Microsoft fixing Xbox 360 smoking wheels

by Alexander Sliwinski { Aug 23rd 2007 at 9:58AM }

In all seriousness, Microsoft needs to publicly flog their hardware people. Microsoft now reports that they'll be offering a service to retrofit their official Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel following reports that the thing overheats and releases smoke. Unlike their refusal to say what's really wrong with the Xbox 360, Microsoft admits that a component in the wheel overheats when the AC/DC power adapter is used to power the wheel. Microsoft says you should contact them for the retrofit and not use the power adapter, but it's fine to just use the battery. They have also notified the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, no word yet on Microsoft Europe's plan.

"There have been no reported incidences of fire, personal injury or property damage resulting from the component failure in the wheel," Microsoft said in a statement. That's great, but it's definitely looking like the next iteration of the Xbox is going to have to scream engineering perfection for the sake of consumer confidence. Not only are the consoles going RRoD left and right, but now official peripherals are smoking. The next generation of Xbox is going to have to sell reliability above all else.

Tags: fire, fix, microsoftwheel, peripherals, smoke

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

MooseMuffin @ Aug 23rd 2007 10:04AM

Interesting that this thing gets the full recall treatment considering I've never heard of anything being wrong with them. Probably because smoking is a bit worse than just some red rings.

borland502 @ Aug 23rd 2007 11:20AM

@AlanRickman

Careful, your console is just trying to lull you into a false sense of security. One day, when you least expect it, you will know the true meaning of fear.

Curmeo @ Aug 23rd 2007 10:12AM

WTF is wrong with MS! seriously? original xbox consoles burning houses down, 360s RRoDing left and right, disc scratches, cheaply made parts/accessories malfunctioning ("oh snap, my headset snapped!"), and now the Racing Wheel of Death?

all this sh*t is making Windows XP's stability issues seem heavenly in comparison. and people say console gaming is more convenient than Vista gaming!

AlanRickman @ Aug 23rd 2007 10:45AM

Easy there killer, youre going to give yourself a heart attack. o.O

Curmeo @ Aug 23rd 2007 10:48AM

if i had a 360 in its current state ;)

AlanRickman @ Aug 23rd 2007 11:02AM

Ive got one, havent had any problems with it. Wireless headset cuts in and out, wish theyd fix that, but the console hasnt burnt my house down, or assassinated my grandmother or anything like that.

Word of the street. @ Aug 23rd 2007 12:16PM

Still better than Vista :|.

razer @ Aug 23rd 2007 3:17PM

I think this proves one thing MS makes complete garbage hardware!

I would say their controllers are about the only thing they do make worth a crap, but even that has serious problems.. D-Pad anyone??

Can't wait till the ChatPad comes out and see how much trouble that thing causes..

I will never purchase another MS peripheral/console again.

Savok @ Aug 23rd 2007 10:13AM

Well MS have officially outdone the PS2 in terms of quality.

DeadCode @ Aug 23rd 2007 10:14AM

This really pisses me off. I can't believe the crappy quality coming from MS. I've had two of their wheels on the PC and those were well built and I never had any problems with it. I also never had any issues with the original Xbox either and that was a launch system.

I've had my 360 replaced already and now I'm also going to have to have my wheel replaced as well WTF!!

I love my 360 and it gets used every day (games & media center + movies), but come on already. It's not like they can't afford to make quality products.

nerrrrrrd @ Aug 23rd 2007 10:21AM

this is just a big mistake. the smoke and burning is for realism when you're pushing your car beyond it's limits. burn baby burn!

Dadidito @ Aug 23rd 2007 10:22AM

I am on the phone with them now on this, initially it was news to her ( the customer service rep) but after a little searching she found notes for her on it. Yeah Microsoft get your hardware people up to the task. This is embarrasing to you and more importantly unnecessarily annoying and inconvienant to us.

elmersglue @ Aug 23rd 2007 1:06PM

Did your steering wheel start to smoke or are you just bothering MS cuz you're scared it might happen? I'm just curious because it seems like people start to complain about a problem as soon as an article goes up about it, but i have the wheel myself with no issues and I have never heard about this issue before today...so why is it that people are freaking out about this when it's probably an extremely rare problem?

jonny quest @ Aug 23rd 2007 3:11PM

Bothering MS?

He's simply doing what MS has instructed EVERYONE with this wheel to do.

From the article on the Xbox website
http://www.xbox.com:80/en-US/support/systemuse/xbox360/gameplay/wirelesswheelretrofit.htm

"Owners of the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel should stop using the AC-DC power supply until they have obtained their retrofit."

elmersglue @ Aug 23rd 2007 6:47PM

jonny, my point was really just to see if he actually had the problem. I'm curious to see how many people are actually having this happen to them.

b6cdd678 @ Aug 23rd 2007 10:27AM

Yeah I'm not one to troll or anything but the truth is it is things like this that have kept me from buying a 360. MS really needs to get their act togther with their hardware people.

Like the post said although owners of the system are enjoying it for the games, things like this really hurts public opinion and while that may not have the biggest impact right now, it will certainly be in people's minds come the release of the next system. If its reliability isn't marketed people might hold off from purchasing the product early on just to make sure the bugs are worked out.

Sky Shark @ Aug 23rd 2007 10:32AM

I've never seen any overheating or smoking from the Steering Wheel. I also sure as heck didn't hear about this as often as the RRoD. Who do we have to contact to get the new AC/DC adapter just to be safe?

FrankTheCrank @ Aug 23rd 2007 10:33AM

I think this is overblown.

This is actually a new feature. When you do burnouts smoke comes out of the wheel. Way to go, super realistic gaming. Now go burn some rubber.

China makes quality products, such as toys, dog food and XBOX 360 hardware.

Seriously folks, what is going on over at Microsoft hardware?

Word of the street. @ Aug 23rd 2007 12:19PM

3 words and 1 dot:MADE IN CHINA.

Dadidito @ Aug 23rd 2007 10:34AM

Finally done, they gave me this website.
http://www.xbox.com/NR/rdonlyres/4C5B5CE6-3081-4CB4-B263-2FDB794D0B34/0/wheelcontrollerfulfillment.pdf

Shamefull in my opinion. Shameful.
They say just use the battery.

Sky Shark @ Aug 23rd 2007 10:38AM

Thanks for putting this link up dude that's gonna be helpful for many of us. Also one thing I am confused about people are acting like this error is affecting everyone until just now I have never read about this ANY where.

Meloche @ Aug 23rd 2007 10:37AM

*sigh* I wonder what's next for Microsoft.... Controllers exploding?

Word of the street. @ Aug 23rd 2007 12:22PM

Battery liquid leaking from the rechargeable battery of the wireless controller’s sound more realistic than the controllers exploding unless is a Monty Python Sketch.

BNinjaC @ Aug 23rd 2007 10:40AM

This feature has been added for extra realism during the bike races in PGR4.

You want proof?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fHlqcs4o38

DarthDavid @ Aug 23rd 2007 10:41AM

Microsoft/Xbox should thank the lucky stars for Xbox Live/Halo/Gears, cuz without that, the 360 would've failed. I never would've thought that a shotty console like the 360 continues to survive, and now first party accessories smoking?!?! Deep pockets or not, this can't go on ANY longer. Sega please come back to the hardware biz, I rather have you guys than Micro$oft any day.

FrankTheCrank @ Aug 23rd 2007 10:55AM

Ah...the good old days. Picking up Sega hardware every 6 months.

I've got a Genesis, Nomad, Sega CD, Sega CDX, 32X, Saturn, Netlink, Saturn 4MB RAM cart and Dreamcast.

Those were the days.

JL @ Aug 23rd 2007 10:41AM

We apologise again for the fault in the racing wheel. Those responsible for sacking the people who have just been sacked, have been sacked.

Steve @ Aug 23rd 2007 10:57AM

Another wonderful product!!

360DOOD @ Aug 23rd 2007 11:12AM

I don't care what U say...360 RULZ.

I've sent mine back 4 times, but I still don't carez. So wut!!!

Microsoft still ROOLZ and you dorks don't know wut the hell UR talking bout.

GOWBIOSHOCKGOWBIOSHOCKGOWBIOSHOCKGOWBIOSHOCKGOWBIOSHOCKGOWBIOSHOCK

IslandLife @ Aug 23rd 2007 11:13AM

Come on guys, as you can see from this pic, Microsoft's Head of Hardware Division is really doing his best. Give the guy a break will ya:

http://wii.advancedmn.com/images/content/misc/monkey_office_man.jpg

NATO_Duke @ Aug 23rd 2007 11:15AM

So this is the part where the people who don't have one, or the issues, act like its a big deal and babies are dying, the world is crumbling, and their gf left them because of it. Relax.

My wheel is doing just fine, and if they are fixing the issue in broken ones then it doesn't warrant another bitch session by the nonowner elite that are fanboys.

borland502 @ Aug 23rd 2007 11:30AM

Oh I'll grant you many PS3/Wii owners are chuckling in their beer over these many issues. However, a few consoles bricking themselves do not cause a stir. Otherwise, we'd be hearing many tales of woe from that .2% PS3 failure rate.

What causes a stir, my defensive friend, is when a great many consoles fail or maybe only a few steering wheels die, but they die in a smoking fashion. Do you really think every defective Sony battery died in flames? No, but the few that did indicated an overall quality problem in hardware.

So you see, while there are many reasons to love your 360...you really shouldn't give glaring defects a pass just because you love what the product does. And yes, competing fans will taunt you Nelson "ha-ha" style...that's just the way the Internet works.

Angelo @ Aug 23rd 2007 11:17AM

This is a shame, really: Microsoft's input devices are usually quite solid--just take a look at their PC peripherals.

Jake @ Aug 23rd 2007 11:26AM

If the RRoD thing hadn't happened, this wouldn't be viewed as such a problem. Microsoft fixes wheels, the (probably few) people who shelled out for them get them replaced, everyone's okay. But with the RRoD, Microsoft really couldn't afford to have another hardware issue, and here it is. I'm not saying it's going to cause a catastrophic drop in sales, but these things do pile up on the potential consumer's mind.

All this news makes me feel incredibly lucky that my launch day 360 is still kicking. Then again, the RRoD rate is still probably less than 50%, it's just high enough and problematic enough to warrant high media attention.

doshey @ Aug 23rd 2007 11:28AM

i hope MS gets sued now, this is out of control

Kete @ Aug 23rd 2007 11:31AM

"In all seriousness, Microsoft needs to publicly flog their hardware people." This is the funnies statement I have read in a long time. I read gamer blogs all the time and I have my own. therunningriot.com

I just wanted to say that. But it is true. Enough already. I love the 360 and it is great that Microsoft is standing up and fixing without having the consumer pay but some quality control would be a little more convenient here.

NATO_Duke @ Aug 23rd 2007 11:33AM

Should be sued for what exactly? I don't see any liability here. They are fizing the products. Some of us went through law school already and dont jump on the sue wagon for every one of life's inconveniences.

NATO_Duke @ Aug 23rd 2007 11:36AM

I understand that Borland, but we dont know the nature of the problem yet.

I have all three systems of this generation - and none have failed. So I fail to get all excited or to jump down MS' throat right now.

Its not defensiveness here, its that I get annoyed with people all screaming like the defect is hurting them when they don't even own the product - yeah, its the internet and that happens, doesn't mean I have to enjoy it.

why not the LS2/LS7? @ Aug 23rd 2007 11:46AM

I have one of the very first ones, and I used it a lot in Forza 2 and never saw any problem like this. I am now somewhat nervous that I left it plugged in for a month straight, even when I left the house.

The wheel is a turd anyway. Locking out all other wheels gave them the opportunity to sell us a crappy one at a high price and they took full advantage of it. As pointed out above, MS themselves did far better with previous wheels.

More here:
http://mrtheawesome.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8306241&publicUserId=5710934

MS, please reconsider your peripherals strategy. Every time you release a poor quality peripheral like the wireless headset or the wireless racing wheel, you make short term money but you disappoint your customers in the long term.

Croco @ Aug 24th 2007 1:47AM

A-f*cking-MEN! MS knew EXACTLY what they were doing when they refused to support the Logitech G25 for Forza 2 or anything...I'm a fellow Forza fanatic and I say that it is wrong. If the 360 controllers can work on a standard PC, then why the f*ck can't they make the G25 work on the 360? Simple...they knew from the very beginning that their wheel was inferior to the G25(hell, it's inferior to the Driving Force Pro for that matter) and they knew if given the choice, people were gonna spend the $300 to get a G25. So they just said, "Y'know what, screw you guys...you either use our inferior cheap plastic steering wheel, or you use a controller."

If given the choice, I would've saved up the couple grand to get a proper cockpit with the G25. And I know for a fact that a lot of other Forza fanatics would have done the exact same thing.

WiseGuy @ Aug 23rd 2007 11:47AM

Oh great. More fuel to the fire for fans that love PS3 and that will boast it's quality. In any case... WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING MICROSOFT?!?! They should fire all personel in charge of QUALITY CONTROL. This is ridiculous. I'm a huge fan of the 360 and it's services, but if this HARDWARE QUALITY becomes a consistent issue, so much for making money in their GAMES division. Geez!!!

Word of the street. @ Aug 23rd 2007 12:15PM

I didnt know Racing Wheels could go RRoD too,Now that is innovation,take that Nintendo.

WiNG @ Aug 23rd 2007 1:02PM

Hey how come nobody there has covered the VGChartz announcement that Wii has now outsold 360 worldwide? Just surprised, is all.

elmersglue @ Aug 23rd 2007 1:12PM

stupid consumers....

ThornedVenom @ Aug 23rd 2007 1:48PM

FLOG EM! FLOG EM! FLOG EM!

Jeff @ Aug 23rd 2007 1:52PM

"Hey how come nobody there has covered the VGChartz announcement that Wii has now outsold 360 worldwide?"

Maybe because VGChartz is hardly a reputable source? They pull their numbers out of their ass.

They're probably close on that one, but to say an "announcement" from them about this means anything is not really the case. Anybody can make an "announcement" about anything. When we get some official numbers, then it'll be worth reporting.

FM @ Aug 23rd 2007 4:21PM

Wow,guess MS was trying too hard on auto realism,lol.

anonymous @ Aug 23rd 2007 9:51PM

"All this news makes me feel incredibly lucky that my launch day 360 is still kicking. Then again, the RRoD rate is still probably less than 50%, it's just high enough and problematic enough to warrant high media attention."

Exactly what sort of failure rate to you find acceptable? Because half are still great, it's not bad? Even a 10% failure rate in such a product is absurdly high and about five or ten times higher than it should be.

As for ElmersGlue... I don't think you understand the point of a product recall. If they recall cars because they migh thave an exploding gas tank, you don't say "well, mine hasn't exploded and killed me yet, so I'm okay".

hotnutz @ Aug 23rd 2007 10:10PM

Considering this is Microsoft, "king of quality", why is anyone surprised?

I suspect that in the not so distant future, the 360 will be a business school case study on how a company can quickly destroy it's reputation with cheaply made equipment and rushed to market designs.

jhferry @ Sep 10th 2007 8:33PM

Well,

I just got a call from MS support on this stupid steering wheel. I saw the thing about the retrofit kit and called because I have 2 small kids and didn't need a fire on my hands. So the guy basically calls me at 8 pm to tell me that when there is a retrofit kit available I will receive one. I told him that was not acceptable and wanted a supervisor. I get this lady "Marie" who basically didn't want to hear it.

Basically, I wanted a new working wheel, or I wanted my money back. I told her that these things should be recalled and I had already sent my 360 to get fixed and I got hung up on for my troubles. I will admit, I got a little heated, they called me from India at 8pm and woke my kids up. I told her I have a case number would post this all over the net so nobody gets hurt by this thing.

I think its terrible that they wont issue a recall, this retrofit is a lie. I asked her to send me a picture of it if it exists and she said she couldn't do that. Basically, don't use that force feed back until they fix this thing. I did ask her If I bought a new wheel from the store If it would have the same problem and she hung up on me.

Unreal how they treat people, I bought a $400 system and that didn't work now a $150 wheel and that doesn't work either.