I have a Sony Bravia KLV-40U100M LCD Television. After about a year, I started having a problem where the TV will just randomly shut down while I was watching a program, and then it will start back up a little bit later around 30 seconds later. It is and always has been on a surge protector. There doesn't seem to be a pattern where it happens aftre a certain amount of time. Sometimes it is after 5 minutes sometime after a few hours, sometimes it doesn't happen at all. It is getting frustrating. Does any one have any idea why this might be happening??
SteveZ,
I've had my Sony Bravia KLV-40U100M for about a year. But the on and off problem started months ago. I thought at first it was something to do with the cable signal, but now that I've started looking on the web, it seems this TV HAS THIS PROBLEM. When the tech was out before, he said they could change some board in it and it would help. Fortunately, I have an extended warranty. I'll be calling them tomorrow--10/30--and I hope I get satisfaction. I have a 32" Sony Bravia KDL series in my bedroom that has NEVER had this problem.
Stay tuned. I paid an f-load for these TVs, and it's very distressing to hear that this may be some sort of lemon/unfixable situation. I am going to do my best not to let Sony get away with this. I'm pretty shocked, because they have always been the best.
Good luck--trish_pacific
trish_pacific - Every television ever made by every manufacturer has had their common defects. Only after a tv gets into the field and 1000's of them are made, will the subtle flaws in the design show its self, a certain percentage of these tv's will have a problem that technicians will see over and over again, and will label the problem a common problem. i have seen a tv 6 months old fail, and i have seen that same model of television work for 12 years without a hitch.
SteveZ - Does the led in front of the set blink when it shuts down. If so can you count the blinks?
To zapbdf--yeah, and??? One expects that Sony will not produce a lemon model.
SteveZ--I don't have an LED in front of my set unless you mean the green power light. And no, it doesn't blink. The tech support on my contract is coming tomorrow to replace the board in question.
Yes, sometimes the LED does blink. I can try to count the blinks next time it happens, but it happens so irrigularly that it may be a while before it happens again. Sometimes it shuts down for 5 seconds sometimes for a minute or more.
I have a 40" Sony Bravia KLV-40U100M LCD HD Monitor purchased from HH Greg in 8/06. It worked and looked great for about 10 months. 2 months ago the problems began. Seemingly at random, the screen goes black and the power light turns off. It might go out for 5 seconds or so then comes back on. It does this repeatedly no matter how long the TV has been on. At first it was annoying, now it's gotten worse to where its unwatchable as the T.V. can be off for almost a day now. I've tried it in different outlets as well and it doesnt fix it. Also, I have plugged other things into those outlets to make sure there is sufficient power supply (X-box, used computer cord etc) and all other equipment works fine. The bad news is It's not under warrenty and I am trying to get a technician to come to the house. The problem now is the T.V. is not starting period! My question is does anyone no what the problem is with this Sony Bravia so I don't get overcharged by the technician? Thank You and I really hope to get a response.
Jman12--the TV you have is the TV we're all talking about. The main board of your TV needs to be replaced--I'm waiting for mine now. Fortunately, I bought an extended warranty--but if I hadn't, I'd be on Sony's butt about this. I have no idea how much the technicians cost, nor how much my A board costs, since they are covered. Frankly, I think Sony should issue a recall on the TV. My 32" Sony Bravia, bought at the same time, but a different model has no such problem. Sony has a reputation we've all been working under, and they need to know that these problems are going to impact their great big market share. I think you can make a strong case to them anyway that the problem started when you were still under warranty. Good luck, and let me know what happens. Even though I'm covered, I'm going to call Sony about this at some point in the not to distant.
trish_pacific
Jman12 when it shuts down one of the led's in front of the set will blink can you give me a blink code? it will be a repating pattern.
I looked up this tv and you only have two boards in it either "A" board or "G" board. These flat pannel tv's require board replacement so troubleshooting is prity quick and easy. whatever is wrong with your set is limited to "G" board , "A" board, lvds cable, or the pannel it's self. There are other small boards but they are switch boards and things like that but they never usaly have any problems.
Ok now it has been 2 days and the flatscreen does not even turn on. It's difficult to count the blinks because the T.V. isn't starting. There should definately be a recall as this T.V.'s obviously defective. I think I will even show the technician this site so hopfully the price will go down. Well thanks for helping me everyone and I am glad I found out that it is either the A" board or the G" board causing the problem. Well I better enjoy reading now as I don't have a working T.V.
AND CALL SONY, Jman12! I'm going to! Despite the "TVs break sometimes" attitude of some bloggers here, it is not okay to spend this much money for a TV and then have no recourse when you're completely screwed a year later.
I have been researching this TV all day for my in-laws who want to purchase it - is this not a good idea, or you think its just random???
Also any feedback on purchasing the warranty thru a 2nd party - i.e... extend4less.com??
Thanks,
becky
Thanks for calling! I think this model has a defect and if they don't recall it, then they really should replace the board at n/c.
trish_pacific - I think you mis-understand me. I deal with angry people all the time. and i can sympathize with them and you. But unfortunately it does not change the facts that i have stated above. There will always be a small percentage of people angry with sony or any other brand. When they have trouble with that newer television. Even to the point they will blame the retailer for selling it to them. I am just stating fact as i see it every day. I try to help people here with their broken tv's every day. I post entry’s here trying to help. I am not against you. Actually i am just trying to help. If not by actual advice on a repair, at least tell you like it is straight up. I was hoping that bit would help you see the real world of electronics as it really is out here sometimes it is not very pretty. The next sony you buy (if you ever buy one again) will probably work fine for 12 years. But that is the hit and miss in this world. As far as sony's reputation goes, your problem will not dent it, because i have seen angry people from back in the 80's who were just as mad as you were when there 6 month old set broke. Said the same thing about sony's reputation. But it obviously did not get to your ears back then. It is harder than you think for one or a few people to ruin a company’s reputation. If you call sony they usually will decide to extend your warranty to keep you happy, i have seen this hundreds of times before. This is the rule of thumb about this, if you complain to the service company about the tv breaking just outside of the warranty, the service company will try to get it extended, we have done this before, but the company will turn a deaf ear to us, it is best if the customer calls sony directly and complain, you guys get allot better results then we can.
I am a tv repair man, here is my advice on purchasing a tv, Don't buy the newest thing on the market. You don't know how well this tv will perform, nobody does until it gets about a year old, then you start to see the first signs of failure. If it is a brand new technology, Wait until they shake the bugs out. The first buyers of any new technology are setting themselves up as test subjects. I have seen the performance of televisions, i have my opinions as to which ones are on the most stable ground. In general the projection types seem to be more prone to problems like the dlp and projection lcd, mainly because of two factors, Dust and Lamps. Dust will accumulate inside of the light engines and cannot be cleaned out, it will cause blotchy patterns on the screen. Especially if you smoke, the smoke will yellow the picture very quickly. The lamps have to be changed on a regular basis, the lamp WILL fail you WILL have to replace the lamp, it is a given, they cost anywhere from 100-300 dollars depending on the tv. Direct view plasmas and lcd’s are so far the most stable that I have seen. Yes I have seen some failures, and when they fail they fail big. But when you compare the number we have sold to the number that have come in for service, the direct view right now is the winner. My next tv will be a direct view lcd or plasma.
As to this specific model i have no opinion as of yet. Obviously the people here feel it is a defective design. i would not say that, i really don't know at this point. There are tv's in the past that were real dogs, and have had allot of repair problems. but the panels in general seem to be doing pretty good.
One of the secrets is that even though models change the chassis will not change as much. TV's have a Model and a Chassis number. The chassis identifies the actual working component design. many times a company will keep the same chassis and only change the outside appearance and a few features and give it a different model number. They may also modify the chassis a little but once they find a good configuration they tend to stay with this for a while. so once you can identify a good performing chassis, most models with that chassis will work well. (there have been exceptions but as a rule of thumb it works quite well) Whenever a company explores new technology you see the chassis change allot. That is what I am seeing right now with the plasmas, and lcd’s and lcd projections. I don’t think they are done perfecting the design of these sets yet. The direct view lcd and plasmas seem to be getting allot of the engineering attention from what I see. Eventually I believe that is all that will be offered in the future. But that is just speculation.
I have a Sony Bravia KDLV32XBR2 purchased in late April 2007. Beginning around September the TV started having the random on and off problem. I hear a click and the screen goes blank for about 10 – 15 seconds and then comes back on. The green light stays on during most of the events but my wife reported one where she thought the green light went off before the set came back on. We have recorded the events and they are happening about once every other day. The events occurred at random times of the day. We replaced the surge protector because Sony thought that may be the problem. It wasn’t. The problem is getting worse we are calling the service center today.
Another note: We had a service support call on this problem and the technician did an external check for error codes but did not see any so left because the problem was so random. To Sony’s credit they had shipped the maintenance technician two boards and a power supply to replace if necessary. I guess we should have insisted they use them.
I have a Sony Bravia KDLV32XBR2 purchased in late April 2007. Beginning around September the TV started having the random on and off problem. I hear a click and the screen goes blank for about 10 – 15 seconds and then comes back on. The green light stays on during most of the events but my wife reported one where she thought the green light went off before the set came back on. We have recorded the events and they are happening about once every other day. The events occurred at random times of the day. We replaced the surge protector because Sony thought that may be the problem. It wasn’t. The problem is getting worse we are calling the service center today.
Another note: We had a service support call on this problem and the technician did an external check for error codes but did not see any so left because the problem was so random. To Sony’s credit they had shipped the maintenance technician two boards and a power supply to replace if necessary. I guess we should have insisted they use them.
Hi,
I researched buying a tv, went to get it and got switched into the Sony Bravia KLV-40U100M, the tunerless tv monitor.
I came home, googled the tv and foudn this site. I've read the posts and wonder, even if the board is replaced, why would it not go bad year after year? Not even an extended warranty will cover over 10 years which I think every tv should reach before it maybe has a glitch.
Anyone have any input? If it is a one time fix, I can still get an extended warranty.
Also, I was told the tv if found defective would be replaced w/ someone else's refurbished tv. I wonder about Sony. I did have one years ago that went after a year, got it fixed w/a warranty on the part for one year and don't you know it, that part died one year to the day!!!
Thanks,
Capri
Zapdbf,
I disagree, I do believe Sony's reputation is dented. I bought a Sony years ago that went bad in one years time. The replacement part which I paid for was guaranteed for 1 year. One year to the date, the replacement part died. I would not fix the tv again. I think the part was about $70+. I was not going to pay $70 to have the tv repaired every year. I think Sony is just a name, and that's it. It does not necessarily denote the quality of the tv.
As you mentioned, it takes time to see if the tv has quirks, so it really is best to get a time tested one.
-Capri
P.S. - If the repairman fixes what seems to be the problem, the "G" board, isn't that also defective like the one in the tv already which would lead then to yearly problems? The only other thing could be that the "G" board was revamped and I have a feeling it was not, especially since they discontinued the tv, why fix any parts problems?
-Capri
Since I've had the main board on my 40U100M replaced, things are BETTER--BUT there have already been a few incidents of brief turning on and off. Sony has sent me a letter saying how much they want me to give a good review to their tech service under my extended warranty! I have told them that the service was fine, but that they're selling a lemon and I won't buy one of their TVs again--since the more sanctimonious of the correspondents on this site tell us that these sets all suck and we'd better get used to shelling out $1500 every couple of years to get a new one. If I do have to replace the board again, I think I'll start a case with the California Consumer Protection office. Despite what Mr. Former TV Repairman says about sucking up the poor quality, I don't think this is any way to do business. Consumer Reports is unreliable as well, since they told me to buy Sony Bravia. I'm over them, too. Good luck, Capri!
I just purchased this set (40" model).
Is there an easy way to determin if i have the bad A or G board?
I did get the set for a great price ($400)!!! Although if the set is going to need some serious work in a year i might just unload it now while its new and make some $$!!
Thanks all!!
Ernie
Hi all. I'm using this TV as a monitor for my PC and it's quite ironic that just as I started to write this post... bam... the monitor went dead and restarted. It's been doing this for the last couple of days now and I must admit, it's not promising.
I for one, don't want to fork out for a TV that is only TWO years old. It's supposed to be state of the art - so why would it start dying now? I'm also no newcomer to technical problems as with one of my "state of the art" computers, the hardware just refused to work in unison, even though they were all "certified" and correctly combined. I digress...
The one thing that I've realised is, that the economy these days is based on two factors - consumer quality needs and consumer quantity needs. Now, once every one has a television we can assume that consumer quantity needs have been sated. New televisions come out and we want these because we're getting bored with our older versions. So consumer quality control is a recycling process. Now, what has happened in recent years is that consumer quantity needs have been re-established with the advent of controlled lifespans of hardware. Mobile phones, in particular the phone giant Nokia, employ this technology which means that after a predetermined period of time, the hardware will fail and the user will be forced to look for a replacement. It does not take a rocket scientist to realise that the warranties that are calculated for these products will not live past the lifespan of the hardware.
Take it as you will - I don't believe that every company uses the same tactics but I've seen a fair amount of contenders.
As for the TV - the only thing that I can do is call Sony and hope that it is still in warranty. There's no doubt that these TV's are excellent quality but that doesn't mean that next time I buy I'll be choosing the most marketed product out there.
Time tested technology is the best way to purchase any electronic device. It digs me that people always call for a re-call! We are not buying automobiles here people. These are not safety defects in a consumer product. These are the only reason companies are made to announce recalls. If there is a TV set you have that breaks down after only a few short years, your only recourse is to complain to the manufacturer. The consumer should always ask what is the warranty from the manufacturer. You purchaced the unit well knowing the set only had a one or two year warranty, and did not purchase an extended warranty. That was your choice. Yes I do agree that things should last longer, but as the last poster of this thread pointed out, Companies should be more in focus with consumer quality, not consumer quantity. I think that an extended warranty should be always part of the purchase price when buying a large ticket item such as an expensive flatscreen. Another thing, the companies do honer the warranty during the preset time period that you agreed to when you bought the set, at least most of the time they do. A manufacturer is in business to make a profit. They do that when you buy a set from them. What if every customer asked for an free extended warranty? The manufacturer would be out of business in no time. I am in no way pro company or for the manufacturers of these TV sets and yes I certainly think their customer service should be a little better with the customers. But for those who go bull-headed to the manufacturer all loud and cocky will most likely get no where with the service company or the manufacturer. After all people, the old saying is certainly true, you catch more flies with honey, then you do with vinegar.
So glad I found this forum. We were going crazy trying to figure out what was wrong with our connection! We never buy extended warranties, and have never been sorry. This defect sounds like it should be the basis of a recall. Sony should not be making a product like this. I am certainly going to talk to Sony in hopes that they care about their good name. I think we all should be writing to Sony (and Consumer Reports) to let them know how we feel.
RECALLS will never happen on TV Sets UNLESS there is a Problem with the SET that would endanger You or your family or House LIKE if Part Failed caused a risk to Catch TV on Fire !
I have a KDL46X2000 and it started doing this a few months after getting it home. I have had the DTAU board replaced twice and a firmware upgrade. Now Sony wants to take it away for a few months to figure out whats wrong. Anyone got to the bottom of this? Anyone know if the sets mentioned share common bits?
Cheers
In my 32 years in this biz I can only remember one recall. It was the old modular, Zenith upright chassis produced in the mid 70's with the bad safety caps that when bad, sent the HV through the stratosphere and sawed the neck of the CRT off.
I Remember those Old Zenith Fold Downs replaced a Ton of Multiplier's & HOT's "ECG238" because of that Big Orange Horz Safety Cap about the Size of a 12ga shell .
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