55lb Thrust - Kayak Trolling Motor

UPDATE3: A month later, the company still refuses to respond. I filed a claim through BB and this is the response I received from BBB: "Regretfully we must inform you that our numerous correspondences made on your behalf to Newport Vessels have gone unanswered and we have closed your complaint as No Response.". If you buy anything from them, just know what you are signing up for. UPDATE 2: I filled a warranty claim and the company is not responding on any channel: live chat, email, or phone. First UPDATE: still one star, but I could go for 0. I went fishing for the first time. Freshwater. Motor started acting up after 2 hrs. It was full of water. The seal between the magnet housing and the brushes housing was faulty. Customer service couldn't find the part. That seal actually does not exist on the diagram! I found it randomly by googling it, because you can't find it by motor type on their website, as weird as it sounds. I ordered the part, paid $30 for 2 day shipping, it arrived in 3 days, I asked for the difference in shipping because it didn't arrive on time, and since then the company refuses to respond to me. Guys, trust me on this: don't do business with this company. You may be lucky, or you may regret it like me. Original review: Got this to replace a 40lb Minn Kota. I have another Newport 62lb that behaves well so far in saltwater. So I decided to get another one, 55lb, for use in fresh water. - Out of the box the reverse is making rattling noises like the wheel of fortune. Sounded like something loose, maybe a screw of the plate or a brush. Anyway, too risky to go out with it like this. Could have been armature rubbing on a wire and then you get smoke. - Sent a video to Customer Service, and the dialogue that followed was ridiculous. - First, they said it's normal. Nope. It's definitely not. After using, fixing, and servicing trolling motors for 20 years, I can say it's definitely not normal. - Then they said I shouldn't hear it when in water. Well, I'm not interested in hiding a problem, I'm more interested of not getting stranded 5 miles from the ramp. Not to mention the stealth part being gone for fishing. - Than he said he conferred with a colleague and the colleague said I shouldn't worry about it. Wow. That's definitely another level. What was offensive was how dismissive they were with this response. - Finally, they said they can't do anything unless I test it in water. My next fishing vacation is in about a month. And that's out of Amazon return window. - Anyway, I decided to open the motor and check. Indeed, one of the brushes was chewed unevenly. And that's on a motor that ran a total of 4 minutes in it's life. See pic. The problem is the manufacturing quality of the armature and lack of Quality Control. The posts of the armature are not sloped as they should and are unequal in height, and they hit the top of the brushes. - Definitely Minn Kota from now on. I never learn that saving $50 may result in a lot more trouble.