Ruger Warranty Issues

[OLDGUY79]

I have several Ruger AND S&W semi auto's and every one of them is hard to eject a LOADED round to clear the firearm. The reason....I GOT OLD!! At 79 I don't have he strength to ALWAYS operate the slide fast enough and completely to eject a loaded round.
My wife could not even operate the slides on ANY of our guns.
So, I nought her a Security .380. No more issues of any kind. Many easy rack 9mm are available also.
Sorry to be the one to tell you...getting upper middle age is not for the faint of heart!!!

 

[Star43]

I think the Smith and Wesson lifetime warranty is a classic example of how the system can work. I used to collect S&W revolvers and I bought quite a few of the LE trades which could be in any condition from like new to completely worn out. I sent more than one of those revolvers back to S&W under their lifetime warranty with no questions asked. That was several years ago and I'm not sure if they would do that today but S&W is still in business and apparently doing OK.

I hear what you say and glad that worked for you, but look at your example of S/W. I'm from Mass and am familiar with the company and they are no longer even there. Moved down south. I wonder how long there service continues.....as far as your thinking about service. Until recently I took for granted about a company like Ruger or even S/W would "always be there to back up their guns and fix them for us".....Yeah, that is how I used to think, but it was brought to my attention that that service was "limited service".....meaning they would help you as long as they had the parts.. The parts for so many out if production guns, have stopped being made and when they run out, they run out....so much for the lifetime service. It's not fun to think about, but it is reality. The best thing going for us is Ruger makes a very darn good product that should last a long time

 

[les45]

Parts are definitely an issue. For years I did a lot of my own gunsmithing on my old S&W revolvers but they eventually ran out of parts and that was the reason I got rid of the revolvers and got into modern pistols.

 

[Star43]

And we are all set.....until they run out of parts too. Which will happen for the out of production guns eventually. And so the world turns. Until then, we can enjoy and use what we have.

 

[Hondo44]

Not sure what the "tab" is that you are talking about. The guy didn't talk about a tab. I have noticed that my ejector is quite a bit shorter than the one on the LCP Max but they are both doing the same thing hanging up in the chamber.

Watch the next video: he called Ruger and they sent him a new slide which worked perfectly and he showed close up video of the difference in the two slides. The original slide has a tab that he points out which is machined off of the new slide!

 

[Mike J]

I may be mistaken but I think it is an extractor issue.
I have only had one experience with Ruger's customer service. It was good.
I have only had one experience with S&W's customer service. They did not correct the problem. I figured out a way to correct it on my on. I might buy another S&W one day. I guess time will tell.

 

[Star43]

So they (S&W) didn't fix the problem.....?? And you had to figure it out yourself ? Well, congrats on that. Maybe the next time you but a gun, maybe just stick with Ruger ?? Just my opinion.

 

[hittman]

Just a reminder, from Ruger's owners manuals ……

"Sturm Ruger & Co has elected not to provide any written warranty, either "limited" or "full", rather than to attempt to comply with the provisions of the Magnuson-Moss Act and the regulations issued there under."

That being said ( and largely lawyer-talk I suppose ) Ruger is still one of the best in the industry in taking care of customers, whether you bought their product new or used.

 

[Star43]

I guess that's another reason to stick with Ruger. Yes I agree with Hittman about the "lawyer talk" but I have faith in them to help us as much as they possibly can.....

 

[magnum0710]

As others have said, it sounds like an extractor or ejector issue. My money is on the extractor, had the same exact issue with my Diamondback DB380 (which was complete junk). They replaced the ejector and it did the same thing. I told them from the beginning I was 99% sure it was the extractor and they didn't listen to a word I said.

As for the EC9s I'm sure Ruger will correct the issue, I know that sucks since you just sent it to them and had to wait on it but if you send it in a second time I'm willing to bet they take good care of you.

I actually just got my EC9s back from Prescott a few weeks ago. I had mine for 3 years and all of a sudden it started having issues. Turns out the slide lock had a tiny bit of rust on it where it meets the frame. I'm going to be honest, while I have a bit of a soft spot for the EC9s I'm ready to get away from it. The issues I was having made the decision easier but I don't like the manual safety or the mag disconnect. Sometime in the next few months it's going to get traded towards something better.

I love Ruger don't get me wrong but it seems like their revolvers and their newer semi autos are worlds apart. I know the old P series and the SRs have a great reputation like their revolvers but the newer semi autos just aren't the tough indestructible guns Ruger built its reputation on. That reputation is why I went with the EC9s in the first place. I'll be keeping my LCP since it can be carried when anything bigger can't be concealed but I'm looking at other options for that role too. I'm not trying to bash Ruger, I just got a Speed Six to be my new ccw once I'm done cleaning it up, I just feel that revolvers are more their strong suit.

Honestly, I never used to be a gun snob but I'm kind of starting to be, especially when it comes to semi autos. I can't lie, my Taurus G3C has been absolutely dependable but it's pretty much designed like a Glock so that could be why. Otherwise all of my lower end semi autos have malfunctioned in one way or another.
The DB380 was complete junk, to be fair I knew it's reputation but I thought after 12 or 13 years they'd have the bugs worked out. Sadly that wasn't the case so we won't count that one.
My EC9s was 100% dependable, not one issue for 3 years up until a few months ago. My LCP did have one stovepipe, however it was badly fouled at the end of a range session and it happened with target ammo. I switched to my carry ammo to make sure and it ran 100%. It hasn't done it since then but I'm keeping an eye on the situation and cleaning it weekly to be safe. Even my Glock 42 didn't like certain brands of ammo but was dependable for the most part.

My revolvers on the other hand have been great except for a few ammo related issues. A couple 22lr duds and a few issues when I first started reloading. With factory centerfire ammo and my current reloads (now that I know what I'm doing) I've had no issues. Even my cheap Rock Island 206 and EAA Windicator always went bang.

I guess what I'm trying to say is even if you have to save up a while or buy used its worth it to go for the higher end stuff. And if you absolutely must go for a cheaper gun then go for a revolver. Just make sure you check the lock up and timing but I've been much more successful with cheap revolvers than I have been with cheap semi autos. I just wish I would have realized that sooner, it would've saved me alot of money instead of replacing the junk ones. Within the next year I plan on trading and replacing all of my lower end guns. It's just not worth the risk of having a malfunction when you need it most.

 

[Star43]

Well you just got a Speed Six. Good luck with that one. I have never heard anything but good about that gun Hope it works great for you.....You did mention how the P Series guns had a great rep. You bet as they worked pretty much fine all of the time. I love my KP95DC. It's the decocker model. Mine is solid and very, very accurate. You could probably pick up a P95 for a good price and to me, with a P95, you can't go wrong.

 

[harley08]

I think the Smith and Wesson lifetime warranty is a classic example of how the system can work. I used to collect S&W revolvers and I bought quite a few of the LE trades which could be in any condition from like new to completely worn out. I sent more than one of those revolvers back to S&W under their lifetime warranty with no questions asked. That was several years ago and I'm not sure if they would do that today but S&W is still in business and apparently doing OK.

Smith and Wesson lifetime warranty??
What is that? Bull Po0p!
I will never buy another S&W
My S&W 360 -- .357 Magnum blew up in my hand.
I sent it to them and described the problem,
S&W sent it back in pieces and told me to send them $600.00 so I can have a new one.
Really?? I bought a Ruger!
*Do not buy anything S&W!*
*Boycott S&W!*

 

[Sam Summey]

I hear what you say about how a company should stand behind their product. In my opinion, of course if I buy a new gun and it has a problem, that company should stand behind it and fix it. I agree 100% on that. But if a guy sells a gun to another guy and that guy decides to trade it to another guy....where does it end ? To me, that is how a company goes out of business....Me personally, if I buy a used Ruger, and it has a problem, I am going to take it to a gunsmith to look at it and try to fix it. Heck of it's an older gun, how do we even know if Ruger even has the parts. A warranty is a warranty, but there has to be a limit..... especially if any gun is abused. I am not talking about your situation at all. Not at all. I am just thinking about an and any manufacturer's obligation and where it ends. Now that is on older stuff. On a new gun, heck yeah, they should stand behind it and fix it for sure.

Ruger doesn't have a written "Warranty" stated or implied. They do stand behind their products, except for the discontinued. I worked for GE Lighting Systems, we warranted our products for 10 years. The reason for 10 years we had a major portion of our products still operating after 40 years. Most failures were due to mis-wiring and surges caused by lightning. Mis-wiring was evident 1-2 seconds after initial energization.

 

[Sam Summey]

Smith and Wesson lifetime warranty??
What is that? Bull Po0p!
I will never buy another S&W
My S&W 360 -- .357 Magnum blew up in my hand.
I sent it to them and described the problem,
S&W sent it back in pieces and told me to send them $600.00 so I can have a new one.
Really?? I bought a Ruger!
*Do not buy anything S&W!*
*Boycott S&W!*

I recently had a M-15 (made in the 60s) brought to me for repair. The cylinder stop was so beveled on the side that the cylinder over rotated. Contacting S&W, giving the sn: the female customer service person said "oh, that firearm was made more than 25 years ago, we don't have parts for it." I said bull yugo! Let me talk to another person that has more knowledge, so this guy comes on the phone, same story except we had enough dialog to determine their records were in error. After much discussion I thought he had an understanding of the part I needed. 4 weeks later, no part. Called again, got an older male employee this time (a little after 8 AM), this time I am more forceful and related my previous experiences and stated that the part hadn't changed except for the manufacturing process since 1909 and I needed a replacement. 6-8 days later I received the part (MIM) which need a little time on the oil stone to reduce its thickness where it passes through the window in the frame to engage the notch in the cylinder. It worked!

 

[hittman]

People around here are not impressed with S&W "warranty" or service.
Seems MANY times they say they can't service the gun or there's a quirky caveat requiring money from the gun owner.

 

[Sam Summey]

I think the Smith and Wesson lifetime warranty is a classic example of how the system can work. I used to collect S&W revolvers and I bought quite a few of the LE trades which could be in any condition from like new to completely worn out. I sent more than one of those revolvers back to S&W under their lifetime warranty with no questions asked. That was several years ago and I'm not sure if they would do that today but S&W is still in business and apparently doing OK.

S&W doesn't have a written or implied warranty either. It's just that they like Ruger stand behind their products. Now on the other hand the alternative is
Taurus that has a "Lifetime Warranty", my last experience was a "Raging Bull" with the trigger pivot axle broken off in the frame. "Oh, we can't fix that" and the RB is no longer made. We will replace the firearm, you can pick any of our products up to $2000 MSRP. Well the customer wants a 454 Casul Ragin Bull. Customer picks a Raging Hunter in 454 Casul, we don't have any of those in stock. A year later (Nov) still no replacement, every gun mag in the country has tested a RH in 460 S&W. Contact Taurus stating that I want to change to a 460 S&W. Oh no we can't do that, that will put you at the end of the line. So I requested a face-to-face meeting with the President of Taurus and their head of customer service at the SHOT Show so they can tell me why this can't get a replacement. Tyrone and I were getting on the plane to go to L Vegas I am notifiied that a package from Taurus arrived with a replacement RH. One year, two months later.

 

[hittman]

Seems like the President of Taurus was quaking in his boots at the prospect of your wrath ……

Is that our take-away?

 

[Sam Summey]

Seems like the President of Taurus was quaking in his boots at the prospect of your wrath ……

Is that our take-away?

I think he never knew of my request. I figure someone in the Customer Service didn't want to have to give an excuse about the eff around to the GM & the head of Customer Service. The whole event smacked with incompetence people not willing to take an extra step/ make a suggestion on an alternative ("not ma job mon"). If they could tell me that the particular SKU was not in stock, they could surely tell me what Raging Hunters were in stock. If you read the post on this thread about S&W M15, same story, people holding a position in customer service who really know nothing about the products. My last job with GE I was the technical last word on the products (the answer man). My previous 30 years or so was as a product designer. My predecessors in the Product Planning technical position were recent college graduates on their way up the "corporate ladder" who knew nothing about the products. For the previous 20-25 years I was told I wasn't "qualified" for the technical advisor because I wasn't a college graduate. I could design em' but I couldn't tell you how they worked, but a college grad with a BA in Business could?

 

[hittman]

Not my job seems to be a common thread in business these days. Especially in BIG businesses. The larger they are they more inefficient they seem in certain areas.

 

[les45]

S&W doesn't have a written or implied warranty either. It's just that they like Ruger stand behind their products. Now on the other hand the alternative is
Taurus that has a "Lifetime Warranty", my last experience was a "Raging Bull" with the trigger pivot axle broken off in the frame. "Oh, we can't fix that" and the RB is no longer made. We will replace the firearm, you can pick any of our products up to $2000 MSRP. Well the customer wants a 454 Casul Ragin Bull. Customer picks a Raging Hunter in 454 Casul, we don't have any of those in stock. A year later (Nov) still no replacement, every gun mag in the country has tested a RH in 460 S&W. Contact Taurus stating that I want to change to a 460 S&W. Oh no we can't do that, that will put you at the end of the line. So I requested a face-to-face meeting with the President of Taurus and their head of customer service at the SHOT Show so they can tell me why this can't get a replacement. Tyrone and I were getting on the plane to go to L Vegas I am notifiied that a package from Taurus arrived with a replacement RH. One year, two months later.

Actually Smith and Wesson does provide a one year warranty to the original owner and, after the one year is up, their limited lifetime service warranty kicks in (for any S&W gun made since 1989. They used to enforce the warranties fairly loosely but I'm sure they've tightened up in recent years). Ask me how I know: I have already replaced my EC9S with a Shield 9 Plus and the S&W warranty is expressly stated in the owner's manual. I've owned several Shields over the years and have never had a problem with them. The Shield Plus is nearly the same size as the EC9S except the grip is longer to accommodate the 13 rd mag. I decided to try the EC9S on a whim but I didn't anticipate all the problems that I've had (I guess I should have since my last four Rugers all went back for warranty repairs). Sorry, but after this experience I'm sworn off all Ruger handguns except my SP101.