AAC SDN6 Failure: Part 2, Redux

General Firearms NFA
1

Well last November I participated in a thread where a few people were having issues regarding the latches failing on their 51T AAC cans, specifically the SDN6.

My SDN6 was one month old (stamp in hand 28 days before failure) when the latch on the QD mechanism had worn down to the point where it no longer engaged the mounts on the muzzle device.

AAC issued me an RMA within a few days and I UPS’ed the can back to them. After about 3-4 weeks I received the can back refinished, with what I’m told was a new latch mechanism.

It was explained that a batch of cans may have possible left the facility with improper heat treatment on the latching mechanism, which is what led to the failure of my latch.

Since it would be getting replaced with a new, heat treated latch, I was told this wouldn’t be a problem in the future. I could even elect to not hold the latch button down while installing with no ill effects.

Fast forward to this past weekend when I had the can mounted on a new AACSD Rem700. After about 20-25 rounds I noticed that the can had began to work itself loose.

When I reached up to verify it was tight, it spun right back off in my hand and the inside of the latch is completely worn off.

I sent an email to Nick Hughes, the CS rep who handled my previous repair, and the email was returned as undeliverable after a day. I attempted to contact the warranty department by phone earlier this morning.

Tried warranty and received a message saying they’re currently closed for the holidays. I called back and spoke with sales, who assured me that warranty is open and everyone’s back to work, the must have just left the phones off?

Thus far, has anyone had any warranty/repair/customer service dealings with the “New AAC”, or is this what we’ve come to expect in the future?

2

As of about a month ago, Nick was still at AAC and in the middle of moving his office to Alabama. Shoot me a PM if you can’t reach him. I can probably track him down through a mutual friend.

3

I sent my SDN-6 in to have the latch replaced and a light end cap strike repaired. This was done right before they moved so I don’t know if that is the time frame you are looking for.

The customer service I received was ok. I never had a problem getting a hold of them. The quality of the workmanship is another story. The re-finish on my can looks pretty poor.

The original latch lasted 3 years with lots of on-off. I never held the latch down when putting it on either. We’ll see how long the new one lasts with holding it down when going on.

4

Thank you for the offer. I didn’t intend to imply that working with Nick was anything less than stellar last contact with him. I constantly see him posting on multiple forums with CS issues/help. Combine that with your actual job and anybody’s got a full plate.

They did call me back explaining that the incoming call system is down and told me to email the standard techinfoATadvanced-armament.com. Got a support ticket generated so we will see where it goes.

I’m just presently unsure how to feel about having to have warranty work for the same problem twice for a $1K suppressor I’ve owned for 7 months.

5

i had decent service when I had to ship mine back for same issue. now I hold the latch down which each rotation for fear of a repeat. Weird thing is, it kinda looks as if wear may be occurring again all over again. not sure how though. mine was right before they moved, as well, and the finish is odd. it gets glossy after 10-15 rounds as if it never quite cured properly.

6

I had the same problem with my SPR/M4 and the new latch is wearing just like the old one. I am pretty posed and I would get a different can, but I know my ROI on this one wouldn’t justify the additional cost.

7

I’m in the same boat. I’ve really considered offloading it for a bit of a loss, but I had my fingers crossed last time AAC would do something to get it fixed up and make it a contender again. I’m going to hang onto that idea again.

I’m interested to see what the diagnosis is. I’m sure they don’t want to rebuild it every 4-6 months either.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

8

My M42K had the same problem, and it’s 6 years old. Must’ve been a very large batch of bad latches…

9

They need to call up Surefire and ask them how they treat there latch parts on the SOCOM cans. And do the same thing to their parts. :stuck_out_tongue:

10

That’s the part I’m unhappy with. I respect a manufacturer that will come out and tell me, “Hey we apologize, we had a batch get out with some questionable parts, We’ll get you fixed up and you won’t have this issue again.”

Everybody makes mistakes, no issues with that. Obviously this isn’t a batch problem. Frustrating considering after being informed of the cause the first time I made a large effort to not wear the latch to no avail.

I’m still waiting on my support ticket to be answered. Thus far I’ve only received the auto generated email.

11

I hate having to send my suppressor in so I just leave the can on 24/7. I am tempted to get another one just because, but I would spend a fair amount for little benefit as it sits now.

12

I called and sent an email regarding some issues with mine, one of which being the latch, that was maybe 3 weeks ago. I was told that I would receive a shipping label as soon as the next early week and 3 weeks later no shipping label or correspondence. I honestly can say I’m not too pleased with the customer service. I will never buy another AAC product again. I’m going to stick with silencerco I have never had any issues with any of my sico cans.

13

I’m going through the same process. After my second email I was told the same thing, that I’d receive a shipping label soon.

After I called today they said I’d have one by the end of the week, and that instead of a shipping label. UPS would come by with a call tag to pick the can up.

Pretty much just hurry up and wait at this point.

They did go on to explain about the bad batch of heat treated latches that caused the centers of the latches to become soft, so once you broke through the nitriding it was pretty much over.

Once I explained that my can had already been serviced for that exact same issue, the answers kind of fell short. Not much they can do without it in hand to verify though.

But the customer service rep did tell me he had at least a dozen cans over the past ten years and he could count the number of latches that needed replaced on his on one hand…

14

UPS does not ship suppressors anymore by policy. Perhaps that is part of the delay.

15

I’m not sure what the current deal with UPS is, as an SOT/FFL with a UPS account we still use them 10+ times a week for suppressors.

We’re also a part of the Silencer Shop Direct program, and receive at least 15-20 suppressors from them a week, everyone of them UPS.

I actually made that comment when speaking with the rep, they said business as usual. I couldn’t comprehend what the annual UPS account bill there must be.

16

I sent mine in to have the latch replaced about the middle of Dec 2014. AAC paid shipping both ways and used UPS. So unless they have made a new policy since then they still ship silencers. Maybe they will only ship them for people with business accounts or something like that.

I thought my latch wearing out so fast was a fluke. After reading through this thread it appears otherwise. I no longer buy AAC’s B.S. about this just being a bad batch, it’s clearly an epidemic.

That being said Nick at AAC was super helpful and fast about getting my can fixed.

The only two AAC products I have(SDN-6 & 9" 300BLK upper) were faulty from the factory and had to be fixed. I won’t ever be buying anything from them again that’s for sure!

17

I

Still no idea where the UPS thing originates either. We do so much business with Silencer Shop and I asked off hand earlier today, they didn’t know anything about it and said with what the UPS bill is there they’d hope to be one of the first to know.

I’m still waiting for them to accept RMA’s but FWIW Nick seems to be the entire CS department. Not a single complaint about that guy.

18

UPS changed their policy last month May 2015 (no longer shipping suppressors for individuals or licensed dealers) and notified the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) of the changes. The UPS rule book was updated. The dealers that contacted Silencer Shop and Distributors have generally been told they would continue shipping UPS until their local hubs refused shipments. AAC has had compliance issues in the past, they may be taking a more conservative approach than others for all we know.

It is an issue of UPS policy not a government law or regulation. Much like it is UPS policy to only ship handguns overnight, but you can put a ground label on a handgun box and your hub would likely take it. It will very well come to down to the hubs knowing the rules and caring to enforce them.

19

Interesting. Perhaps the rule changes haven’t trickled all the way down to the end users yet. Nobody I’ve been in contact with has even been aware of it. Eh, UPS never asks us what we’re shipping anyway.

20

I sent AAC an email about my latch wearing out and didn’t hear anything. Does anyone have a parsed email address (for the spam bots) so I can send someone a new email?