SIG was once known for quality. Today, unfortunately, the company is better known for problems.
The New Jersey State Police is suing them for $2.5 million, claiming they put troopers' lives in danger because they allegedly couldn't get 3,000 P229s to quit jamming (FTE) after 16 months of trying.
SIG is also being sued for $6.2 million by an officer from the Stamford, Connecticut Police Department Special Response Team over an incident he claims was the result of a defect in their P320 handgun. In the suit, the officer alleges that he dropped the pistol – still in its holster – while he was loading equipment into the back of his vehicle, which caused it to discharge a bullet into his leg.
The SIG P320 pistol has recently come under scrutiny for a defect in the design which allows the trigger to move to the rear under inertia, releasing the sear and causing an accidental discharge. This defect was first identified by the Dallas Police Department, who recalled their P320 handguns until they were repaired by SIG Sauer.
SIG elected not to recall, but to voluntarily upgrade tens of thousands of the P320s sold due to the discharge issue. It is still in the process of doing so.
A report from the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) has revealed that the US Army’s new service pistol, (the P320) deemed the XM17/XM18 Modular Handgun System, has suffered from a number of failures during testing. The DOT&E has suggested the following:
1. Upon identification of the root cause of the double ejections and ball ammunition reliability problems, confirm fixes to both the XM17 and XM18 in future testing.
2. Work with the vendor to identify and eliminate cause of variability in the manufacture of the trigger group mechanism.
3. Consider redesign of the slide catch lever or operator training changes to prevent engagement by operators while shooting the pistol.”
Finally, Phil Strader of SIG has announced they have temporarily halted production of the new P365 until they can identify and remedy potential issues of the pistols failure to return to battery.
I've been a big SIG fan for 26 years, ever since I purchased a West German manufactured P220 in March of 1992. I'm more than a little disillusioned now.
I sent my P320 Subcompact back for modification, and I'll be sending it down the road upon its return.
All firearms manufacturers have problems from time to time, but SIG seems to be suffering from lack of proper testing and lack of quality control.
