Anyone had a Garmin flat panel display fail in flight?

[PT20J]

I'm curious if anyone has had a display failure, since I often hear a lot of concerns about redundancy when planning new panels.

I have owned many computers, televisions, iPhones, iPads and various auto and airplane flat panel displays over the past 30 years and I've never had a single display failure. In fact, the only computer failures I've had in all that time are two hard disk failures, a memory card failure and a couple of laptop batteries that swelled. (I've stopped buying Dell laptops).

Skip

[toto]

Had a 430W screen that essentially died.  It happened over a short period of a few weeks (screen degrading, lots of lines and missing pixels) where it was still usable, and then all at once (couldn't read anything at all on the screen).  Sent it off for a Garmin fixed-price refresh.

[ZuluZulu]

2 hours ago, PT20J said:

I'm curious if anyone has had a display failure, since I often hear a lot of concerns about redundancy when planning new panels.

I have owned many computers, televisions, iPhones, iPads and various auto and airplane flat panel displays over the past 30 years and I've never had a single display failure. In fact, the only computer failures I've had in all that time are two hard disk failures, a memory card failure and a couple of laptop batteries that swelled. (I've stopped buying Dell laptops).

Skip

Closest I came was my GTN 750 screen getting garbled while having some electrical issues, but this was very likely caused by under-voltage (according to an electrical engineer friend).  Electrical issues (a chafed wire behind the panel) were fixed and GTN has been rock-solid since.  Caveat: one year in service, almost 200 hours.

[EricJ]

I've had quite a few display failures in computers/monitors/displays/laptops/tablets, and seen a few in-panel failures of varying degrees of severity.    A friend's G5 just spontaneously cracked it's glass the other day, but it was during one of our 108F recent days and the airplane lives outside.   It definitely happens.

 

[kortopates]

i’ve had a G1000 GDU on the PFD fail totally. But a non-event on the G1000 even in IMC since the MFD automatically goes into reversion mode. Except you need to be prepared to realize you are down to nav/com #2 and GPS #2 only - the latter is transparent to the pilot.
Nothing that a new GDU didn’t fix along with a software reload.

Decades ago, I lost both GNS430W screens as they faded away and became unreadable in cold weather - I had to replace both of them one at a time at approx 10-15 years of service. 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited September 16, 2021 by kortopates

[StevenL757]

8 hours ago, PT20J said:

I'm curious if anyone has had a display failure, since I often hear a lot of concerns about redundancy when planning new panels.

In a word…No.  This after 10+ years, with 4 different Garmin displays.  Not even so much as a glitch.

[carusoam]

BK KLN94 color screen that people thought momentarily was a touch screen… failed in the areas they tried to push….

JPI900s had a few screen issues that had some lines running across them…

Things that have been reported around here… not my hardware…

Best regards,

-a-

[icurnmedic]

My G3X screen went black after takeoff once, glad I had the backup 275. Then it rebooted and has been fine since. 6 months at least. 

[Vance Harral]

The most interesting display failure story I've heard was in the early days of the G1000, when a pilot I was talking with at a fly-in claimed the analog dimmer dial on one of their flight school's 172s failed in a way that caused both the PFD and the MFD to go to minimum brightness, which made them unreadable in daylight.  No help from reversionary logic, because neither of the displays actually failed.  They were just receiving a "normal" input to go to min brightness.

This did not happen to me, personally, and I have no way of verifying the story is true, but it's plausible.

[Mooney in Oz]

Apollo MX20 screen started to develop vertical lines of various colours after some years. Was a known issue. I eventually changed it out for a Garmin GMX200 that I've had for about 9 years. During the past couple of years it developed a small, barely noticeable silver triangular shape just under the top right corner that can only be seen when the unit is switched off.  It does not appear to have worsened since first noticed.

I know of another J owner who had a G500 screen totally fail on start up. It was not a warranty matter, but Garmin replaced it in quick time.

4 hours ago, icurnmedic said:

My G3X screen went black after takeoff once, glad I had the backup 275. Then it rebooted and has been fine since. 6 months at least. 

I assume that was a separate internal issue resulting in the reboot rather than a stand-alone screen failure. Did you find out the cause? 

[carusoam]

There were a few GMX20 screens that didn’t do well over time….

Many upgraded to the GMX200 and they had limited life….

Along came the GTN750s… the need for the old failing, unsupported screens kind of got forgotten….

Some simply got replaced with a panel mounted portable Aera device…

PP thoughts only, not an instrument guru… not much of a historian either…

Best regards,

-a-

[thomas1142]

I’m on my third G3X MFD, it overheats and the touch function fails. On a couple of occasions it rebooted, but with the touch function still not available. Avionics shop just keeps ordering a new one, saying their is no reason it should be doing that. Getting real tired of the situation. 

[Mooney in Oz]

6 hours ago, carusoam said:

Many upgraded to the GMX200 and they had limited life….

Apart from the small silver triangle I mentioned, mine has been reliable. Problem is my installer advised that Garmin will soon cease supporting these due to the usual parts issue.

It together with the Aspen will soon be making way for a 10.6” G3X.

1 hour ago, thomas1142 said:

I’m on my third G3X MFD, it overheats and the touch function fails. On a couple of occasions it rebooted, but with the touch function still not available. Avionics shop just keeps ordering a new one, saying their is no reason it should be doing that. Getting real tired of the situation. 

That is unacceptable. I assume that is your 7” screen that also acts as a backup to your 10.6” screen. Has it been known to happen before in other aircraft?

[thomas1142]

1 hour ago, Mooney in Oz said:

That is unacceptable. I assume that is your 7” screen that also acts as a backup to your 10.6” screen. Has it been known to happen before in other aircraft?

Nope, according to the Avionics shop and Garmin. The avionics shop is not doing any kind of trouble shooting, just ordering a new unit. I’m going along with this “order new unit” fix just to see how long it takes Garmin to get off their keester and question the avionics shop. To me it seems to overheat. 
 

[Mooney in Oz]

I hope a final solution is found. That can’t go on forever.

[ArtVandelay]

I’m on my third G3X MFD, it overheats and the touch function fails. On a couple of occasions it rebooted, but with the touch function still not available. Avionics shop just keeps ordering a new one, saying their is no reason it should be doing that. Getting real tired of the situation. 

PFD is okay?

Have you tried running a hose of cooling air to the rear of the unit?

[PT20J]

6 hours ago, thomas1142 said:

I’m on my third G3X MFD, it overheats and the touch function fails. On a couple of occasions it rebooted, but with the touch function still not available. Avionics shop just keeps ordering a new one, saying their is no reason it should be doing that. Getting real tired of the situation. 

How do you know it’s overheating? Do you get a TEMPERATURE OUT OF SPEC message? The GDU 460 draws 0.5A typ. at 28V which is only 14 watts. The GDU 470 consumes less. Is something else heating up the GDU?

[thomas1142]

10 hours ago, ArtVandelay said:

PFD is okay?

Have you tried running a hose of cooling air to the rear of the unit?

Not a single issue with the PFD. I am considering installing a blower fan for that purpose.

7 hours ago, PT20J said:

How do you know it’s overheating? Do you get a TEMPERATURE OUT OF SPEC message? The GDU 460 draws 0.5A typ. at 28V which is only 14 watts. The GDU 470 consumes less. Is something else heating up the GDU?

Just an assumption on my part, but when I touch the screen of the unit it is way warmer than the 10”. I asked the avionics shop if something else back there could be overheating the unit. They did not think so, but I feel that is exactly what is going on. 

[ArtVandelay]

Just an assumption on my part, but when I touch the screen of the unit it is way warmer than the 10”. I asked the avionics shop if something else back there could be overheating the unit. They did not think so, but I feel that is exactly what is going on. 

Leaking defrost or heat vent hose?

[thomas1142]

13 hours ago, ArtVandelay said:

Leaking defrost or heat vent hose?

I’m going to ask my field IA to take a look at that. Probably should have had that done a while back

[Mooney Dog]

I have had 2 430w units fail on me. Both of them the screen just turned into a bright white display. 

 

I have had 4 aspen PFD units fail on me. 

[Minivation]

Two experiences:

The Mooney I fly has an older Garmin MX20. I have seen this unit get the BSOD on two occasions, one of them when I was on a solid IMC instrument approach. Thankfully the navigation and all the "brain work" is done by the GNT650Xi, so there was no danger.

I have had the G3X GDU460 (10" display) lose its touchscreen functionality in an LSA. It had just been installed, so it was covered under warranty.

[Jim Peace]

I had the GTN 650 screen go blank many times after initial install.  Turned out it was a Garmin software issue....

They did update the software to prevent it but refused to notify all GTN owners until there was a fix many months later....

So we all got the word out on beechtalk and on mooneyspace....

 

 

[carusoam]

11 hours ago, Jim Peace said:

I had the GTN 650 screen go blank many times after initial install.  Turned out it was a Garmin software issue....

They did update the software to prevent it but refused to notify all GTN owners until there was a fix many months later....

So we all got the word out on beechtalk and on mooneyspace....

 

 

 

Go MS!

How else are we going to know and share the details that vendors would like to keep mum about..?  

Best regards,

-a-

 

[Speed Merchant]

My G3X quit three times on one flight. I was shooting practice approaches in VFR condition. It went blank and three or four minutes later came back on. I took it to my avionics shop and they called Garmin. Garmin sent a new unit after they reviewed the data files that showed it failing. I told the avionics shop that I thought it was temperature related and they said that was not the cause of the problem according to Garmin. When I picked my plane I could hear a louder avionics fan running...... hmmmmm. Never a problem with the new one. The day it failed was a typical hot Florida day.