Saturday, June 6, 2009

Follow-up from creator of Panasonic Plasma Fail

{This message was posted on 9/7/09}

I created this blog approximately two months ago after my Panasonic Plasma TV crashed and started displaying the blinking lights of death. Just wanted to post a follow-up message for people who are encountering this problem.

After several calls to Panasonic, I reached a technical support worker who recognized the "seven blinking lights" problem. Even though my television was no longer on warranty, they agreed to send out a repair person to look at the problem. According to the Panasonic representative, the problem might have been caused by a defective part. In this case, the repair person would fix the television set free of charge. However, if the blinking lights problem were caused by any other sort of failure, the repair person would give me an estimate on the cost of repairs.

When the repair person arrived, they confirmed that the problem was caused by a failed circuit board that was known to be defective. They swapped in a new board, and fixed the television set free of charge.

For everyone else who is encountering this problem, I have a few suggestions:

(1) Please be sure to post your experiences on this blog. Even though my television set was fixed, it is clear that many other people are suffering from this problem. Eventually, if there is a class action suit, this blog can be a useful tool for reaching out to Panasonic consumers who have encountered the seven blinking lights of death.

(2) Even if your television set's warranty has expired, you should call Panasonic and calmly insist that they fix the problem free of charge. Be persistent, and be sure to mention the many Internet postings from other disgruntled customers.

Although my initial encounters with Panasonic technical support were frustrating, I have to admit that they did fix the problem. It took almost two months, and we had to buy a new replacement set in the meantime, but Panasonic ultimately took responsibility for fixing the problem.

For those of you who are still struggling with a broken television set, best of luck in your efforts to seek a solution from Panasonic. If you manage to get Panasonic to fix your set -- or if they fail to step up and solve the problem -- please post the results of your efforts here.

Good luck everyone!