multiple public forums.

briefly cruised Lojack's site... couldn't find any warning about not letting Lojack go dead. if it's there it's hidden well. Note CR123 lithium cells are NOT rechargeable. and are only meant for backup only.

this means once main power source is gone. Lojack will drain onboard 2x CR123 cells in a matter of hours. I'd put an amp meter inline and measure parasitic drain on your main battery.

not only will you be replacing Lojack's batteries... your motorcycle battery once drained below a certain voltage will be permanently damaged too.

it would be hard to imagine Lojack NOT knowing scenario above. their revised design making it very hard to replace batteries cannot be by accident.