Samsung forum: Extremely bad luck w/ Samsung LCD HDTV?

Joetorious,

I apologize for not responding earlier. I took a better portion of yesterday off, so I'm catching up today.

Anything that is outside of warranty is subject to out of pocket expenses. I totally appreciate your evangelism of our product, and would like to help, but unfortunately I don't have the ability to do that. The only resolution for an out of warranty repair would be Samsung's ECR (Executive Consumer Relations) Department. You can reach them at 800-SAMSUNG and ask for the ECR Department (You will need a transaction number) and request a review of the situation. It's not a decision I'm allowed to make, and I'm unable to provide a diagnosis without inspecting the unit.

--HDTech

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we have had our tv about 2 yrs...bought as floor model from sears for $1300...checked all the forums & have foun alot of the same problem with this model...wwe also did not take the ext warranty...I took the tv apart & checked the power board..we have power out of the board...back light works...could be main board or flat panel...samsung also told us there is no warranty at this time...still weighing options on whether to try home fix or take unit to repair shop...btw,wife went & bought new samsung lcd 1080I from sears with ext warranty

I've had the same issue with this TV, screen just all of a sudden goes black. Just got off the phone with Samsung customer service. Since my TV is out of warranty, of course there is nothing that they can do. The T-Con board in this model lasts about 2-3 years. I have been the owner of 6 Samsung TVs and will never buy one again. It is a bad design that causes these boards to overheat and die yet Samsung will not stand behind their product. Very disappointing. Going shopping for anything but a Samsung this weekend.

I had the same EXACT problem occur to my Samsung LNS4692DX/XAA yesterday that Joisterous describes above. I had considered paying for the TV to be fixed, but then saw many comments similar to yours.

Based on Samsung's "high and mighty" reply, I'm done with your brand.
Your response is arrogant and dismissive. You don't do this to loyal customers. You don't tell them that your product is no longer warrantied, and "go ahead and break out your wallet, sucker".

What you are saying is that your TV's are essentially "disposable". If they break, chuck 'em!

I paid a hard-earned $1799 for your product in OCT 2006 and now you are telling me that I need to pay half of its value after 3.5 years to fix a problem? No, Samsung. You should fix this problem at your own cost.

You have lost me forever as a customer, Samsung. This is no way to treat your customers.

@henballs (wow, I feel weird typing that)-

On one hand, I'm sorry to hear your TV is now as worthless as mine. On the other, hopefully this issue is wide spread enough that a near-future recall is inevitable. If you make any progress through Samsung's customer service, please let me know.

FWIW, I bought the aforementioned LG 55-inch as a replacement. Unless Samsung does a complete 180 on its stance on my TV's status, I feel compelled to go to Best Buy for an hour or two each night for the next year or so to tell potential buyers about my story (I certainly won't pursuade them not to buy Samsung, but will gladly offer my experience and opinions).

@kastytis1 -

Thanks for letting me know about that thread; I'll definitely track it. Hopefully we (and others) can get a fair resolution from the largest player in the game - that's not asking much, is it?

Is there any kind of recourse at the state and federal levels we can take?

Someone with common sense works at Samsung...I have a choice between a labor warranty extension or the part warranty extension...

Unfortunately, the work has to be done by a certified tech who charges $150 to come out to the house and a minimum of $150 to fix the thing...

Since the major of the diagnosis is the control board (TCON Board), I managed to replace it myself and saved the diagnostic fees. Purchased the board on monday, came in on wednesday, and about 1.5 hours to replace the board.

How long is the extended warranty on new part? Will it be covered if it fails two years later like the original? Best of luck to everyone.

I've finally decided that I don't have the necessary tools to properly diagnose my problem, so I've arranged for the local authorized service outfit (HD Connection in San Diego) to come around. I'll post the outcome. I've mentioned before I have a suspicious capacitor on the main board but my symptoms seem more related to the inverters so I've decided not to guess.

Is the tcon board the same as the power supply or main board. The board I replaced is BN94-00700A! I didn't have any recognizable capacitor failures and I intend to replace all the capacitors on the old board as mentioned in previous posts so as to have a backup. However, I am confused as to which parts to replace. Please list the part number that you are speaking of with the T-con board? Also, it appears that I have backlight based on several threads describing the backlight failures but is the inverter different?

Thanks for the part number. I had found the same one. Let you know if it works. The instructions are perfect. Thanks for all the help. No thanks so Samsung....crooks!

I've had my 52" 650 for 1 1/2 years now and it needs it's second repair. It's rediculous to pay a premium price (well over $2000 in my case) and then have to pay another $600+ a year to keep it running. (The tech who 'fixed' it the first time under warranty ((3 days after getting it..!)) said it was about a $600 repair) Have no idea what it will cost to repair this time.
I'm waiting until I cool off a bit before contacting Samsung although I doubt they are going to be of any help even though this is something that seems to be an ongoing problem....turning on and off and associated problems.
Samsung appears to be the Toyota of TV's...!
As for suggestions:
Take the word Samsung out of your vocabulary and definitely OFF the shopping list.
Tell EVERYBODY you can corner for a few minutes about the junk you own.
Splatter every blog and forum you can find about experiences with Samsung.
I like to fish and I'm thinking the 2 screw holes on the back can be rigged so this TV can be used for what it would do best...a boat
anchor...!

Samsung USED to make good quality products....They don't anymore.
I've bought an LCD t.v. and an LED monitor that both broke...what are the chances of that?
The t.v. broke a little over 2 years after I bought it and the monitor broke 4 months after I bought it.
Don't advocate a company that sells crap.

My LN46A630M1FXZA shows a three inch vertical band of color distortion after two years and a few days, diagnosed as bad contacts on one of the thirteen amps integrated in the display. New display = $500, shipping and install > $200 = Junk. Forget help from Samsung, tech says Chinese-made displays are all failing within 2 to 3 years. Samsung is one of the leaders in this planned obsolescence, but all Mfrs. are playing the game. Guess it's plasma time, and it sure won't be anything Samsung.

After reading enough other cases from Samsungs dieing from inferior parts, we avoided Samsung, although I must confess was still tempted by the newer models. We actually went for plasma this time, as the do better on fast motion scenes, and the colour depth is unbelievable.