40H80 died, $700 to fix (1 Viewer)

[Brian Glaeske]

A couple of weeks ago, by Toshiba 40H80 mysteriously turned itself off, then in a couple of seconds it turned itself back on again.

This is very similar to the to the "Power Reset" problem that others have experienced; BUT my TV had a 1 inch black bar, about 3 from the botton of the screen in Full mode, and other little back lines about 1/8 inch high and 3 inches long around other parts of the screen.

So I take my TV to the authorized services center, and they tell me that I need the main board replaced and it'll be about $700.

Is this price normal? Has anyone else experienced a problem like this?

Thanks,

Brian G.

 

[Rod Melotte]

How old is the set - just curious!

 

[Jack Briggs]

Since the 40H80 was a 2001 model, it can't be more than a year old. As for the price, that sure sounds steep--but not surprising.

 

[Dave H]

Isn't it under some kind of warranty still?

 

[Brian Glaeske]

I got it December 2000, so it is about 1 yr 4 months old.

I purchased it using a Platinum Mastercard with a warranty doubling feature (aka insurance). They should pay for all of it.

Brian G.

 

[Pete Gitta]

I would definetly get a second opinion. The shop you took it to sound like slugs to me. It is never neccessary to replace a main board unless a catastrophic failure burned many components, or the board is so inexpensive it's not worth the labor of repair. Replacement is the easy way out, and the mark of inexperienced technicians.

A good repair shop should be able to obtain the proper schematic, and repair the defective component. Most of the time the type of problem you describe is caused by a defective transistor or capacitor, or even a bad solder joint. The parts are only a few dollars, but the labor will cost.

$700 is stupid. Look for an $85.00 to $200 range.

 

[Brian Glaeske]

Pete, I would love to get a second opinion. However, the place I went is the ONLY authorized Toshiba repair shop in town and for a 200 mile radius.

They get you in a small town.

I talked to them today. It is "only" about $500 for the parts and $170 for the labor.

Brian

 

[Steve Berger]

Unfortunately some of the ICs in digital circuits are BGA chips (ball grid array) and are so sensitive to heat that any soldering on the board breaks the connections , destroying the board,forcing replacement. Another possibility is that it uses a Texas Instrument (or similarly licensed ) chipset and they are forbidden by trade secret rules to allow field repair. This occurred a few years ago first with Dolby and then SRS audio circuits.

A call to Toshiba's consumer relations department would be my next step , any responsible compant should stretch their coverage for this type of problem on a "state of their art" machine.

 

[Brian Glaeske]

Just a quick update, or lack of update...
The board that my 40H80 needs is back ordered with no ETA. I'm assuming that this is probably the main logic board which they say needs to be replaced.
If I called Toshiba do you think I could get a real answer on the status of these boards, or just a run around?
The TV broke on the 28th of Februrary so it's been a long time without my baby
Brian G.

 

[Niranjan]

I think that if you called toshiba you would just get the run around. What you can do it is bitch about it to them and maybe they will refund your money and take the tv back, this was the case when my RCA 61"s color tube died first they told me a week, then it became 6 months, so called em up and they told us they would give us our money back in exchange for the tv. Good Luck

 

[ace peterson]

I called Toshiba the other day asking about their warranties with their hdtv's and I was told 1 year. However, the lady also said most cases they are willing to work with you upto 2 years as long as you have the receipt and bought from an authorized dealer. So, if you haven't done so already I would call them up.

1-800-631-3811

 

[Brian Glaeske]

I got a warranty concession from Toshiba after calling them. That was very nice of Toshiba. Thanks to all that suggested it.

Well another update on this saga. The repairshop finally called me on 4/15 and said that the TV was fixed and it was ready for pickup. Needless to say I rushed over and picked it up. I got it into the house and the first thing I noticed was that the top surfaces near the corner had a 1 in. gash in it like someone dropped something heavy on it. That doesn't upset me too much, but I plug it in and turn it on...

It is broken exactly has it was when I left it with the repairshop. I guess part of the service doesn't actually include verification that it works (or they have a funny definition of working). So I take it back the next day and I give them a call a couple of days later. Their response is that it needs yet another part and the ETA on that part is the end of May.

I then proceed to call Toshiba and this time I ask for a new TV. Well their policy is that this is only an option for something that is truly within the warranty period. The person blames the events of 9/11 on why it takes over a month for parts to ship from oversees. Fine, I can wait more.

Well here it is June 3rd and no word from the repairshop. Give them a call. There is a new ETA on the part...

THE END OF JUNE MAYBE JULY!

I immediately call Toshiba and demand a new TV or the part in the next two weeks. Again same runaround about it not in warranty. I get the name and address of someone to write a letter to in hopes that this will work better than talking to phone people.

Any more ideas?

Brian G

 

[Tony Meconiates]

buy a new TV - not toshiba.

Sell the Toshiba in July when it gets fixed.

I would be pissed as hell if I were you and I would probably never buy toshiba ever again.

 

[Robert P. Jones]

All the horror stories I've heard over the past few years have been 99% Toshiba.

I have also seen it, out in the field, with one TW65H80 crapping out on us in the middle of an all-day calibration, at dinner. We came back from dinner and tried to turn on the set, and it simply would not go on!

And again in another place on the unit - the HD convergence went out several days after a very high precision convergence had been tweaked on it by me, and which had worked flawlessly for that several days. This was on the second go round, nearly a year later. And I was flown from CA to Texas for both events, on the same unit!

As a bigscreen service/repair tech, I am not excited about the repair record or potential of Toshiba, since repairing them is usually not an easy task either, like it is - much more straightforwardly - with the Mits's.

Just a side note, the Mits 80803 - one of their entry-level HDreadys, from first year out - had a 4 layer board in it, which when hit with leaked coolant, HAD to be replaced. When a 4 layer board is involved, you just chuck it - send it back for your core charge. Too many things can be wrong inside, at that point.

Mr Bob

 

[Jack Briggs]

Bob, are you finding that Toshibas as a rule tend to have reliability problems, or are you simply saying that when a Tosh does go down, it does so spectacularly and expensively? Curious. A Tosh RPTV may be in my future. Thanks. JB

 

[Robert P. Jones]

Both, unfortunately for you in the future. I'm afraid that I would not support that move, nor encourage you to. I'd shy away, or make sure you get a screamin' deal, so you can have extra money to pay for anything that might go wrong.

Mr Bob

 

[Juan_R]

I had a problem with my Tosh 65H80 and Toshiba replaced it with a 65HX81. But when I was talking to the repair guy about getting my money back and purchasing a Mits he told me to stick with the Tosh. He said that Mits service and parts were the worst of the bunch.

All I am saying here is that this was what he told me, I asked him how long he had been in the business and he said almost 20 years. He did mention that the best service and parts are provided by Pioneer and that would be his first choice with Toshiba coming in second.

 

[Arthur S]

Brian

In 1990 I bought a Toshiba 32" tube set with built in line-doubling. Overall, I was pleased with it, even though it could not manage a true black level. At the time, that set came with a 3 year warranty. Several months after the 3 years was up, color disappeared, only black and white.

This set was so unusual that the service man had no clue what was going on. So it had to be taken to the authorized repair center. After 3-4 days, I was told that the main circuit board (they called it the mother board) had a bad chip. The chip could not be replaced. I would need an entire new board. Price $1,000.

I considered this absurd and started calling Toshiba headquarters. Working my was up the chain of command, I eventually got Toshiba to buy back the set for 60% of the $2,200 I paid for it.

Boy was I surprised when a full size moving van showed up to pick it up.

The sets were still available but for much less than I originally paid. I was sorely tempted but the possibility of another problem after a few years, and my desire for a set that could deliver deep black kept me away.

Instead, I bought a ProScan 35" with built in line doubling. That set is now about 8 years old and has never faltered.

It is a shame that you have to fight so hard to get a huge company like Toshiba to do the right thing.

For what it is worth, I have heard (from a repair center that handles multiple brands, that Mitsubishi is the worst. Among other things, they do not want to pay the repair facility enough to cover their expenses.

This happens with all kinds of products, the company sets the amount the center will receive to complete the repairs. Nothing they can do except try to stop doing repair work for those companies.

Artie

 

[Robert P. Jones]

Virtually all warranty rates suck.

I have been a service repair tech for many years, more than 20, and my experience with Mit is completely the opposite. They have a tech assist dept. that is second to none. I can't count the times my ass has been saved out there, by being on the phone with them during a repair.

Their designs sometimes leave a lot to be desired, and mods come into play later, but their repairs are usually very straightforward; while with Tosh, if your set goes bad AT ALL, it's usually a doozer, involving lots of downtime before being finally fixed.

Mr Bob

 

[Michael Silla]

Mr Bob,

How do you rate the Hitachi's for repairs and service?. I'm a new owner of a 53UWX10B and just convinced a buddy to purchase a 53UDX. Both of us purchased a 3 year extended warranty.

Thanks,

Michael.