Logitech G27 (941-000045) Racing Wheel

Pros: High quality and solid construction with leather and aluminum. Force feedback and centering spring make it a very customizable by changing settings using the Logitech Profiler software. Many racing games support this controller very well. Very immersive. Multiple shift options including paddles, gearshift, or gearshift+clutch. Braking and throttle also have a good feel and aren’t binary. Takes driving games to a new level.

Cons: Wheel rotates upon starting the computer and also upon entering into Windows 7. This seems unnecessary.

Overall Review: None

Pros: Pros: Nice force feedback, feels good for the most part. Is a nice wheel for the price. Wheel is comfortable for extended play, decent quality craftsmanship, and sturdy build. 900 degrees of rotation with options to customize FFB settings, wheel rotation, etc. Wide range of supported games, including partial compatibility with some others with a bit of work. Many have had their wheels for extended periods of time without trouble. Plus, it comes with a 3-year Limited Warranty from Logitech.

Cons: The biggest con here would be the fact that it is Logitech. While I have been a loyal customer of Logitech for many, many years, I am disappointed with Logitech, both in the problems I will soon mention, and their support.

First, let's begin with what is wrong with my wheel. I did not take it apart to check inside, as this would void my warranty, but the symptoms I have I looked up online and most likely the encoder wheel is broken/cracked inside the wheel. Usually it is said to be caused by the force feedback forces, or heat generated from the FFB motors, but either way it boils down to the fact that the plastic they use is too flimsy / too weak (or the fact that they used plastic in the first place). This issue has been an ongoing problem with the G27, I looked it up the other day and found threads dating back to 2009! Sad that Logitech never fixed an obvious flaw with their product.

Trying to get help with the product, I want to return it to Logitech as it is under a 3 year warranty. Since I bought it on sale, obviously I do not want a refund, I want a replacement. But I doubt I will get one, Logitech doesn't even sell the G27 anymore so who knows what will happen. I now have three (3) tickets open with them (two of which I made myself), yet they can't actually help me. Surprisingly, my hold time was only about maybe twenty to thirty minutes, which was better than I expected. Except that when I finally got on the phone with someone, I realized that they had no intention of actually helping me get my warranty and returning the product. The man on the other end of the phone obviously had problems speaking English, and whenever I would ask him to repeat himself or clarify what he was saying, he would go silent, sometimes for up to thirty or forty seconds, and then so "Okay" and continue on. Many times I had to backtrack to get him to simply clarify what he was saying, and twice he wrongly understood what I said the problem was. Finally, he told me that I would have an email from him, which I did. He then told me to check it and respond to it with the correct information (IT WAS ANOTHER SUPPORT TICKET EMAIL) so he basically took all that time to open up another ticket, when I had already done that. So I now have a total of three tickets open with Logitech. Then, after I asked twice how long it would take to get some form of response and a third time much more angrily, he told me 24-48 *business hours.* I have no clue how many hours a day their support is open, but if they work 8 hour days then 48 business hours would likely be 6 days? There's no way I'm waiting six days for a reply email, especially since it will probably tell me to wait while they decide if I can return it, then wait more for a return shipping label, and then probably at least a week or two for it to get there and them to send me a replacement? (And the replacement likely will have the same design flaw, too, so who knows if it will even work very long. I've read some where people got replacements that were dead on arrival.)

Overall Review: For those of you who will rate this down because it was so long or so hateful, please realize that I am a loyal Logitech customer of almost 15 years, and it is sad that I am treated with such disrespect. I have always stood by Logitech products, and always trusted the Logitech name and brand. But after this experience, I am very disappointed. If they expect me to be happy with waiting two weeks to replace an item I paid good money for, then they obviously don't know much about Customer Satisfaction.

The worst part is, if they refund me instead of replace the item (since it is at Logitech's discretion) I am out a racing wheel, as the money I get back won't even be close enough to buy one of Logitech's wheels now (plus, the newer wheels don't include the shifter, it's an additional $59.99 and the wheel and pedals like $399.99). So, hopefully they work with me and replace instead of refund, as I will truly miss this wheel if not.

I give the G27 three eggs. Mostly because, while my experience with Logitech's support and the company's ability to ignore flaws in products and never repair / recall them made my upset, the wheel itself is still pretty good overall. It's a ton of fun, and I'm going to hate playing OMSI 2 and Project CARS with my Xbox controller until I get a new wheel. It's just sad that Logitech are going to screw me over and treat me so poorly when I am a loyal customer, just like many others who were subjected to the same things. Go take a look at the Logitech support forums, and see how many people have stories about Logitech support, or not helping them out. Many of the threads never even get a response from anyone from Logitech, which is sad. Obviously for Logitech, nowadays it has become more about the money and profits than it is about customer satisfaction and protecting your company name and brand.