Does anyone have any figures for typical repairs?
This topic pops up on the US sites from time to time and some of the figures are very high. A lost knob on an IFD540 was reported as a $1000 “fixed-price repair”. A backlight on an Avidyne PFD (as in the older SR22s) was reported as $8000. And this isn’t just Avidyne; while there is a widespread agreement that Garmin stuff is more reliable, after 12 years in the field the G1000 boxes are now starting to pack up too (however G1000 owners have no option to change, short of buying another plane).
Obviously the probability of having to do a repair is a factor in the acceptability of a given repair, and it is probably too early to see a pattern on both the IFD440/540 and the GTN650/750, not least because many installations will still be within the warranty. But I have heard too many stories of costs approaching 5 figures to get something fixed. It makes me quite happy to stay with the KLN94+KMD550 for as long as possible especially as I can get it swapped out in the field and having a spare KLN94 on the shelf is doable for about the cost of two of the aforementioned Avidyne knobs.
I also asked the following Q a while ago, with no replies (probably nobody saw it because it scrolled off too fast):
I’ve just read an account, on a US site, from a US pilot who could not get a warranty from Garmin on a US installed box, when it failed in Europe.
They did it eventually but only when pressed.
I guess this scenario won’t get tested often because very few people will have
One avionics installer in Europe reported that Avidyne are taking a hard line on warranty work and not offering anything even if a few days out of warranty. They are entitled to do that, of course, but it doesn’t look good. Garmin have been reported as offering a “deal” – one report I heard was a 50% discount when 6 months out of warranty.
BTW the Avidyne extended warranty contract thread (another controversial aspect) is here
Peter wrote:
Does anyone have any figures for typical repairs?This topic pops up on the US sites from time to time and some of the figures are very high. A lost knob on an IFD540 was reported as a $1000 “fixed-price repair”.
I was quoted about the same “fixed price” for a minor problem with a knob on a G1000 display.
I had the radio part of a GNS430 replaced for that price. They also fixed up the front and the display at the same time. Don’t know exactly what they did but it for sure looked a lot better when it came back.
I can repair Avidyne PFD backlight for around USD500,- 
Pytlak wrote:
I can repair Avidyne PFD backlight for around USD500,-
That is interesting. What about changing the internal battery in the Avidyne MFD? That is a chapter 4 item in my plane, so it requires an avionics logbook entry.
Yes, changing the MFD’s battery (EX5000) costs about $ 1200 plus freight from Europe. OTOH all the battery does is to buffer the date and time, and the moment the Avionics are switched on it gets the date/time from the Navigators.
Is the EX5000 battery really in chapter 4 of the MM?
changing the MFD’s battery (EX5000) costs about $ 1200 plus freight from Europe
Gulp! That’s insane. In fact, mine is at the end of its life as well. But as the only downside is that the MFD time will be shown correctly, I guess I will live with it.
AFAIK there will be a message on the MFD when the battery fails on startup – but shortly after it will get the time and date data from the GNS430 and it will be correct again.
If the (Cirrus) has the engine data on the PFD aswell (newer Entegra versions) or if it has mechanical engine instruments (older airplane versions) then the MFD is not required for flight and the airplane is airworthy without the MFD.
The really bad thing is that the battery will not be replaced fotr free or little money if the MFD is sent in for some other failure. Even if the MFD is under warranty you will have to pay extra for the battery.
AFAIK there will be a message on the MFD when the battery fails on startup – but shortly after it will get the time and date data from the GNS430 and it will be correct again.
On mine (2005) it doesn’t show any message on startup, but neither does it automatically capture the time from the GPS. For that, one needs to go into the system setup screen once. Then, it will capture the GPS time.
