Sony Recalls 1.6m Bravia TVs Over Melting Danger

evilivor

Sony is recalling 1.6 million television sets after faulty parts caused a number to emit smoke and start melting.

The technology firm said eight of its popular Bravia range of LCD TVs are subject to an "inspection and rework programme", following incidents reported in Japan.

Sony said a limited number of the TVs might contain a component that could overheat and ignite inside the set, causing the upper casing to melt.

"To date, there have been no reports of any damage to other property or physical injuries," the company added.

The affected televisions were manufactured in 2007 and 2008 and were mostly sold in Europe and the US.

The model numbers that have been named so far are: KDL-40D3400, KDL-40D3500, KDL-40D3550, KDL-40D3660, KDL-40V3000, KDL-40W3000, KDL-40X3000 and KDL-40X3500. though other model numbers may be added in time.

Sony advises people who own one of these sets to take it to their nearest Sony service centre for a free inspection and, if necessary, a free repair.

Owners of Sony TVs can check the model number of their set by looking at the label on the back.

"If you own one of the products mentioned above and if you notice any abnormality (e.g. unusual noise, unusual smell or smoking), please turn it off immediately, unplug the power cable, stop using the TV, and contact us," Sony said.

"We have confirmed that this symptom does not occur when power is switched off."

It added: "In the unlikely event that you are affected by the issues above, we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause."

http://news.sky.com/home/business/article/16087554

grizzly

That's a lot of TVs. Sony really seems to be slipping in the QA front.

homer911

"We have confirmed that this symptom does not occur when power is switched off."


I love it!

Sam Russell

What a shame. My TV is not on the list. I was hoping for a new one to replace it FOC.:mad:

It has taken 3 or 4 years for them to notice.

Sponge Bob

evilivor wrote: »

The model numbers are: KDL-40D3400, KDL-40D3500, KDL-40D3550, KDL-40D3660, KDL-40V3000, KDL-40W3000, KDL-40X3000 and KDL-40X3500.

I understand there are other models affected, 2007-2009 era 40 inch ones in the main. Try finding out what the part number is that they are replacing and consult the service manual for your own model.

No recall has been issued outside of Japan.

Yet!

OldPeculier

Must check the model number when I get home but I've a 40 inch Bravia from that era. My heart jumped there for a moment thinking I might get an updated replacement rather than a free repair:-), ah well.

evilivor

Sponge Bob wrote: »

I understand there are other models affected, 2007-2009 era 40 inch ones in the main. Try finding out what the part number is that they are replacing and consult the service manual for your own model.

Yes, apparently they will be issuing model numbers by region - I'll edit my post above to include that.

coylemj

Now we know where Dali got his inspiration...

Sponge Bob

Sony had the exact same problem ( melting) with their Grand WEGA models before they released the so far admittedly dodgy Bravias. They even admitted in court that a Sony is only designed to last 7 years....long story and readable here

http://www.ecoustics.com/electronics/forum/home-video/137540.html

also see specific site on sony 'optical block' and melting components issues which is here

http://sites.google.com/site/sonylcdrptvproblems/

Note

http://sites.google.com/site/sonylcdrptvproblems/lamp-overheating-issue

Sony has issued four warranty extensions for this issue, which they have restricted to arguably obscure notices on their support web site. The fourth notice, which was released in March of 2011, extended the coverage through 3/31/2012. Sony refers to the defect as "warping of the lamp access door," and they claim that damage to other components is rare, and that "...this issue has been evaluated extensively and...there are no product safety concerns." However, pictures I have seen do not seem to be consistent with these claims. Damage to components other than the lamp access door seem common, which is not surprising since the lamp and reflector actually face away from the door. In addition, some pictures show relatively extensive damage to the interior of the TV, including burnt wires, which raises safety concerns, as well as damage to a TV stand directly under the lamp area.

Sony's warranty extension states: "Sony will repair the lamp access door and any other components damaged as a result at no charge for any of the covered televisions." When the issue was first identified, a repair kit was apparently provided by Sony to repair technicians, which reportedly included a replacement lamp access door, three replacement fans (presumably for enhanced cooling), and a revised thermal switch (presumably to shut down the TV at a lower overheat temperature).

Unfortunately, in apparent contradiction to their own warranty, federal warranty law, and other laws requiring availability of replacement parts (see details below), beginning around October of 2009 or earlier, Sony began telling at least some customers that they would not or could not repair their TVs, and that they should pay Sony for a discounted replacement TV instead. Interestingly, the alert on the Sony Canada web site only refers to getting a discount off another Sony TV.

In some cases, Sony claimed that they were out of the repair kits. In other cases, Sony claimed that the heat damage was too severe to repair. In many cases, customers have both an optical block problem and the melting issue, which is not surprising since heat is a contributing factor to optical block failure. Adding insult to injury, in some of these latter cases, Sony apparently justified their position that the TV was not repairable by citing the optical block problem, as opposed to physical heat damage to parts.

Regardless of any of the above claims, I believe US laws require that, if Sony is unwilling or unable to repair your TV free of charge, they must replace it with another reasonably equivalent TV free of charge (e.g., equivalent size and features, although it could be a refurbished model). See the legal information below for reference.

Sponge Bob

The Following Models have been added to the models listed by Evilivor above , source = Sony themselves.

http://esupport.sony.com/perl/news-item.pl?news_id=441&template_id=1&region_id=1

Models: KDL-40VL130, , KDL-40WL135, KDL-40XBR4, and KDL-40XBR5

EU Support website is down right now

http://sorry.sony-europe.com/