Rich, I have saw 2nd gear go out of two Minn Kota Maxxums. Humminbird told me this had never been reported, but I definitley reported mine going out when under warranty. My cousins also went out. Mine was a 2003 65lb.Maxxum & my cousins was a 2004 65lber. Mind you that these 2 trolling motors had been put through the mill. Personally I like Minnkota a lot better than Motorguide as my Minnkotas have been a lot smoother to operate to me at least & a whole lot quieter & have better luck all the way around than I have with Motorguide. To me Motorguide motors are loose & less responsive as opposed to Minnkota. The 2nd. gear problem isn't a frequent problem by what I've gathered from talking to other Minnkota owners, but seems kind of odd to me that 2 exact outfits had the same problem. Guess we were just the lucky ones lol.