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Tankless Hot Water Heaters, Efficient, Effective, Endless.
Navien Problems
Navien Problems
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Navian was the first to come out with a condensing tankless water heater and thus they are bound to have some issues. This post is aimed at addressing some of these problems.
Issues
- Navien flow sensor issues
- Navien Control board failures
- Navien Heat exchanger cracks
The flow sensor
Early Navian models had flow sensors that would easily corrode and shut the unit down as the buildup would impair operation. There is a temporary fix where you take the two clamps off the sensor, pull it out and blow on it. The fix that Navien has made is to change the sensor over to stainless steel, you can replace the part to prevent this unexpected shut down. Also an additional fix is to install a 5 micron filter in the water inlet right before the Navian.
Navian Control Boards or Motherboards
These do fail relatively frequently and symptoms would be that the unit turns on, then off, then on, and then off repeatedly or possibly, fails with error code 03 (ignition failure). There are a few other issues that the board can cause but the only real solution is to power cycle the unit (un-plug and plug back in) or replace the Navien control board.
Cracking Heat Exchanger
This isn’t near as frequent as the problems listed above but it is an issue none the less. A heat exchanger should be replaced immediately; it’s a breach containment allowing exhaust gases to enter your home. The heat exchanger is under Navian warranty.
More Help
Here is some places and information you can use to find additional help.
Our Service Department – 1-855-696-8265
Navien Technical Help Line – 1-800-519-8794
Navien online trouble shooting – Go HERE
Navien Warranty details – Find out more HERE (should be accurate for Canada and Ontario)
Additional Issues – Read Here
UPDATE – here is a complete list of Navien error codes – Read HERE
If all else fails post a comment and we can try and trouble-shoot any issues here.
See Also:
| Print article | This entry was posted by administrator on March 18, 2010 at 12:20 pm, and is filed under General Info, Navien Tankless. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site. |
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about 5 months ago
We have a CR-240A unit installed about 2 years now. Couple weeks ago we had water leakage, problem was the hot water inlet elbow joint with thermistor near the heat exchanger, part started leaking. Got it fixed and just a week ago the other elbow out of the heat exchanger for the hot water started leaking. Called tech services discovered that if your unit has grey elbows with the thermistors, the part is defective something to do with the manufacturer’s choice of plastic compound. New replacement kits available which use a black plastic elbow fitting. Tech services really helpful.
However the customer services department totally suck, you call and leave messages and they don’t tend to return the calls. Also the parts department can not seem to read their packing slips properly, the QA/QC is pretty much none existent. In both instances when the parts were shipped the order arrived without the O-Ring kits….how do they expect the plumbers to replace inline piping components without new replacement O-Rings!!! Also, if someone in the shipping depart could read the packing slip and did a simple parts count they would have discovered the missing components…total disaster.
In hind sight it would have been better to wait for this product to be out in the market with strong after sales support and local stocking of parts supply. We have been without hot water now coming up 2 weeks due to the poor customer service in the shipping department. Another incident with this water heater and we are about to rip the unit out and replace with one with better local repair support, stay tuned to UTUBE cause if it goes this way you will see a Navien unit trashed beyond believe.
Pity as the unit worked great until the water leakage occurred but the lousy customer service and turn around time to get components from the factory as local plumbing shops don’t appear to stock the heater’s components. Oh and by the way, this is costing us money as this time we had to demobilize and mobilize the plumber who charges us his time for this!
Maybe our problems is due to us living in Canada but thank God the leakages are occurring in our summer time, would hate to think what would happen if this occurred in the winter! Would have definitely trashed this unit sooner if it was in the winter, 2 weeks without hot water just doesn’t cut it.
about 5 months ago
Hi, I have had this Navien for the past 2yrs and today it just shut itself off. I opened the cover and saw water on the cover. I wiped the water off and turned it back on. It feels like it is leaking water from somewhere and I dont see it. The water was actually getting onto the circuit breaker and that is why it was turning itself off. Any suggestions will help as next few days Iam having a prayer function at my house.
about 5 months ago
My Navien water unit is leaking like a Waterfall!
Its been a little over a year and its flowing buckets!!!!
its really frusturating it started flowing a couple hours ago, we have hot water but barely anymore, it just does not STOP!!!
I called the helpline and not to mention the customer service was terrible the guy on the line was so rude and impatient, he bluntly informed us to call a plumber and that was it!!
Can someone PLEASE help with this situation
about 5 months ago
We have Navien unit, model CR-210A
It was working fine for 3-years, however recently the water heater just turns off and we are getting an error on display screen “$”
when we turn off the fuse and turn it back on then the water heater works again temporarily and then again the error comes on and the water does not get heated.
Anyone know what the issues is?
Thanks,
Deepa
about 6 months ago
We have a CR-180 unit, which seems to be working fine at the moment, but it does drip water every 3-4 seconds.
The leak appears to be coming from behind the right side of the heat exchangers and is dripping on the Gas pressure sensor (GPS) and leaking out the bottom onto the floor.
Any ideas on what could be causing the problem/how to fix it would be most welcomed.
about 7 months ago
Did you ever solve this issue? We have had ours for 5 months, and the smell is still there, but a little less pungent.
about 8 months ago
I was at my breaking point last night. Three error code 003′s in the same day – while cleaning up after dinner and not having hot water within 5 minutes (what a waste) so I went down to the water heater to find it on error code 3. Shocker!
So I unplugged it, waited 20 seconds and then plugged it back in. I got out my meat thermometer, my cell phone that records video and went to town. Yes, the hot water came on within 60 seconds and hit the setting of 110 degrees, but climbed steadily to 115, 124, 130, 135, 140, 145, 150, 160 and up to 162 degrees and then back to 115 only to recycle again and again and again up to 162 for 7 minutes. during my shower this morning I found the same issue – this is dangerous – have you ever showered at 160 degrees? Good thing my young children weren’t showering.
I sent the video to the plumbing company that installed it and today I have a brand new Navien installed. Let’s hope it works correctly. Two years of grief, $3800 gone along with my sanity. If it doesn’t, then the video is going viral. People need to be informed. We were trying to be environmentally conscious but this product does not hold up over time.
The Navien rep originally told the plumbing company that the issue was with the regulator on the gas meter – so we had the utility company come out and replace the regulator. Nothing worse than passing the blame and trying to hide the products known flaws. Shameless.
OK so Joe the rep from navien came out to my house and confirmed what my plumber already knew-the gas valve was faulty on the second unit also. Joe decided that upgrading my180 to a 240 was the only solution. lo and behold! HOT WATER! Joe did this upgrade and installation at no further cost to me. So, in closing, if this unit does not fail me, I will be a very satisfied customer of this product. I do recommend however, that you do not install the 180, as that unit seems to be the one with all the issues. Thanks again to Joe for his excellent customer service.
about 10 months ago
OK so Joe the rep from navien came out to my house and confirmed what my plumber already knew-the gas valve was faulty on the second unit also. Joe decided that upgrading my180 to a 240 was the only solution. lo and behold! HOT WATER! Joe did this upgrade and installation at no further cost to me. So, in closing, if this unit does not fail me, I will be a very satisfied customer of this product. I do recommend however, that you do not install the 180, as that unit seems to be the one with all the issues. Thanks again to Joe for his excellent customer service.
about 10 months ago
OK so Joe from Navien is trying to fix my problem…if he does AND it lasts I will re-post a better review…..please stand by.
about 11 months ago
piece of crap!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 3 months of inconsistent hot water!!!!! enough is enough—going to get a different brand.
about 11 months ago
Well I’m back on this site because we are on our 3rd issue and 2nd flood thanks to the replacement water pipe adapter A90 degree fitting leaking! I have SO had it with this company. You are right, they are only replacing the pieces and by the time you pay your plumber to come, dry out the carpets, replace them and repaint they BREAK AGAIN! So, now we’re back to no hot water for god knows how long. DO NOT BUY NAVIEN. Any company that has been so slow to address major issues with new units for customers, who are incurring HUGE costs and personal time dealing with the damage their faulty units have caused, and to have them replace the faulty parts with more faulty parts doesn’t deserve any customers. They should be sued for their pathetic excuse for customer service.
about 1 year ago
We purchased a Navien CR-180(A) in Jan/09. The experience was a veritable nightmare. Constant failure and
even when operational, delivered hot and cold water during use. We run a small B&B operation, guests were greatly inconvenienced and complained constantly during the one season this thing was installed.
We complained continuousle to the installer and kept a running record of every instance of failure. Eventually, it was replaced in it’s entirety by Navien in Dec/10. The new version, a Navien NR-180(A), was installed at no charge. Almost immediately we began to experience rumbles and vibrations when hot water was turned on. The installer replaced a short 1/2″ feed pipe with the recommended 3/4″.
However, the problem remained. This is a serious safety issue, and have brought this to the attention of the installer, but the issued remains unresolved. Whether this is caused by delayed ignition or insufficient pressure I just cannot tell. I await further input from the installer. Not good — from what I have read, Navien is surely not a “Best Buy”.
about 1 year ago
Bought a new house and it came with a Navien. I heard from friends that have Naviens to stay away from them but the builder said if there were problems they would take care of them.
1 week after moving into the house, no hot water. Builder sent out the plumber and it turned out to be the flow sensor. 2 weeks later same thing. Christmas dinner same thing. After 8 weeks and 4-5 visits the plumber and builder agree that the system is junk and will be replacing it next week.
I am totally impressed with the Builder and the Plumber. They really tried and went above and beyond to work with this piece of junk.
If your new home has a Navien stay away!!! And I hope your builder has the integreity to replace it when it fails.
And Navien, stop building your pieces out of cheap plastic and fix your design flaws!!!
about 1 year ago
We had CC-180A installed in Oct 2009 and after a couple of weeks we had a flood and the water leaked all over the circuit board. Navien wouldn’t replace the unit only the parts. We are still having issues with the unit. It keeps tripping the GFI plug where it is plugged into. Its not the plug its the unit itself. The unit is installed at our cottage, and when it trips GFI it doesn’t work and neither does our furnace. We just happened to go there this weekend and the furnace never came on and it was 42 degrees in the cottage. Lucky that the pipes never froze. If this continues, and our pipes under up freezing, we will be taking legal action with Navien. Someone better figure out what the problem is. We have known from the first flood that it is the whole unit itself.
about 1 year ago
For all of us Canadians who have purchased this $8000 + system, let’s do something that will hurt Navien where it counts – in the purse. I have read all these comments and have exactly the same problems – sure they’ll replace the parts that have been destroyed by faulty originals but so far I’ve spent over $500 in labour to correct this company’s mistakes…email me at p.vanstone@sympatico.ca. I’m ready to go as far as I have to for compensation on a 2 year old product, but we need to make it hurt for them.. Who’s with me on this?
about 1 year ago
I replaced 2 of my 50 gallon hot water tanks with 2 Navien units. One is 240A and the other is 180A, both natural gas. The installation was done in 2008. The first six months, both units worked well. I hooked them up to the external re-circulation mode as we have a big house (hence 2 heaters).
The 240A had/has NO PROBLEMS. it runs great. I once did get a 003 error but once I reset the unit, it never came back.
The 180A had SO MANY PROBLEMS similar to the ones everyone is describing in this forum. After 6 months of back/forth and fiddling around with PC boards, igniters, flow valves etc, Navien decided to replace the whole unit.
Now we have a new 180A for the past 9 months and worked flawlessly. Yesterday it started giving me a Error 38. The tech support at Navien walked me through cleaning the flow valve (pretty simple if you are a handy person). The impellar in the flow valve is very tiny and delicate. All I did was blow on it a couple of time to make sure noth was stuck. It seemed like a little peice of black plastic was stopping the impellar. They are also sending me a new flow valve.
IMHO the main issue with the units is the quality of the parts. A flow valve should not start getting dirty after 9 months of usage from municipal water. We even have a softner in our house so no cal buildup.
I have rented the unit from Sears so I did not pay a lot for it but still have 8 years of rental left. Hopefully it will last.
about 1 year ago
I wish I would have seen this before I got my Navien CR180a. We had a flow sensor issue just weeks before the 1 year anniversary (no hot water for 2 weeks) and 4 months later I was getting a GPS problem. So they sent me a new circuit board, GPS and tubing. I replaced all the pieces and now it wont heat past 120 F without going into violent shudders. The plumbing contractor has said it is a piece of $4!@ and has basically washed his hands of it saying I should phone navien to get a new one. Thanks to him for sucking me out of $3000.
about 1 year ago
We got the NR-240A and have had some problems. First, the plumber didn’t program the pump to recirc and it took 3.5 min to get hot water. After programming, the pump will run, shut off, and come on again between 15 -45 seconds depending on conditions. Also, you can hear the motor run. It’s not real loud but annoying. Plumber worked on it with tech support (not much help) for 2 days to keep the pump from continuously running. They finally set the programming to run for 30 min. and rest for 1 hr. hoping that the water in the loop will stay warm enough. I’m not pleased with all this, but we are working with the plumber to see if he can resolve.
about 1 year ago
I two have had many issues with the system CR240). Practically everything has been replaced except the one part (heat exchanger) that has to fail before Navien will replace the whole unit. This unit was installed when I purchased the home (Oct 2009). My plumbers have been very diligent at trying to solve the problems. If I had been part of the decision process I would not have bought from this company. I would base my purchase on quality of the product as well as installer expertise and his after service standard should issues occur.
about 1 year ago
I have had my heater since 2008 and have had simmilar problems however Navien has been very good about replacing any parts asap by curier. Thay have also given me PO numbers to pick up parts from their retailers here in the city. I don’t know why everyone has had so many difficulties unless you just have no patience!! I think this company has had some bugs to iron out but I comend them for doing right when ever a problem exists. As far as the addapter I to had a problem with it and they replaced the whole unit for free. I am very happy I purchased this unit.
about 1 year ago
Code 003E and 02.00
I just encountered Code 003E and 02.00
It would start up and try to light about 4 times. The flame was the size of a pencil to 3″ wide. then would shut down. Had the recommended gas pressure 6-8″ W.C. It ended up being a defective air pressure switch NASS9EX00009. after replacing switch all is working, hot water and heat.
Thanks to Tec. support for helping find this.
1 800 519 8794
Thanks to a very patient customer, 5 days without hot water and heat.
about 1 year ago
From the time my Navien NR was installed the hot water has a metallicy smell and no one has an answer. It’s been in for 3 months, so the newness is broken in.
about 1 year ago
I have also had a flood in my basement from a 90 degree fitting in the Navien CR unit. We are in the process of trying to get a new unit but will probably go back to a regular water tank. I cannot believe a new unit that cost approx. $2000 would have so many defects. I actually have a burn mark on the inside cover which is even more scary. I have over $5000 worth of damage in my basement right now and not to mention I’m 9 months pregnant and due any day. Not happy at all!
about 1 year ago
Im waiting for my plumber to perform miracles it seems after having/reading all the complaints about my navien tankless system. I hope more homeowners read this and dont trust their plumbers knowledge “DONT BUY NAVIEN”!!!! I want to take put an add in the local paper and inform potential consumers about this horrible product. DONT BUY IT!
about 1 year ago
Navien, or rather the local distributor has been great at providing the free replacement parts (flow sensor and just today the 90 elbow fitting) which were easy to replace ourselves. But we had a recurrent issue that no-one could solve for 18 months – the machine would not run with the cover on. Today we realized the air inlet is close to the clothes dryer outlet, and a screen inside the heater was plugged with lint!
Don’t hesitate to point out the obvious to your installers!
about 1 year ago
I installed two Navien CR 240 and I have been trying to fix the water temperature, the vibration, the loss of water pressure, pumps and units constantly turning 24hrs a day and the noise is extremely loud. I had the service or the non service that I received. Definitely not a reliable company.
about 1 year ago
If you take this as a business loss it may at least be tax deductable and we can look at getting you some Rinnai Tankless water heaters. You will never be happier as the Rinnai tankless are rock solid units.
about 1 year ago
We are a builder and have had nothing but problems with this terrible system. We now have 4 houses that we are constantly sending the plumber to and are sick of it. Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong – from plugged filters to icing problems on the outside, switches, – everything. We get calls every weekend. This system is ruining our reputation.
about 1 year ago
do not buy navien 6 months no answers no repairs
about 1 year ago
I work for plumbing outfit in Alberta and we have installed dozens of naviens do to housing companies specs. I don’t think there is one unit out there that we haven’t worked on or replaced the whole unit. Navien is a horrible company and they build a horrible product. We have installed dozens of Rinnai and Noritz units and have never been back to fix them, they seem to know how to build a tankless water heater. Navien should have bought one of those units and copied how they work. The time of the year we seemed to have the most problems was winter, not sure why. The company I work for got stiffed out of a lot of warranty money.
about 1 year ago
the CR unit is not very good. Navian has re-designed their units to NR units. problems have been addressed and units are ver good now. I work as a tech for a service company . Rinnai is vary good but efficiency is not there unless you go with new 94i unit. I have no problem recommending navien newer units but only A models…
about 1 year ago
I have a 240cr Iam on flow senser #3 and now this unit goes hot to cold ,hot to cold steady and now
Ive heard enough of my wife telling me how much she enjoys her cold showers.!!!
I now have a AO Smith vortex 90% ready to replace it.I would have gotten a standard tank but I no longer have a chimminy so Im Forced to buy Hi eff.
junk
about 1 year ago
The first generation Navien units are quite unreliable… It has definitely left a sour taste for a lot of consumers. The Navien tankless water heaters manufactured now are way more reliable. Rinnai has always done it right their tankless water heaters are by far the most reliable and trustworthy…. install it and forget it.
Im sorry that your experience has been so negative.
about 1 year ago
Give it some time, Navien has a great repair and troubleshooting system.
about 1 year ago
I live in Ontario and had one installed less than 2 years ago that just started leaking, came home to find a minor flood on floor. Repairman said it was the Adapter A fitting and o-rings. It has been 4 days so far and still waiting for parts. Might just have to eat the cost and get a different make if this is going to be a problem child.
about 1 year ago
Navien units are horrible. We’ve had one for just over a year and every time we call Navien techs they maintain any problems are our fault and not the unit’s problem. They refuse to honor work done on issues that occurred before the year labor warranty is up.
In the year we’ve had the unit we have been without hot water at least every 3 months for approximately 1 week at a time including Thanksgiving for a week and Christmas.
DO NOT PURCHASE A NAVIEN UNIT!
We are going back to a regular water tank.
about 1 year ago
We have had the Navien since December 2008 and cost us $ 3,500.00 Canadian dollars. It has been nearly a constant problem. It was completely replaced some time ago by troubleshooters from CA. We live in Ontario, Canada where the temperatures drop well below zero in the winter time. We were told this unit is not designed for Canadian winters and our winter is a mild one compared to other Canadian provinces.
It is sinful how much water is wasted in an attempt to get hot water especially given the places in the world where people walk for miles to get a bucket of water that isn’t safe to drink!
We are fed up with the unit and if something isn’t done we’re considering suing the company that installed it as well as Navien. I can’t remember the last time we had a hot shower or water hot enough to do dishes without adding kettles of boiling water.
My husband is the one that understands the mechanics of this unit. I do not. I just know I’m sick of it and am seriously considering going back to an ordinary hot water tank rental.
about 1 year ago
We had a Navien CR unit installed and it has had the water flow sensor replaced then the circuit board replaced and now we have been flooded by a cracked water pipe adapter A 90 degree fitting. After these three completely different issues, way too many days without hot water and a fair financial investment in our plumber and previous contractor to get them resolved they will not replace the unit. Only continue to throw parts at it. We are very disappointed as it is only two years old.
If anyone else is having problems with this Adapter A fitting would like to know.