Burned by Sanyo....need help

[Coby]

Well, I'm frustrated beyond belief. I bought my PLV-z2 a bit over a year ago, and I've got about three thousand hours on it. Some time ago a blue smear started showing up and it got worse and worse. I sent it into Sanyo for warranty through Visual Apex (good company, but they couldn't help, unfortunately). I chose the Sanyo over the equivelant Panasonic due to the three year warranty....that was my first mistake.

Seems this model has a cooling and a filtration problem. Found out after the fact that a number of folks had the same exact experience I did, right down to the rude treatment by Sanyo repair folks (same folks even...Rene Garcia and his boss Dan Rasmussan). Same cost too...they told me the exact thing they've told many others....$500 to fix, not covered under warranty, take a flyin' leap, it's yer own damn fault for operating this projector.

So, I had them send it back unrepaired, and I intend to take them to small claims court. At this rate, I just want my PJ to work again, or for it to be replaced with something else. I'd never buy Sanyo again; they're not an honorable company.

They said the polarizer plate is burnt, but I'm not sure if it's the pre lcd polarizer plate, or the post lcd polarizer plate. Also...I'm looking for a source for the part itself. Anyone know where I can get the polarizer plate from?

Bah, I'm steamed. Mostly because I chose Sanyo without doing the research to find out the problems other folks have had with them, and that particular unit.
My wife and I are going to investigate a class action lawsuit; if this proves to be a design defect (which is how it looks now) and Sanyo is reigning in costs for these defective units by not honoring the warranty, then there's probably good grounds for a suit.

If you're one of those folks that had a similiar issue, please shoot me a note and I'll compile some information to see if we can make this happen. Thanks for your ear.

Coby Hughey

[Brandon B]

How exactly do they claim this is not covered under warranty? Are they claiming you did not clean the filters properly or something?

BB

[Coby]

Yes. They're saying once a week was not often enough. Several other folks had that same exact reply no matter what the problem was. The issue is that there's no guideline in the users manual to suggest a cleaning regimen. That's what makes them liable for the warranty from a legal perspective.

Another thing that's interesting is that I live at about a mile of altitude, north of Denver, and there's an adjustment for high altitude that wasn't mentioned until this call. Apparently the cooling is marginal enough that an altitude change makes the likelihood of overheating higher.

[Nick M]

I've read that many new LCD PJ's develop this problem if used for extensive movie sessions. I have a 4yr warranty with my PLV-Z3.

I would have threatened Small Claims before they even sent it back. It will easily cost them more to represent themselves than to simply fix the product that has cooling issues. In an attempt to make their noise ratings look better they skimped on fan size/speed. Oh it's nice and quiet alright, but gets hotter than hell after double film fests.

I've read that most lawyers will charge $50-$100 for a phone call and a letter. A letter from a lawyer will usually put the fear of god in them. It would royally piss me off if I spent this extra cash, but $50 is better than $500.

I'm actually at the point now where I'm almost ready to swear off mass produced electronics that don't have a 2-3 day turn around of repairs at the manufacturers expense. Almost every electronics company puts out cheap junk, makes massive profits, and doesn't stand behind what they sell.

EDIT Panasonic and Sanyo have both made these stupid claims that cleaning the filter once a week isn't enough. They have both been taken to small claims too. They're just hoping you will be the sucker that pays out and doesn't speak with a lawyer.

[Brandon B]

Almost all LCD PJs can develop this, regardless of use pattern in something like 6000-10,000 hours of use. It is a simple function of the materials used in the blue polarization plate and the output of the lamps.

The projectors that have over-engineered cooling systems are less prone to this. In our experience, only two manufacturers have had LCD units where this did not noticealy occur within the useful life of the projector, NEC and Epson. Neither of these were HT type projectors.

Sanyo, on the other hand, has had this issue. Typically, it is in a high lumen compact model (by older standards) and we also tend to see it in more compact models.

It is a known problem in the LCD industry, and will be addressed by both Epson's and Sony's (the only two companies still making microdisplay LCD panels) next generation panels.

All that said, for Sanyo to say this is an owner's fault at 3000 hours of normal use is pretty inexcusable. Confirms my plan to avoid their products in the future (I own a PLV70). And to recommend anyone else I know do the same.

BB

[draganm]

wow, and people claim CRT projectors are too much work

I'm sorry to hear about your troubles, we had the same problem with some Benq's at work. I don't remember the model number it was like 7800? They didn't shaft us like Sanyo did to you though, but they kept sending replacements. I think we got a "good" one after 3 or 4 tries. This is exactly why I still run a big old CRT projector in my HT, made to last forever and made to be repaired. I have even sold a few machines with 40,000 hours on them last year, and they're STILL going. ;x( kind of like the energizer bunny? Not only that, but IMO the picture is better than any pixel based display i've seen, including the HD2+ chipped DLP's.
The reason I'm mentioning this is because I'm in Brighton about 30 minutes N of Denver.I have done a few demos' for people who were curious about CRT, let me know if you would like to see it as well. Having some friends over for movie night Friday after work, you're welcomed to stop by.

[dan87951]

Check your warrnaty information? Is there any small print that states what is and what isn't covered under warranty?