Screen Fault Issue (V, W & X series, e.g. KDL40X****, KDL46X****, KDL40W4***, KDL46W4**)

[leonintelex]

This problem is much bigger than intially anticipated,  it appears that it is present in a large amount of Sony TV's released in 2007.

To help Sony customers and keep them up to date on the situation I have decided to do a separate thread where people can post updates.   I will update it as further news comes in.

Q+A's - Grey lines on Sony TV's

What is the problem?
Grey Dark Lines that appear on these models after a period of 2-3 years, these lines get worse over time.

Which Models are affected?

V, W & X series, e.g. KDL40X****, KDL46X****, KDL40W4***, KDL46W4**

How many people are affected by this:?

Up to now I have found over 90 people who are all reporting this problem.

What is Sony's current stance on this manufacturing fault?

Intially Sony will request that you pay £80 for the TV to be looked at,  if it turns out that the TV is a manufacturing fault then they may decide to fix or replace it at that point.

Currently they are offering no reassurance that:

A: You will not be left footing the bill

B: You will not loose your £80

C: This is indeed a manufacturing fault

😧 You will not be left without any TV for more than 4 weeks

Is it just Sony TV's that are affected by this fault?

No Toshiba TV's are also affected however Toshiba offer either an immediate replacement or an uplift for credit

Gosh, you are persistent what do you plan to do?

At the moment I am hoping that Sony take a similar stance to Toshiba and try to recitify this problem so customers feel a little less cheated.    I feel the way that Sony have treated the customers is completley unfair and unlawful.

I am currently trying to get together a group of people who suffer this same issue to show Sony how widespread this problem is.

Will you ever be happy?

Yes, I am just like everyone else who feels somewhat short changed by Sony.  I bought the TV in 2007 for over £1000 and less that 2 years later it goes kaput.  I have now been fighting this since 12 months ago and as  yet still have not had a positive response.    As I was one of the early adopters of this model it appears more and more people are realising this problem,  it seems that the problem is a lot more widespread then intially thought.

Please feel free to post any updates,  thoughts, feelings on this thread.  Sony moderators, if you do have any additional information other that what we have told already then please post.

To be fair to Sony any new information will be updated and I will regularly update this post with anything new.

Please try to resolve this for me and the many other people with this problem.

Update - April 2011:

Thanks to  Lee, I have now spoken to Sony and they have offered a resolution to my  problem and I happy that it is now nearly at an end.

The  new procedure is 10 times better than when I first put the complaint in  last June (which is where most of my problems arose).   Things have  changed considerably since then and Sony was a lot more helpful this  time round. 

If  you are having these problems pick up the phone and give them a chance  to try and resolve it,  yes you may have to pay for the TV to be looked  at (approx £65) but this is to eliminate any problems that may not be  down to a manufacturing fault.

Up  until this I was under the impression that Sony were a faceless  corporate who did not care about their customers.  I now feel I was  under the wrong impression and a number of people who work for Sony do  really care about customer concerns.

Message was edited by: leonintelex - Added further information.

Message was edited by: leonintelex - Complaint now resolved

Message was edited by: leonintelex

[strummer61]

This needs a Facebook campaign or twitter

Everybody should know about this.

[judgejules11]

I have owned a kdl46v3000 for 2.5 years for about the last 3 months have developed a dark shadow on the screen ,the tv cost about £1200 i am very dissapointerd with it i havent cotacted sony yet but reading some of these comments makes me think i should do .Do any of your screens look like this.

Message was edited by: judgejules11

[clooless]

Yes my Sony too,dark shadows with the added flickering lines too,cost me a cool £1000 just over two years ago,can anyone from sony advise if it fixable,if not advise whether to avoid sony tv products again, If its a general basic fault with these models sony should replace or fix,all other tvs I updated not because they broke down on me.

[Artonox]

Im pretty sure i'm not the only one who was "lurking" in the background for the whole time. Basically, I have the exact same problem as all the others here (w4500 owner here). I bought my TV 2 years and a bit ago (somewhere in December), but now currently do not have the receipt. Whilst i'm sure its the screens fault and of no fault of my own, im not sure of the total cost that may arise - im talking money and time.

For instance, I know that I now need to accept (even though i somewhat disagree) that it will cost £80 for them to look at it, but would they come to pick it up or do I have to take it them myself?

Then after they have looked at and suppose it was the same fault as everyone here, what will they do next? Ask you to pay an extra £500 to fit a new screen? How long will the total procedure take? Then if its fixed, what if it breaks down again in a further 2 years time? How can they ensure that this won't happen again?

There are many questions left unanswered, and im skeptical to go in blindly with £80 lost without knowing what the whole procedure is like. My dad just tells me to buy a whole new non-sony tv, but i feel that something could be done. Any help is appreciated.

@leonintelex,

Hi, would it be possible to outline what sony have done to help fix your problem? All I see is that all is well and good all of a sudden?

[strummer61]

Artonox

Send a PM to StartTheCar, he will help you.

If you can remember which retailer you bought from, they will have proof of purchase.  Or look in your Credit Card bills or call them.

Many on here have TVs 2 years & older, all with same or similar faults.

[Artonox]

Thanks,

I have pmed Startthecar.

Hopefully, I could get the answers I need.

[mattclarkie1]

After some back and fourth with Domestic and General and Sony I have a free inspection tomorrow at my March 2008 46X3500 that cost me £2500. Thankfully I purchased through an approved retailer who gave the 5year warranty or I think I would have had more problems.

I highly doubt they will have the parts required for a repair, and I hope Sony don't suggest stupid models as replacements, the EX5 seems to be a common model that Sony give customers.

[BOBMorg]

i'm glad i've found this site.i've had the same problem about 3months,i had an engineer look at it and was told "i think it's the screen".i'll be on the phone to sony.thanks for the info.

[ollie101]

I've been having the problem many of you are having too, ive been battling sony and comet who are both useless but i will give this a try...any more advice ? ive already paid comet £70 to look at it to tell me what i already know lol.

[mattclarkie1]

Sony seem to think a 46ex503 is a fitting replacement for my 46X3500. It is obvious Sony are trying to get rid of the old ex503 stock that is floating around, and the 2010 entry level Sony models were riddled with faults (banding .etc.) so nobody is going to be buying them with the 2011 models just released.

Not pleased Sony, and I will not be letting this drop.