It is a common misconception that RPM has a “no questions asked” warranty policy. Although we do have the best warranty in the R/C industry, it is not “no questions asked”. The following text describes in detail what our warranty does and does not cover, subject to RPM final review.
Quick Links: Warranty Terms and Restrictions / Failures due to non-RPM parts / RPM Decorative Finishes / Screw Holes / Hardware Failures / Discontinued Products / What You Need To Do / Return Shipping / International Customers / RPM Liability / Footnotes (1) / Footnotes (2)
Warranty Terms and Restrictions: The RPM warranty on all aerial products is a materials and workmanship policy only. Breakage due to heavy landings or crashes, mid-air impacts or other type of collision are not covered unless a defect in the product was the direct cause of the break. If the damaged part failed due to a materials or workmanship issue under normal operating conditions(1), we will replace that part (meaning the damaged part only – not any assemblies that come packaged together) at no further cost to you(2). RPM will not warranty a broken or damaged part if it has been modified in any way (or if the part breaks due to modifications elsewhere on the vehicle that directly affects the RPM part in question). This includes, but is not limited to, drilling, grinding, filing, etc., nor will we warranty any part that has been worn out through extended use and / or abuse. Bending an RPM part until it can no longer function properly does not fall within warranty guidelines either. Please contact us in this situation. We may have a solution that you can use to correct the problem. Please use common sense to determine if the breakage was caused by a materials or workmanship issue. We take great pride in the engineering and craftsmanship that goes into each and every RPM part. Therefore, we take our customer service related issues just as seriously and we will do everything possible to resolve legitimate warranty related claims. RPM reserves the right to final judgment regarding all warranty issues. Every RPM part sent in for warranty review will be reviewed by a member of the RPM staff to determine whether or not the guidelines of the RPM warranty policy apply.
We test every part we build on a stock, unmodified vehicle. We can only guarantee the fit and performance of an RPM part based on the stock, unmodified vehicle. Any additional non-RPM parts or modifications made to your vehicle may affect the performance of any purchased or installed RPM products and can quite possibly void the RPM warranty. It is the responsibility of the vehicle’s owner to determine whether or not additional non-RPM aftermarket items or physical modifications to the vehicle will affect the fit or performance of any RPM products installed.
Failures directly attributable to parts not made by RPM: If an RPM part becomes unusable due to the failure of a part not produced by RPM, the failure is considered unwarrantable. Failures in this category include but are not limited to; failures due to bent or broken hinge pins, shock shafts, axles, screws, pivot balls, seized or worn out bearings and damage caused to RPM parts by trying to remove faulty or damaged parts, hardware, etc. not produced by RPM.
RPM Decorative Finishes: RPM does not normally warranty applied decorative finishes unless the problem occurred prior to removing the product in question from the package.
Screw Holes: RPM has no control over the type of hardware installed into the mounting holes nor do we have control over the amount of torque used to install the hardware on to our products. Due to these and other limiting factors, it is unreasonable to expect stripped holes to be covered under warranty. Thus, we do not normally cover any type of screw holes under the provisions of our warranty. Nearly all of the problems we have encountered regarding stripped screw holes in an RPM part come from not reading and following the instructions, over-torqued threads, customer modified parts, using the wrong hardware or using the wrong tools to install the hardware.
Included Hardware: Screws, ball bearings, nuts, washers, or any metal hardware included in any RPM package are not protected under RPM warranty provisions nor is damage to an RPM molded product due to a failure of included hardware considered warrantable.
Discontinued Products: RPM cannot warranty products that are no longer supported or manufactured. We will do everything we can to supply a replacement part for a valid warranty request but if a damaged item has been discontinued and no longer supported by RPM, the warranty is considered void.
What You Need To Do: If you are not sure if your problem is a legitimate warranty related problem, please contact us directly and ask. If you feel you have a legitimate warranty related item, do not return your RPM part to where you purchased it. Please send the damaged item only (disassemble any assemblies before sending in the damaged part and retain the undamaged items) directly to us with a brief, legible, yet thorough explanation of what you think may have happened to the part, a contact phone number and an e-mail address in case we have questions and your return mailing address to;
RPM R/C Products
14978 Sierra Bonita Ln.
Chino, CA 91710
U.S.A.
Do not send in any additional non-RPM items or hardware. They will not be returned without incurring return shipping fees.
Once we receive the damaged RPM part and we determine that it is a valid warranty claim, we will usually send out a replacement the following business day. The faster you get a part in to us for replacement, the faster we can get a replacement or response back to you.
Return Shipping: Please understand that most postal services take some time to deliver your parts to us (7-10 working days in the continental U.S.) and RPM sends all returning product via the United States Postal Service so please be patient. We will send your parts or a response back to you as quickly as possible. Before contacting us to ask where your replacement part is, please refer to our normal operating hours. If it is a holiday or a weekend, you will not receive a response until we return – usually, you will have received your replacement by then anyway.
International Customers: As of February 1st, 2016 and due to the exorbitant and rising costs of international postage here in the United States, we can no longer cover the costs of international return postage on breakage warranty related claims. We will still honor our materials and workmanship warranty on our parts but will require postage fees for return shipments. Please send us an e-mail with your warranty request and we’ll give you information more suited to your specific area at that time. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. If you encounter a packaging error, we will still cover the costs of rectifying these types of problems without additional cost to you.
RPM Liability: RPM will only replace the original, damaged RPM product that has been determined to be covered under the provisions of this warranty. Any other products not produced by RPM that are damaged due to a failure of an RPM product are not the responsibility of RPM and will not be reimbursed or replaced under warranty guidelines. It is your responsibility to get the damaged RPM part in to us. We cannot be held liable for product that does not make it to us. If we haven’t contacted you regarding a part you sent in, it is most likely because we did not receive the part in question. Contact the shipping company you used to find out what may have happened.
Attention: RPM warranty service is limited to product deemed warrantable by RPM. If received, a non-compliant product will not be covered. Further, the sender will be responsible for arranging return shipment of the original, unwarranted product through a carrier of the sender’s choice and at the sender’s expense. RPM will hold non-compliant product for a period of 60 days from receipt, after which it will be discarded.
(1) RPM refers to “normal operating conditions” as normal use of a vehicle for an average user with an unmodified, stock vehicle. RPM will not cover damage inflicted upon an RPM part due to the failure of other products not produced by RPM. Intentionally damaged parts will never be covered under warranty protection (don’t do it – we know what we’re looking at and we will check). RPM parts used on “for profit” vehicles, such as rental or demonstration vehicles, are not covered under the provisions of the RPM warranty program. If in doubt, please ask.
(2) The only costs you may incur for domestic warranty issues will be in sending the damaged part to us (international warranties will incur return postage fees as of February 1st, 2016). The customer will bear the responsibility for the freight charges and the risk of loss on all returned shipments. All return shipments should be made with carriers that offer tracking ability to help determine the chronological process of the return shipment. RPM does not reimburse for costs returning damaged parts to our facility. We will send valid domestic warranty replacement parts back to you at no additional charge. Parts not covered under RPM warranty provisions may incur shipping fees if you would like the original, damaged parts returned to you. RPM does not replace undamaged parts. Any undamaged parts, including other items that may have come in the same package, that are sent in may also incur additional return shipping charges to return them to you. Please disassemble your parts and only send in the single damaged item.