Do all Sony LCD screens only last 2 years?

[unhappycustomer]

The screen is going on my KDL 40W 4500 after just 2 years. Sony refuse to contribute to the cost and replacing it is only slightly more expensive than the repair cost. This was a best buy in Which? magazine.

I am now going out to buy a new TV. It will be my first non Sony for 20 years. I am now a non customer for any Sony product and will share my experience widely.

[StartTheCar]

I am sorry to read about these issues you with each of your Bravia televisions.  Obviously never great to see a thread about the failure of any product, and it certainly looks and feels much worse when you find others in the same or similar boat.

Clearly each case needs to be addressed, however I am not 100% convinced we can successfully do that from here.  My recommendation would to contact the Sony Customer Information Centre (CIC) and start talking to them about how best to proceed.

If the product is still under guarantee (extended or otherwise)  they can point you in the right direction and give details of an authorised repair agent who should be able to action a quick and effective repair.

If the guarantee has expired then, as we know, the repair would usually have to be carried out on a chargeable basis.  However, it’s best not to get ahead of ourselves.  Again, CIC can provide details of a Sony authorised repair agent who can. in-turn, provide a written repair estimate detailing the nature of the fault and the subsequent costs.  Until you have an estimate, there is very little Customer Service can say or do.  If you can present them with a written report and details of the purchase date, they can at least take look. There is obviously no guarantee of help but as they say it never hurts to ask.

As I said at the start, the Customer Information Centre really is the best place to address issues like this, with the forum probably the best place to discuss your (hopefully positive) experiences.

Best regards

Lee

[unhappycustomer]

Thank you for your response Lee.

I've been doing some quick research on the web and unfortunately discovered several other Sony customers with what looks like the same problem. Do you know if anyone in Sony has assessed the scale of this screen fault or is working on a way to resolve it that delivers a good customer experience?

The current situation is that Sony expect me to pay an engineer a non refundable  £80+ to assess the TV which is likely to involve me being left with no TV. I then need to send the report to CIC and they decide what to do. The expectation, based on others experience is that they might pay 50% of the repair cost. So that's a total cost to me of around £320 if Sony CIC decide to pay. Plus the potential of being without a TV for some time while it's repaired.

The alternative is to spend £129 more on a similar speced Panasonic with a bigger screen.

This bigger issue here is not about faulty TV screens it's about how Sony treats its customers and the major impact that this type of treatment has on Sony the brand.  Like lots of people who were big Sony fans I've spent many thousands on different Sony products and been happy to pay a premium price for a premium product from a premium company. The longer this situation goes unresolved the more negative feedback Sony the brand will suffer.

malcolm

[Shrimpz]

Me = josharp82

For some reason i couldn't log in with my previous username/passwd.

Well the engineer arrived yesterday.

Agreed the screen was faulty (it's actually a lot worse than when i first posted)

New screen ordered and scheduled for repair pre Christmas.

Glad i got the extended warranty.

[anmakin81]

Hi

I have the same problem with my KDL-40W4500 .

I purchased mine from Amazon in Nov 2008 with a 3 year warranty.

I've moved house and can't find my warranty information anywhere, so I'm now going round in circles on this awful website trying to contact Sony.

I like Malcolm am massively dissapointed that my TV that was over £1000 has gone wrong so quickly.

I have long trusted Sony and have purchased so many products from them over the years that I don't really want to think about the costs involved. (PSOne, PSP, PS2, PS3 x 2, TV, Gigajuke, New Walkman etc)

Sony need to admit that they have a bad design and that they have tried to cut production costs just a bit too much on these and other models and start offering a free repair or a replacement TV without the same issue.

Hopefully I will contact someone so I can get it fixed asap.   The thought of it not working and 8 children not being able to watch TV over Christmas is not fun.

Regards

Andy

[garryallen]

Hi, I think you could be on to something here, I too have the same model as you KDL-40W4500 - manufactured in october 2008, and the screen has started to fail. It first had 3 bands across the screen on switch-on which disappear after about15mins. It has now developed a shadowing effect which can take 20 minutes to clear. My local TV repair shop says its the screen that needs replacing - this is not commercially viable unless we can get Sony to help us out.

I'm not happy with this situation - I have always had Sony TV's, believing them to be a quality product but 2 years use from a TV costing around £1000 is unacceptable and If I have to replace it I will not be buying Sony next time.

[finbar42]

For what it's worth, I have exactly the same problem with the screen on my Bravia. I too will be in the market for new TV shortly and it won't be Sony, I'm afraid.

[sslxb17]

Has nobody on this thread heard of the SALE OF GOODS ACT,Google it and you will find that goods are expected to last for "a reasonable period" up to 6 years in most cases.I recently got half the cost of a 2 year old tele from currys.try thishttp://www.moneymatterstome.co.uk/8-Consumer-rights-responsibilities/Sub1/ButingGoods-SaleOfGoodsAct...

[Sandshoes]

I also made the mistake of paying over a thousand pounds for a SONY KDL40W4500, after 10 months the screen developed a fault at start up which consisted of 3 horizontal lines across the screen, this fault would increase in severity everyday, the screen was replaced by Comet just before it was unwatchable.

13 months later I was devastated when I turned the TV on and the 3 horizontal lines where back, that was 6 weeks ago and now it takes about 2-4 hours before the TV has warmed up to a decent state, needless to say the warranty has now expired. I am now in the process of writing to SONY CIC.

I thought it was my duty to add to this post to try to ensure that noone gives SONY half the money towards a new screen as the second screen will be no better than the first.  As for the "engineers report issue" SONY really need to be taking the hit for that and ensuring that its completely free. All the symptoms for this fault are virtually identical and there is no need for the "rocket science" approach when determining it, 20 seconds speaking to some one on the phone would be enough of an inspection.

As for the cost of this potential pointless repair its £460 for the screen + £160 labour =£620.

I am also now a non SONY customer and I will also share my experiences widely. SONY need to accept they have a fault with this particular model and they need to take it on the chin like Toyota do when they have quality issues.

[wetsleet]

my wife lived in S Korea as a student, and was amazed by the attitude of manufacturers out there towards their brand name. Basically, they treated it like the family jewels, their property and their pride and joy. As an impoverished student she had acquired a second hand black and white TV. Second-hand. When it went on the blink the manufacturer was only too embarrassed that a product bearing their name had let that good name down. That was the only relevant issue. To them it was no less an embarrassment just because the set was second-hand, it was still their brand name - and no less important to them. And logically, why would it be? They replaced the TV without question.

[superants]

Purchased KDL40W4500 22/12/08 tv started showing ghost type images in december 2010, just had the engineer from comet out SCREEN needs replacing. £1070 down the drain and guess what he'd just come from another job where he was replacing a screen on a KDL40W4500. I feel cheated, will not be purchasing another Sony product. Quality, Reliabilty a thing of the past it seems with Sony.

My next purchase will not be Sony or from Comet,but from John Lewis or Sevenoaks Hi Fi for my new Panasonic 37" TV where they know about customer service.