Terrible Experience with SeaDoo Utopia 205 Jet Boat
I have had nothing but a terrible experience with my 2004
SeaDoo Utopia 205 Jet Boat. In a short period of time the lift pump has been
changed, one of the hoses broke off and nearly flooded the boat along with my
two kids, wife and father the battery went bad, and the alternator. My 2004 Sea-Doo
Utopia 205 Jet boat has spent more time at the dealer for repairs than in my
house and water. What a terrible experience with this Sea-Doo Utopia.
I bought my Utopia 205 on March 21, 2006 from Broward
Motorsports in Davie Florida. Even though the radio was missing and they said
that a new radio was on order, I was excited to take my new Sea-Doo Utopia 205
out on the water.
I had planned a trip with my wife to Islamorada in the
Florida Keys, it is only about a two hour drive, so I wanted to make sure
everything ran fine in the boat. I test drove it in the Fort Lauderdale
intercoastal and got some of the break-in hours out of the way. Everything ran
fine, I kept the RPMs under 4000 as recommended by Bombardier.
My new 2004 SeaDoo Utopia 205 felt like a champ on the
water. I was now anxious for a romantic and relaxing weekend with my wife in
open waters of the Florida Keys.
My experience with my 2004 Sea-Doo Utopia 205 jet boat was
fine this weekend. I had a great time, we watched the sunset, did some fishing,
and a lot of cuddling.
This is the beginning of my terrible experience with my
2004 Sea-Doo Utopia 205 jet boat;
The wife and I took the day off on a Friday, the kids were
in school and we had a SeaDoo Utopia. We went to a small island in Key Biscayne
national park, ate some bbq and did some snorkeling. On the way back my 2004
Sea-Doo Utopia 205 stalled, the engine turned off and would not start back up.
After an hour of just sitting in the water, the engine finally started back up.
I thought nothing of it, maybe just a fluke.
The next day my son, my father and I went for a little
fishing. I did not want to go far as I remember that my SeaDoo Utopia had died
the day before. Sure thing, once again the same problem with the Mercury Optimax
engine, my Sea-Doo Utopia was dead in the water. The engine had turned off under
power and did not want to restart.
On March 28th 2006 I took my 2004 Sea-Doo Utopia
back to Broward Motorsports. The lift pump was defective and had to be changed;
luckily this was a new Sea-Doo Utopia and was under warranty by Bombardier.
Repairs were complete on April 13th, 2006.
On April 23rd 2006, I was out with my family
(son 10, daughter 14, wife and my father) when again another problem with my
2004 Sea-Doo Utopia 205 Jet boat. The Sea-Utopia would not plane out and seemed
sluggish. After checking the grates underneath, I opened the engine compartment
to find that my SeaDoo Utopia was taking on water. Luckily I was not far out and
able to make it to land on idle. When I finally made it to land, there was
approximately 2 inches of salt water on the deck of my Sea-Doo Utopia.
Apparently Bombardier tried to conserve expenses and placed
zip ties on the hoses. A hose had come loose and was pouring water into the
engine compartment.
On April 24th 2006 my Sea-Doo Utopia 205 went
back to Broward Motorsports. I let them know of the problem and how much salt
water had gotten into the engine compartment. Broward Motorsports changed the
zip ties for metal clamps and returned the SeaDoo Utopia back to me within a few
days.
Due to the lack of reliability with this SeaDoo Utopia, I
made sure I purchased a towing package from SeaTow.
I set out on a weekend camping trip to an island within the
confines of Key Biscayne national park. The family and I had a great camping
trip until again, another problem with my Sea Doo Utopia. An alarm sounded and
the engine would not longer full throttle. Weekend cut short.
On May 08th 2006, the 2004 Sea-Doo Utopia went
back to Broward Motorsports. I explained to them that an alarm was sounding
after 3000 RPMs and the engine would not full throttle, limiting the RPMs to
5000. Two weeks went by and Broward Motorsports could find nothing wrong with my
Sea Doo Utopia Jet Boat. I picked up the Utopia and went for a test drive on one
of the lakes nearby. Sure enough, the alarm went of @ 3000 RPMs and no full
throttle. Took the Sea-Doo Utopia back to Broward Motorsports. This time they
took the boat out on the water and found the problem. The alternator was not
charging and the battery was defective. Parts had to be ordered.
I have had enough with this 2004 Sea-Doo Utopia 205 Jet
Boat, I can’t trust it, I can’t enjoy it and now my family is afraid to go out
on the boat. I called Bombardier and opened a complaint file (1164183)with them.
Hopefully Bombardier realizes that this Sea-Doo Utopia is a lemon and does the
right thing by exchange it for another similar jet boat.
Let’s see what happens……OH and I still don’t have my 2004
SeaDoo Utopia 205 jet boat back, it’s still at Broward Motorspsorts.
If you are suffering similar problems with your Sea-Doo
Utopia, my suggestion would be to keep a log of your break downs, and call
Bombardier with every incident. The telephone number for Bombardier is
715-848-4957.
Let’s recap the timeline:
| My time with Sea-Doo Utopia
205 |
Dealer's time with the SeaDoo
Utopia Jet Boat |
| 03-21-06 thru 03-28-06 (7
Days) |
03-28-06 thru 04-13-06 (16
Days) |
| 04-13-06 thru 04-24-06 (9
Days) |
04-26-06 thru 05-01-06 (5
Days) |
| 05-01-06 thru 05-08-06 (7
Days) |
05-08-06 thru Current ( 1
month and counting) |
| Total : 23 Days |
Total : 51 Days and
Counting... |
SeaDoo Utopia 205 Jet Boat Experience