Unhappy with Vizio TV Service

[Bobby McCarley]

After doing extensive research for a good product and a company that stands behind their product, I bought a 42" VIZIO. BIG,BIG,BIG MISTAKE. As far a quality of picture and features it is a good TV. But, after a lighting strike caused a problem with the TV, I called to get some help. I wasn't asking for them to replace the TV because it clearly states in the warranty coverage that acts of GOD are not covered. All I needed was help getting the TV looked at so I could get it fixed or if not repairable, replaced under homeowners insurance. After almost an hour on the phone, I was informed that they don't provide that type of support. The repair company they referred me to only deals with warranty issue. That's about the dumbest thing I have ever heard of. Well, I will never waste my money on another VIZIO product and if anyone on here has a VIZIO product, you better hope that nothing ever happens to it that is not covered under warranty and you better never, never, never let your warranty end and be prepared to spend a lot of money repeatedly for extended warranty coverage. With there type of mindset I truly believe that anyone would play heck even getting warranty issues covered. They will find some way around it.

[Chuck Wintle]

that is the world of consumer electronics...there is very little margin on the sale so after sales service is poor....and that goes for all brands. probably you will need to suck it up and buy another tv but add a surge suppressor to the line input.

[Charlie Reals]

ours is a disposable world, easier to replace than repair. Warranty's have never been worth any more than the paper they are written on.

[Chuck Wintle]

ours is a disposable world, easier to replace than repair. Warranty's have never been worth any more than the paper they are written on.

Charlie,

the world will be overwhelmed by the amount of stuff thrown out every day....has society gone downhill that much?

[Charlie Reals]

Charlie,

the world will be overwhelmed by the amount of stuff thrown out every day....has society gone downhill that much?

Chuck
I would say yes. along the same lines. I send a lot of stuff to our guys overseas as do a million other folks. Can you imagine how big the pile of pogey bait wrappers and spam containers is. Monumental garbage pile in Afghanistan.
But yes I think we are there.

[Phil Thien]

Unless there was substantial other damage from the lightning strike (like panel and/or wiring), I'd avoid making any claims on your homeowners. The adage these days is "use it and lose it."

If there is extensive damage, talk to the adjuster. They will probably cough up for a new TV.

[Dan Hintz]

On a 42" screen (especially a low-margin Vizio), you will always be much cheaper purchasing another TV than repairing lightning damage.

[Larry Frank]

I would be interested if you had a surge protector on the TV. All of my electronics are protected by high end surge protectors and the computer is protected with a UPS.

My worst problem with power damage came when someone drove off the road and through a power pole 2 miles away. I had a lot of stuff fried but nothing on a surge protector. It took out the conrtol circuitry for my whirlpool, popped every GFCI in the house, and a bunch of other stuff. I found out from the insurance that I was relatively lucky as many people lost TVs and electronics. Of course, the driver had very little insurance and I ended up having to pay out my deductible. Luckily, this type of damage is covered by my insurance.

[Bryan Morgan]

I think this is normal for all modern electronics. Line6, a company that makes guitar effects and amplifiers is about the same. I had a little pocket pod that I dropped onto carped and the screen cracked. My fault, I don't mind paying for a repair. I tried to get parts and nobody would help. I contacted Line6 and they said to contact their authorized repair places. I contacted all of them and they all told me I had to contact Line6 first. I contact Line6 and they say they don't help directly so I have to use the authorized repair places. I'M WILLING TO PAY FOR THE FIX!! The economy is in shambles and people don't want to work for money... amazing. Thankfully Digitech has always been good to me.

[Bobby McCarley]

Larry, yes I had the TV on a surge protector. I believe that is the only reason the TV wasn't completely fried. Surge protectors only provide a limited amount of protection from surges. A direct lightning strike is almost impossible to protect from.

I am more than willing to "PAY" to have the TV repaired if it can be. My beef with VIZIO is their complete and total lack of willingness to assist in getting the TV looked at to see if it can even be repaired. I would think that a certified VIZIO repairman would be better able to repair the TV than someone who is not familiar with their products. Their attitude is if it's not something covered under their warranty, then you are on your own, "They have their money, and that is all they are concerned about it."

[Curt Harms]

It's probably an impossible task but if you kept the receipt for the surge protector, surge protectors oftentimes come with a "if your device is plugged into our surge protector and gets fried, we'll replace it up to $xxxx". 'Course they may have impossible-to-meet standards of proof that their device failed.

[John Shuk]

Unfortunately, when you pay that low initial price, you are proclaiming your acceptance of a given companies business practices. It would be nice to be pleasantly surprised, but you shouldn't count on surprises.

[Dave Lehnert]

Unless an electronic item is under warranty almost nothing gets fixed. Just to get an estimate you can be in the hole 25% of the cost of new. They probably don't know how to help with an out of warranty issue. Anytime I had an extended warranty issue, they just replaced it. Only time a repair was done was on larger more expensive equipment.

[Rich Lester]

If you're somewhat inclined most of the newer flat screens aren't that hard to repair. Even if you take it to a shop they won't get down to the nitty-gritty of repairing individual components on a circuit board. The just figure out which one is causing the problem and replace it. That being said, I have an older Vizio, one of their first ones, which had a problem of shutting off randomly. It was out of warrenty so I did a little internet research and found that I wasn't the only one having the problem. I was able to download the service manual for the TV and figure out which circuit board was the culpret. Another internet search and I found a company willing to sell me the board, $187.00 plus shipping and return of the old board. The TV has been working fine for the past two years. So, a $187 investment in a TV that originally cost me about $1200 isn't a bad deal, and now the kids use it for their game system. Not all repars may be as easy as mine was with the research I did but it doesn't hurt to do a little investgation to save a few bucks.

[Trevor Howard]

Unfortunately, when you pay that low initial price, you are proclaiming your acceptance of a given companies business practices. It would be nice to be pleasantly surprised, but you shouldn't count on surprises.

I would second this advice. Most Surge protector company say they will cover up to several thousand $$$'s

Your mentioning of Visio reminded me of the only time I have dealt with their product. A friend of mine had one of their computers (purple color), her CD player went bad. She called Visio and was quoted $250 for a new one. I told her I had several laying around (at this time I was building Computers) and would see what I could do. I also told her I would upgrade her to win 98. CD install was fine, I changed the front cover so it was purple, and started installing win 98. I spent a week trying to get the drivers for all their propriety components. Finally got it done, and gave it back. I get a phone call the next day from her, would I install the new CD player from Visio when it comes, I asked her what was wrong....wait for it.....
"I don't like how the drawer is white when I open the CD player"