Brand New 08 RZ4 problem need help!

[da.bell]

hawkfanweb, I have to hand it to you for being patient. I am sure Tige will step up to make sure that you are happy with the boat. Continue the route that you are taking and you will get more done faster.

[dogbert]

I'd contact Harvey at Tige (you can PM him from this board) and see if he can help out. Your problem sounds pretty serious.

[hawkfanweb]

I will try and contact Harvey via PM. Thanks for all your feedback. I will let you know if anything turns for the better.

[hawkfanweb]

continued problems on the new 2008 RZ4.

Just wanted to let everyone know an updated status on the RZ4 we bought new in July this Summer that has had continued problems. As some of you may remember back in July, I had issues with the RZ4 sputtering out and dieing and not being able to start again. A lot of tige' owners were suggesting it was bad fuel or possibly a bad check valve. After repeated attempts, our dealer who sold us the boat had his mechanic worked on it several times to try and fix the issue. After finally thinking we got new fuel in it and a new check valve it ran good for about 4 hours. In Late July it reached 94 degrees for the next 4 days over the weekend and we were excited to enjoy Lake Tapps. After gathering some friends to go wake boarding, we slowly took off from the dock and it happened again....It sputtered and the gage alarmed and said "threshhold." And the temperature started to rise quickly. It got over 200 in about 30 seconds and was rising a degree every 1 or 2 seconds. I turned off the engine when it got to 220. My buddy said, that maybe some lake weed got in the impeller, so we went under and checked, but it was clear. Another guy said to try and hit reverse hard to clear anything that may be blocking the water flow. So I started it up again and it fired right up. The alarm was not beeping and I thought it might have been a glitch in the gage. After about 1 minute and putting into reverse, the temp started rising again and the warning beeping started again. "over Threshhold" again. It got to 225 and I turned it off. My buddy than towed me back to my dock on a very frustering 1 hour tow back to my dock.
The mechanic came out to the boat 3 days later and told me the issue was that it was low on anti-freeze. He filled it up and ran the boat for about 45 minutes and all seemed well. I thought that was a strange issue to have with a new boat, but nothing surprised me at this point.
3 days later my brother took the boat out for about 2 hours and didnt have any issues. I went out to take the boat out today and about 5 minutes into my boat ride, the warning alarm started again and the "threshold" came up on the gage. The temp got to 200 again and was rising quickly once again. I turned it off in disgust. My wife was pretty much just shaking her head at me and was almost in tears. I let the boat sit for about 5 minutes and started it up again. I got almost back to the dock and the "threshhold" started again with the alarm beeping. I got the boat back onto the lift and shut her down.
I did call the mechanic and left a message. Im not sure really what to do at this point and if anyone has ever had an issue like this with a new tige' I am open to any feedback. At this point, I am being told that I need to forget about the dealer who sold me the boat since he is no longer in the business in selling boats. I have heard of a new dealership by Lake Union. Some friends of mine are saying that I need to get ahold of Tige' there and see about getting a completely different 2008 RZ4 for the one we have that keeps breaking down. I really dont mean to be a downer on Tige owners as it seems everyone is very happy with their boat and have not had any issues, but please, help with any suggestions, or feedback.

[chpthril]

Hate to hear that this problem continues. So, am I reading right that the dealer you bought from is no longer a Tige dealer (or even selling boats)???? if so, you need to move on.

Get in touch with your area Tige Rep. He will get you in touch with another dealer that will get you fixed up. I'll bet a dollar to a dime that it's a simple fix, but the mokaniks that have been working on it dont know their @$$ from a hole in the ground.

If you don't know who the Rep is, call Tige, they will get you their contact info.

We had problems with our Tige and selling dealer in the first 2 months. Because of an Awesome Rep getting us in touch with a great dealer, we have been happy since.

[hawkfanweb]

So, am I reading right that the dealer you bought from is no longer a Tige dealer (or even selling boats)???? if so, you need to move on.

The dealer started his tige' liquidation in Spring of 2008. He was selling the boats for much lower than normal, so that is why I purchased one from him this last July. He stood by his reputaion..(13 years) and so I trusted him that he wasnt trying to rip anyone off. I do know a couple others that frequent this site that also bought one of his last several boats and they have said they have had zero problems. I think getting in touch with the new dealer is a must, but I also do not want to have to invest more money into a brand new boat.

[chpthril]

but I also do not want to have to invest more money into a brand new boat.

No need for more money or a new boat, just new technician that knows what they are doing. I dont think the dealer caused your condition, just a fluke failure which happens, but they cant fix it.

[xpjim1]

I might have missed it but what engine do you have in the RZ4

[hawkfanweb]

Its the 400 Horse power engine

[dogbert]

Do as chpthril says, contact the area Tige rep. Alternatively, you could try contacting Tige directly.

[hawkfanweb]

When you say contacting the area Tige rep, do you mean the new dealer that is at Lake Union in Seattle?

[dogbert]

No, there's an area rep that works for the Tige company. Dealers are independent and don't work for Tige. They usually sell more than one brand of boat.

[whitlock87]

I have question.
If your boat has antifreeze, then there should be a heat exchanger to cool the antifreeze down using lake water.
Has anybody tested to make sure there is not a flow problem with either side of the heat exchanger?
Most of the tiges out there do not use antifreeze; they just use the lake water for cooling

[dogbert]

Is this dealer close to you:

http://www.tigeowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8087

[hawkfanweb]

I always thought the cooling was from the lake water as well, so I was confused when the mechanic told me it was low on anti freeze. I will ask the mechanic about the flow. He has been out several times so, maybe he just is not experienced like the dealer told me he was. Thanks Dogbert for the link on the New Seattle dealer. I live about 40 miles south from there. I think contacting the rep and the new dealer is definitely my next move. I just cant believe that things keep going wrong. I hope there is a light at the end of this tunnel, especially before next Spring/Summer. Has anyone ever seen the gage act up with that "over the threshold" warning?