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General discussion

Mitsubishi DLP Television WD-57831 Class Action Lawsuit

Jul 25, 2007 11:43AM PDT

Hello,

Is anyone interested in getting in on a class action lawsuit against Mitsubishi and their (known?) defective DLP televisions? I've seen numerous posts regarding lamps, ballast boards, DLP engines, total rebuilds, poorly assembled thermistor sensors, air flow problems, useless repairmen, etc. etc.

I too am experiencing the joy of making 3 Diamond Card payments as well as HD cable programming payments all for a television that stopped working back on June 30, 2007 and has had 2, now a pending 3rd, unsucessful attempts by incompetent "authorized repair centers" to fix it. ITS ONLY 6 MONTHS OLD!!! Randomly replacing parts without performing electronic troubleshooting is totally unacceptable.

Anyway, please let me know if anyone would be willing to sign some papers and get this thing going.

Thanks!

Discussion is locked

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RE: mitsubishi wd 62725
May 11, 2009 9:06AM PDT

You need to go too that website and e-mail or call them direct. I don't think they even check in on this site anymore.

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Hot Mess
Mar 8, 2008 11:21AM PST

Include me in on the lawsuit . . .kia_sprite@yahoo.com
My DLP is ~1.5 years old when the bulb failed. After much arguring, the customer service rep put an order in for the lamp. I had to call back a week later, to be told that the lamp was on back order, but one would be released and should arrive within 1-2 business days. Now the lamp is installed and my house reeks of burning plastic!!!!

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I'm interested in the lawsuit
Mar 9, 2008 1:25AM PST

I am also interested in the lawsuit. I have a WDY57 with similar lamp life problems. Please keep me informed. Thanks

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Class Action Suit
Mar 10, 2008 11:38AM PDT

Sign me up too! I bought a WD57731 in May of '07 and I just ordered a replacement bulb and it's March of '08!!! This is ridiculous!!! My email address is hip_hop25@yahoo.com. Let me know and I'll do what I need to!!

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Possible Fix
Mar 11, 2008 1:32AM PDT

I have a WD-52327 that does not always light. I replaced the lamp (myself), that only helped slightly. Still needed to start 2 to 6 times to light. I took to a certified repair shop. They replaced the ballast. It worked all but one time in the shop. Got it home, and it still took 2 to 4 times to light. Read a posting about the DVI cable being pinched. I loosened a few screw on the bottom of the back panel. IT HAS STARTED EVERY TIME SINCE!!! YEAH!

Not sure if first 2 repairs were necessary. Try the back panel, it is free.

Good luck.

I will join any class action suit.

The Penguin

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The DVI cable
Mar 12, 2008 10:14AM PDT

It's not only the DVI cable, but may also be the power supply board as well. The Set shut down sunday before the lamp turned on. Initially the sound was there then silence... "Uh Oh!" from my wife who had just sat down to watch. I came in from another room and found the steady red status light. To better understand this power supply allow me to explain. there are two power modes fast & slow power on. By default it is set to fast... This setting is hard on the power supply and the lamp. On slow it takes about a minute to power up. If you have a CableCard inserted it will automatically be on fast. That night I unplugged the TV & pressed the reset button repeatedly. All I got was a green flashing timer light. I finally left it plugged in over night. Monday morning...still flashing. I unplugged it all day & when I got home from work I plugged it in again. Flashing once again. I ejected the CableCard & still had the problem. Finally I hit the TV stand and pressed reset...Voila! the light stopped flashing. I then went to settings and set it to slow power on & it has worked ever since. The repair man is coming in the morning to remove the power supply board, lets see how it goes. As far as lamp replacement goes: (and this goes for ANY TV) When you purchase a brand new TV 9 out of 10 times the factory has the contrast set too high! Vivid for SONY and Brilliant for Mitsubishi for example. Your lamp will fry in a matter of months! Contrast should in most cases be set about half way or a tad more. For Mitsubishi DLP's set it to Natural, Contrast 35 & Brightness to 28. The manufacturers years ago came up with the idea that setting Contrast levels to the max or near max would attract the consumer in the showroom amid bright lights and other distractions. You are not only going through lamps faster but you are consuming more power... The lamps are indeed defective though!

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Mitsubishi DLP #WD-Y57
Jan 24, 2009 4:58AM PST

January 24, 2008. Sounds like everybody here is having the same troubles with this unit as I am. I'm glad I happened upon this forum. My troubles haven't been quite this bad so far, but I am worried that I am going to by the sounds of it. Mine was purchased in May 2007. We got the red status light about 3 months ago just after we moved. As careful as we were when we moved it, I thought maybe it just didn't travel well. We were so busy we didn't really miss the TV so much and used a smaller unit while we unpacked and searched for our receipt for it. I had thought I purchased a warranty with the TV but apparently did not. I had two people tell me it was a bad lamp. I couldn't locate my receipt but went to the Circuit City where I purchased the TV and they gave me a replacement. I called Mitsubishi Customer Support and they said if I faxed them the proof of purchase they would send me a replacement bulb for the unit free of charge. They said I would get a confirmation that the fax had been received within 24 hours, then once that was confirmed they would send the lamp within 3 business days, which they did. I can't complain about the customer service at this time, but it does sound like the unit itself is a lemon. It sounds like this is only the beginning of the story for me. I would like to be included in the class action suit. Just let me know what I need to do to be included. I may not be out any money for the lamp itself but I do have to have it put in yet.
Email address: elainec32@comcast.net

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RE: Mitsubishi DLP #WD-Y57
Jan 24, 2009 7:13AM PST

Since your TV is only a little over a year old you may be able to buy a warranty through mits still. If not try another warranty company as I highly recommend it.

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WD-57831 - 4th bulb,? TV 14 months old ...
Mar 11, 2008 5:51AM PDT

Well, it appears that the repairs made (replacing bulbs, soldering temp sensors to pc boards, replacing ballast boards, etc.) during the whole month of July in 2007 lasted until today, March 11, 2008. Looks like another bulb blew, some 7 months later. The first one blew after 6 months. 2nd one lasted a day or two. 3rd one just bit the dust.

I'm going to pursue having MITS take this thing out of my home once and for all ...

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WD65831 Same Problem!!! Count me in for the lawsuit!
Mar 14, 2008 11:39PM PDT

Purchased mine Jan 07, replacing my 4th bulb now also replacing ballast, sounds like from others this will just pacify the problem.

Count me in!!!

ct_thatsme@msn.com

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WD-65732 Clas Action?!? Count me in!!!
Mar 11, 2008 11:55AM PDT

I too have experinced the problems with lamps on my WD-65732. the mThank you for contacting Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America, Inc. We are pleased to be able to assist our customers via our website.



Unfortunately, we are unable to assist you with your inquiry via the internet. Please contact our consumer relations department at 800-332-2119 for assistance.






--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: ThePup1@aol.com [mailto:ThePup1@aol.com]
Sent: Monday, March 10, 2008 8:06 PM
To: MDEA Service

Subject: Re: Lamp problems WD-65732



Dear Sirs, On March 23, 2007, We purchased a WD-65732 and took delivery on March 25, 2007. For the first 6 months, my family and I were very satisfied with the unit. The WD-65732 was our third Mitsubishi TV. We've owned a 46" rear projection and a 20" CRT. They both lasted over 19 years! Hence, when it came time to buy a new TV, our choice was simple. As I said, for the first 6 months, all was great. Then just before October 23, 2007, the lamp burned out. My wife and I distinctly remember the salesman telling us the lamps normally last a year or more. While disappointed, I was relieved to find out that Mitsubishi would send out a replacement at no charge to us. On October 23, 2007, the lamp arrived and was installed and the burned out lamp went back to you.



All was good until March 7, 2008 when the replacement lamp burned out as well. I again went online and requested another lamp. The TV warranty is still good until. March 23, 2008. I am told the 2nd replacement lamp would arrive Weds. of this week again at no charge to us.



Knowing 2 lamps have burned out prematurely, I suspected something may be wrong with the WD-65732 itself. Today I called the Customer Relations Dept. They contacted your local service company (Fisher's Appliance/ Service). I spoke with Joan and was told in all likelihood, nothing is wrong with the TV as they have fielded numerous service calls for bad lamps only to find the TV is fine. The lamps are burning out prematurely. They speculated the lamp design may be defective since the mesh screen around the lamp restricts air flow and the lamps overheat until failure. Hence, no service call for us.



I then called Technical Support and spoke with a gentleman named Phillip. I related our frustration and experiences with him. I was not impressed with Phillip. The longer the conversation lasted, the more unintelligible he became. Lots of umms and wells. I then ask to speak with his direct report, was put on hold ~ 10 minutes until Phillip came back on and told me no supervisors were available. I ask Phillip to have a supervisor/manager return my call at their earliest convenience. That has not happened as of yet.



I would like to summarize the frustration I am having with this whole ordeal:



1.) If lamps only last ~ 6 months, I think the consumer should know this up front. Or at the very least be told after the first lamp burns out. I feel this is somewhat deceptive.



2.) According to the WD-65732's owner's manual, the lamp should last a year or more from the date of purchase (page 99 WD-65732 manual).



3.)If a lamp seemingly cannot last a year, either the original or a replacement, as far as I'm concerned the consumer should not have to pay for lamps until he receives a lamp that can last a year.



4.) The owner's manual clearly states the original lamp is warranted for (one) year from date purchase. Why then are the replacements only warranted for 90 days? Are they of sub-standard manufacture? I strongly feel the replacement lamp should carry the same warranty as the original, assuming you are sending out OEM lamps. My problem is simply this, when I receive the next replacement lamp, I can justifiably assume it will last 6 months or less. At which time, my TV will be out of warranty and we will have to pay for the replacements I was told. I strongly feel this is unfair as I have yet to see a lamp that will honor the original lamp warranty of 1 year.



5.) I suggested to Phillip that you send 2 lamps this time. At least when it happens again, I will have a spare so we are not without the TV for a week ( 2 weeks down time the first year).Especially when I can't get your local service rep out to take care of it. It appears the customer is left holding the bag. Needless to say, Phillip declined my offer. He did say your Company MAY extend the warranty of the lamp I will receive later this week to 6 months from the customary 90 days. I asked if this in addition to the 90 day warranty. He said no. Quite frankly, I've only had 1 lamp get anywhere near 6 months, so perhaps you can appreciate my skepticism and asking for another 3 months. This is 9 months total! Not even the 1 year of the original lamp warranty! By the way, I asked Phillip if there were/are any recalls and/or class action lawsuits concerning this problem. He said he was not aware of any but did find out last month the lamp and/or housing was redesigned. If this is true, all customers that have had lamps burn out prematurely should have been contacted. It's the right thing to do.



6.) I sincerely hope we did not spend our hard earned $2400 plus tax for a TV that will be down 2 weeks out of 52 weeks, and a TV that will cost us well over $300 (2 lamps) a year to watch. That would redefine "Pay per View" in my book.



So, I hope we can come to some equitable resolution in this matter soon. I would like to be contacted by someone having reasonable authority to discuss our concerns ASAP. I can be reached at:

anual states the lamp should last a year or more. I contacted consumer relations yesterday and got the song and dance. I emailed them last night and a copy is below. Not their response when I inquired about recalls and class action suits. I wrote that before I found this post.

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Mitsubishi WD-52825, WD-62825 Manuel states
Aug 15, 2008 9:50PM PDT

This television is worthless. I can't believe I spent some 4,000 on this TV and is giving us problems. I am under the impression that when you buy something new it should work for a long time without buying a warranty, which I didn't. BOught it ion 10/2005 and just recently we changed the bulb, and then the screen when purple so we called an expert (?) recommended by Mitsubishi on their web site. Alpha Electronics T.V. here in Tampa, Fl came out and 373.50 later it was fixed. That was exactly a month ago. The man had to take the board into the store to fix. Now it started turning purple again and now unable to even turn the T.V. on.

I am use to T.V.'s that last 10 or more years. In fact, the T.V. we got rid of to get this one was working just fine when we bought this DPL model. Any technical help would be appreciated. I am not a rich person who can afford to keep calling a repairman. I WOULD NEVER BUY A MITSUBISHI product again.

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RE: Mitsubishi WD-52825, WD-62825 Manuel states
Aug 16, 2008 2:32AM PDT

What did the repairman say was wrong with your TV the first time?

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These mitsubishi problems
Mar 12, 2008 4:15PM PDT

I work for a BIG Screen superstore in the call center talking to customers all day about problems with their tvs, from lamps, to airflow warning, etc. If anyone would like me to try to answer some questions about anything I would be more than happy to try to help out. jordan

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jroos13
Mar 13, 2008 1:55AM PDT

Bring on all the information about Mitsubushi TV problems that you know.

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Class action suit
Mar 14, 2008 8:30AM PDT

My WDY57 has the same lamp issues as the rest here. It lasted about a year then blew with no warning.

Please, count me in. JH30906@hotmail.com

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There goes another one ...
Mar 14, 2008 5:08PM PDT

I just got finished ordering my THIRD lamp for my WD-52525 . Purchased 12/04/2004 with a 48 month warranty that included lamp replacement because I was aware of the problem . I paid $299 for the coverage.When the lamp blew 11 months later and I called the company that had my warranty I was told that if the set was purchased during the period from 04/2004 to 12/31/2004 there was no coverage for lamps !! I called and emailed everyone at Sound Advice till they agreed to pay for replacement. That was bulb # 1 . Number two was at the end of August 2006. It had lasted 9 months. I went on the internet and just bought the lamp , without the assembly for $ 150 . Thank god I took quite a few pictures of it before and as I was taking it apart , or I would have never been able to put it back together . I must have done a good job because it is still going but the "replace lamp" yellow light is glowing. I called Laptops4less and ordered one today for $170 including the assembly unit. So ..$ 3500 for the TV... $ 299 for a useless warranty and close to $ 400 for lamps . I do like the TV and was aware that the bulbs would eventually need to be replaced but COME ON MITSUBISHI !!!!! Do they think we will EVER buy anything from them again if they do not address this issue ? At least admit there is a problem instead of blowing us off. Count me in. I also noticed the lamp housing is now made of plastic. Is this so we can't just buy a bulb for $ 100 and replace it ourselves ? The housing with bulb on Ebay was about $ 300. AMAZING .....

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law suit where do we sign up
Mar 30, 2008 1:25AM PDT

we are very disappointed with mitsubishi we bought our md-y65 tv one year and a month ago the warranty is up and last night our lamp went out we went on mitsubishi part site and they are asking $495.00 for the part how ridiculous when we bought our tv we were informed that the lamp would last up to 6 years that is the reason we bought it but what a crock of poop we have read and read the other complaints and the way it sounds is that all the lamps are going out within a year or after the year warranty and no one can afford to buy a lamp after lamp for their tv we want to sign up on the lawsuit so we can get these crooks from taking advantage of all of us

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Class Action Suit
May 24, 2008 6:08AM PDT

Count me in too! Model# WD-52528
racinmason001@msn.com

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Jordan, Talk to me...
Mar 14, 2008 9:53PM PDT

I own a 52631 and the lamp looks like it has gone after an error for insufficient airflow. We relaced the lamp 1x already after 7 months. This one has only 6. I bought it feb 07. I am going to try to get Mitsu to send me the newly designed lamp cartidge with bigger holes for better airflow.Do you know of any similar situations beyond this forum ?

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Lamp cartridge airflow
Mar 15, 2008 3:08AM PDT

I am about to install my third lamp in two years. I think the problem is in the venting of the cartridge. The bottom of the cartridge has a large screened port for air to enter and a smaller screened port on the side for air to exit (pulled by the fan). This smaller port was completely clogged with dust and cat hair and air could not have flowed, so the lamp overheated and blew. After I put the new lamp in I will remember to remove it and blow it out with compressed air every month.

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Bulb Asy Clogged with Dust & Newly Redesigned Bulb Asy
Mar 20, 2008 7:26AM PDT

I just received my 4th bulb (the tv has logged 2300 hours so far) and noticed that the smaller port screen has been changed. Instead of a fine mesh (that appears to clog easily) it's now a flat metal plate with larger holes stamped in it. Mine was also clogged with dust.

So, this will let more air circulate past the bulb, but it will let more particulate get through to the bulb as well. My guess is you/we will smell burning cat hair or dust - the hot bulb will probably not like this very much either...

I agree that cleaning/vacuuming the bulb assembly every month is probably a good idea, although Mits probably doesn't want consumers handling the bulb this often - don't touch the glass, don't break the glass, mercury escaping, safety hazard, more lawsuits, etc. I was given a 1 year warranty by Mits on this redesigned bulb, even though 90 days appears on all of the included paperwork. I guess we'll see what happens.

-John

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Lamp Screens
Mar 24, 2008 8:41AM PDT

The problem is that we should not need to blow out the lamp screen on a monthly basis. It's not like a car or something that is outside in the dust & dirty air. I keep a air cleaner in the room with the TV and it seems to kepp it a bit cleaner. Maybe Mits can buy everyone and airfilter to put next to the set?

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Lamp Screens
May 26, 2008 8:01AM PDT
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Your problem isn't the lamp ....
May 24, 2008 2:55PM PDT

When you get the message "Air Flow is Blocked, TV will turn off" that is the failure of the Thermal Sensor. This message board is chock-full of postings concerning this failure (I've already had mine replaced - I own the WD-52725). Mits is well aware of the part defect and has extended the warranty by two years on this particular part for many of the DLP models. There is a post on this site concerning it. Just thought you'd want to know. When the thermal sensor goes out, it causes the lamp to overheat and blow. I went through 3 bulbs before the tech repair guy figured out the problem (luckily I purchased the extended warranty when I bought the TV). I'm also hate to tell you, I'm afraid this is only the first of many more problems you will have with your Mits TV .... ask me how I know? In addition to having the thermal sensor replaced, we have had 3 chassis replaced. The TV is now in the shop again and I am in the midst of the "lemon claim" with my extended warranty to obtain a new replacement TV. THIS IS THE PITS!!

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Amber light
Sep 9, 2008 10:18AM PDT

Just tell me what it means when you put in a new lamp and it is flashing amber?

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62" Mitsubishi TV - Air Flow
Jan 18, 2009 9:21PM PST

Bought tv in 2005 for around $5000 worked great till recently when it flashed the air flow warning. Picture went black but the sound still works.

Bought can of air and blew out the back. Some dust came out and the picture started working again for a few hours and then the same thing happened. Blew more dust out and this time it worked for a couple of days.

Any suggestions on what the problem is?

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RE: 62" Mitsubishi TV - Air Flow
Jan 19, 2009 12:06AM PST

Could be the bulb is needing replaced or it could be a chasis going out. I mean if you just cleaned out the dust then there shouldn't be anymore in there to cause the problem. Cheapest solution unless your under warranty is to try and call repair shops and see what they say. If they won't help you then you can try just buying the bulb on ebay and replacing it to see if that fixes it which will run you around $130-$150 total. If that doesn't fix it then you're looking at having to get a repair shop to come out and diagnose it. In which case it will probably be an expensive fix and not worth it. If that's the case I would contact mits and complain. File a complaint with your local BBB and the one in Irvine, California where mits is located. Also file a complaint with the FTC. If enough of us file complaints with these 3 places the FTC may end up suing mits.

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Air Flow
Jan 19, 2009 2:20AM PST

It is not an air flow problem it is the chasis. Needs to be rebuilt. And then it will stop working again once it is rebuilt and then you can kiss that piece of junk goodbye. UNLESS you have an extended warranty they you have to battle for them to fix it and then they will finally end up replacing it. I don't think they are making the parts for that TV anymore. If you do not have an extended warranty your out of luck.

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warranty
Jan 19, 2009 4:15AM PST

luckily my warranty goes til september. they are coming out tomorrow to remove chassis and send it somewhere to get fixed HAHA LOL. Hopefully if it is going to fail again it will be in the next 8 months