I should've expected as much from Thrustmaster. Not even going to try their F'd up tech support. Throttle seen, Joystick not. Firmware update of the Joystick failed. Irks me that it would come from the factory in need of service. Just boxed it back up to send it right back to Amazon, which is exactly what TM doesn't want -alot of in store returns for defective merchandise. The second one I get better be damn well perfect, or Thrustmaster will not be receiving anymore of my money. Had a Cougar under warranty and both the plastic switch housings on the throttle broke. Got the replacements in about 7 or 8 months. Before then, I bought some superior billet aluminum housings, which it should've had in the first place. I have to say, though. If you're lucky enough to get a "Monday" build and not a "4pm Friday" build, they will last quite a long time. The Cougar is running strong 15 years later. After I had the original replaced when I first bought it. In store return.

Things happen and it always amazes me when people post things like this.

TM has had ups and downs as far as support and the Cougar was an anachronism from the beginning. They had great support for about a year and then they kept screwing things up over and over. As for the Warthog the general consensus has been that the support is good. Yes some have DOA Warthogs but then so does every other stick manufacturer; yes even CH has problems with gear arriving DOA and yes they have had customer service issues as well.

If you want help those of us that have them would be glad to help...provided we can do so and we have shown many times over that as a group of Warthog users we are able to help anyone that is willing to give some details and work through the steps.

Ha, excuses for bad quality control for a very expensive gaming device. At $500 a pop -every single one that leaves the factory should be tested as working. It's not some cheap Saitek. Of which, I've had 3, and they all worked out of the box. Just not very long, LoL.

If you want to whine, that's fine, go ahead. We aren't making excuses for TM, and we agree that this is a major bummer, but not all expensive items are guaranteed 100% no faults. Lots of examples in other computer hardware, medical devices, cars, etc. so I won't elaborate much.

I wonder what your options regarding returns and replacement actually are? If it's DOA, won't Amazon send you a new one and maybe refund you the cost of shipping? Obviously you're under warranty and I'm sure TM will sort you out... it might cost additional to ship the defective unit back to them but you may be able to work with them on this one as it is a DOA.

Glad to see you have a working Cougar.... I'm on #3 with a hopeful #4 on the way... never works when I use it but as soon as I test it to sell it off, working!

Full refund to buy another. Maybe second times a charm, like it was with my second Cougar. No, if you are buying a top of the line anything, whether it be a watch, a car, or a joystick, defective products are not acceptable. People who buy Rolexes -should they be fine with, "Oh this brand new one doesnt work, go buy another." If Rolex had the same standard as TM, you would find them in Walmart right before they declared bankruptcy. I don't know why we put up with TM, sometimes. We should vote with our dollars. I think the Warthog is the best joystick ou there, when it works. What I'm saying it should work ALL the time, especially when it's new in the box. No excuse for that. The community shouldn't enable such low quality control. Maybe I'm as guilty as everyone else.

Yeah, defective products are not acceptable however, the reality of life means some of these do slip through the cracks and some unlucky customer will get the bad experience. The upside of buying top-of-the-line anything though is that the company will almost always be willing to work with you to sort out the issues. It won't be "one doesn't work, buy another," surely. Try getting an el-cheapo joystick that goes after 6 months and see if the customer support is as "supportive."

One of my buddies work as QA for a factory over here, and QA doesn't mean testing every single thing --- it's picking a random item off a batch and testing to make sure it works. Cheaper products = less random items, more expensive products = more items. I think the only time you can realistically expect 100% QA is when you're buying limited-edition runs or handmade/handcrafted items.

If Amazon is offering you a full refund (including shipping) and hopefully also cover the return shipping of the DOA item, I'd take it. My WH was not DOA but developed a problem with the stick base a few months into it's service life, sent it off to TM after a couple of tests to determine the problem, I was "without HOTAS" for a good few days, but I got my unit back and it's two years old now and still going strong with no other mods/fixes. And I don't "keep it," it's mounted in my cockpit and hasn't seen the inside of the box since I opened it.

Just recently, my throttle pinky switch felt a bit loose, told TM about it, and I got a replacement unit in the post. The loose switch hasn't interfered with my gameplay yet, it just "feels" loose and sometimes doesn't seem to make contact unless I wiggle it a bit, so I've still not installed the replacement unit.

All in all, it's sad to hear about your bad experience with the new HOTAS, but seems like Amazon is sorting you out anyway so good luck with that!

I can recommend getting some covers made for the stick and throttle (got mine from someone on the ED forums in the US that was making them, even has my callsign on ) . Expensive but have kept mine totally dust free for a year.

I would say "some problems" as opposed to "has problems". I own and use both a full TM WH and CH setup. so no bias here. I primarily have the CH for legacy titles and knowing it will outlast the WH by several years. Always have to have up time!

Well, it's a good thing you went through amazon - they have a GREAT return policy. I recently had to return a $2000 dollar item. They sent a replacement and picked up my defective unit in only a few days, completely free of charge. That's great service.

As for TM - so far I've had nothing but good results. I have a warthog and a t500rs wheel, both of which worked perfect out of the box and have been perfect since I purchased (wheel in november, warthog a few months before that).

Covers are no longer in production.

Easy enough to make ones though, I would think... if one has any decent skills with the sewing machine.

Fortunately, the covers I had made for my Cougar fit the throttle perfectly, and fits the joystick "good enough." Ended up buying them again from B&H photo. I was pounding my head wondering what joysticks I had before the Cougar. It was the Suncom F15 w/throttle. Looking at the pictures, I can't remember why I didn't like it. The 3 X52(?)s I think, Then, a CH Fighterstick and pro throttle for about 6 months After I saw the Cougar, I fell in love and the CH never looked the same again. Like I said, that was near 15 years ago. And after I had to return the first to CompUSA (remember that place?) it ran like a champ all this time. Had a few occasions where it went dead as a door nail for no apparent reason, but it always came back after a week of dicking around. I just wish Thrusmaster, who sells the most expensive consumer level gaming devices on the planet, was better at QC and tech support.. 7-8 months to get a replacement part? About a week after I got my first Cougar, I called them because it wasn't recognized after a Flash update. It took a long time for anyone to pick up, and when they did, the dude said to box it up and ship it back to them at my expense. If they got it and determined that I didn't personally screw it up, they would refund my shipping. This takes 2-3 weeks, I was told. I said," we'll, to me, I could take it back to the store a lot easier." This was met with silence, and then he said, "I wouldn't recommend that." I asked, "Why?" He gave a rude answer, and I hung up. Hope this Warthog lasts 15 years -I retire in 6, LoL.

I've had my HOTAS Cougar for 9 years, it gets a lot of use and wear especially since it's mounted to my office chair and gets bashed around a bit at times. I've replaced the gimbals (twice), pots (about 3 times each for the X and Y and once for the throttle), microswitch, a switch cap on the throttle and the gold metal plate on the back of the Cougar (the original got badly damaged during a move). Each time ordering parts, Thrustmaster was always responsive and fast, and the parts were cheap. I'd buy a Warthog from them based on my experience.

That's good to hear, ArgonV & Ice. Admittedly, when I had the most problems with Thrustmaster, it was when they wear being bought or sold to whoever (I don't remember the details). Hope I don't have to call them for the replacement ever though!

It is always annoying when something fails, whether or not it is your fault. However, my recent (3+ years) experience with TM support has been nothing but brilliant. They are a bit slow to reply, I'd get maybe 1 response per day, 2 if I'm really lucky, but they are THERE.

Give the "new" TM a good chance this time, you might be pleasantly surprised, and end up with one of the best HOTAS currently available as well!

I'm late to the party but I just came across a possible solution.

http://www.warthogworld.com/files/thr_eng_00140.pdf

At least you got your Warthog even if it was defective, my first 'hog bought from Amazon was dumped on my doorstep even though no one was at home to receive or sign for it.
By the time I got in from work 6 hours later there was nothing to be seen. Contacted Amazon who sent me a nice photo of a big box sitting on my doorstep which was less than useful.
After a bit of lively discussion they did send a second unit, but their initial attitude was that 'it was delivered, therefore it's not their problem'
Needless to say, if they dump an item in plain view of the street and you haven't signed for it, then it's still firmly their problem.

Ah, I would've argued that point in so many ways. You are correct, until you've signed for something, you've not received it. Nice to see they sorted you out, though I'm surprised Amazon would do a poor delivery.