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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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WD-52525 - follow up
Apr 18, 2008 12:40AM PDT

Technician came last week. Replaced bulb only to find the TV doing the same (would try to turn on only to have the Replace Light Bulb light turn red and the TV shuts down).

He is telling us that the culprit must be the board where the capacitors reside (same problem discussed by a few folks here). We are now waiting for the board to arrive to schedule a new appointment. You would think they would have these boards available since it is such a common issue?

Turns out the TV is still on extended warranty. So no out of pocket expense from us.

Will report back once they replace the board.

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Sign me up
Apr 5, 2008 12:54AM PDT

Got this as a Christmas present in 2006. Second bulb just went today and dealer stated he "should" have some in a few days.

Had I known the issues with the system I not have bought it. It was highly recommended by video folks at a couple stores.

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Sign me up too
Apr 7, 2008 2:41AM PDT

I purchased a 52631 on January 4, 2007. and have had the heat warning. after a little tinkering I got that cleared up and now the bulb went out and the set wont power on. purchasing a new bulb today and hopefully that will work for a while. I WANT IN ON THIS LAWSUIT. Brenton Harris

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count me in!!!!!
Apr 5, 2008 9:02PM PDT

i purchased my mitsubishi WD-52631 barely a year ago and the lamp has gone out. the replacement is 249.00. this is ridiculous. for the price i paid for this tv it should last longer than that. if there is a class action lawsuit, add me to the list.

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Sign me up too!
Apr 6, 2008 9:50AM PDT

I own the Mitsubishi Model WD-52725. TV was purchased 1-21-05 and we are on our 3rd bulb. Not only that .... as of today (4-6-0Cool we now have the dreaded "blinking green timer light of death" on our TV. In searching various blogs on the internet, we find that this is a problem well-known to Mitsubishi and requires "the capicitors on the DM Board to be replaced"?? We paid $3,129 for this TV in Jan., 2005 and have had nothing but problems since then .... VERY FRUSTRATING TO SAY THE LEAST! We do not have kids and our TV is never even turned on during the day. 3 bulbs and now this green blinking light is pathetic. Please notify me of any "class action suit" that may take place on this equipment. We are fed up with the hassle of owning this sub-par TV.

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Sign me up !!!
Apr 6, 2008 11:12AM PDT

I have the WD-Y65 and today for the fourth time the lamp has gone out. The tv was purchased at the end of Nov in 2006. This is just ridiculos.
My email is guzmansoldier@yahoo.com . Let me know if I can do anything to help.

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Mitsubishi 57732
Apr 7, 2008 12:34AM PDT

My problems arent as bad as most, however my first bulb was replaced after only 7 months of use, and the 2nd after only 10 months of use. The first was covered under warrantee, however now I have to buy the bulb since the one year warrantee has expired. I did manage to find these replacement bulbs on EBAY for $107.00 + Shipping, this is for replacement bulb 915P049010. The company I bought this from off EBAY has 100% feedback and over 4700 transactions. The feedback states that they are legit so I hope its a good deal. The bulb also comes with a 1 year replacement, since my bulbs are only lasting 7-10 months I am getting 2 for one here since I am sure it will not last for one year. I will let you all know if this works and is legit. I would like to be part of this lawsuit also, I feel spending 2200.00 for a TV I should get more life out of consumable parts. Email me at systekinc@hotmail.com.

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Same air flow and premature lamp problems on my WD-Y57 1080P
Apr 7, 2008 6:43AM PDT

New Mitsubishi WD-Y57 1080P projection DLP TV purchased on Dec 24, 2006.

I am in the same boat, and started experiencing "air flow" / overheating shutdowns in mid 2007. I researched the problem on the web and found a huge number of folks reporting similar issues.

I had a Mitsubishi recommended local service company send a technician out but the first sign of trouble was that he said he'd never heard of this air flow issue before. I showed him some of the feedback and suggested he contact Mitsubishi to get a service bulletin or something.

He re-seated some sensor(s) at the rear and said to call if we experienced the problem again. We seemed to be fine until the end of 2007, when we started getting intermittent airflow warnings and shutdowns again. This stopped again of its own accord, and I resolved to call them if it happened again.

We had no further issues until a week ago, when the screen went dead and the red LED indicator came on. I see this is also now a common occurance, and likely the lamp having failed - all after only 14 months service.

I am very interested in any class action suit that may be initiated.

What does one need to do to get this started? I'd like to see the attorney who posted earlier take this on, and advise all of us what we need to do to get this going. Perhaps requiring us to send an email or letter confirming the issues with dates and facts, etc???

Anyway, this is really disappointing, because we had tremendously good service from our old standard def rear projection Mitsu TV that we have had (and still working fine) since early 1999 without a single issue.

Attorneys - pls advise next steps!!!

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65 " piece of grap
Apr 7, 2008 8:15AM PDT

I have a 65 " Mitsubishi That I bought in may of 06
I have had nothing but proplems with this T.V
Now the DM module is out and I am getting the run around from
the TV tech saying it is on Back Order.That was 2 months ago and
the part still is on back order.Now the tech won't return my calls
or even speak with me.
He came and took the bottom half away to his shop. So I am left with a screen and no Guts.
I am behind you 150 % . Lets stop this Now. I would like to be involved in the lawsuit. Thansk You larryetune@aol.com

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Mitsubishi DLP TVs and On-going Problems ....
Apr 7, 2008 10:02AM PDT

You didn't mention in your post .... is your TV still under warranty (i.e. did you buy the extended warranty)? Not that it matters I guess, but I did buy the extended warranty and am sure the DM Module is what will need to be replaced on my set (Model WD-52725). The TV repair guy (who is being sent out by the warranty folks) usually comes out, assesses the problem and THEN orders parts. I'm wondering since my TV is still covered by the extended warranty .... will the TV repair guy also have to wait 2 months to get a replacement part? IF SO, THAT IS TOTALLY BOGUS!! I'm to the point of asking Mitsubishi to give me a NEW replacement TV. I have been through 3 bulbs since we purchased it in Jan., 2005. I have also had the temperature sensor replaced because we kept getting an "air flow is blocked" message. Makes no sense ....

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Reviving my 57" DLP
Apr 9, 2008 8:43AM PDT

Like everyone else I'm a little p___ed off that I didn't do more homework prior to purchasing my 57" Mitsubishi. But, after reading the feedback from the guy who works for a T.V. retailer about the consistent problems I thought I'd give cleaning a try. My warranty ran out about 12 days ago but, to Mitsubishi's credit they're sending out a tech tomorrow, at their expense. The problem was that the TV wouldn't turn on due to the overheating issue. So, I took the bulb out, as per the ownwers manual, and completly blew it out with some canned air. It was a little dirty but, not so much that you would think it would matter. Anyway, blew it out and it's working great...so far. The tech is still scheduled out tomorrow so, we'll see what happens. Just thought this might be useful to someone.

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I Have same set
Nov 7, 2008 11:12AM PST

Hi
I too have the same set. I am in need of bulb three, and now the often refered to "blinking green light of death" has struck. I on the advice gotten from this blog, called them and they set me up to have some one come out and check it,.Then I faxed that plus my invoice and they will go from there. I most difinitly will push for a new one, as this will only continue.
Jon

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I'm in too!
Apr 14, 2008 4:53AM PDT

I cant believe that with all these disgrutled consumers there is no lawsuit as of yet.

How do we get this going?

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Class action suit against mitsubishi
Apr 14, 2008 5:28PM PDT

Thats the problem. There is evidently a class action lawsuit going on but ONLY for California residents, which IMHO is pure BS. Guess that if they win that it will be done for the rest of the country but come on, if they have this kind of problems country wide lets bring everyone in on the suit and not just one state.

Joe
Phoenix

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LAMP WENT OUT AS WELL
Apr 15, 2008 8:11AM PDT

To Whom It May Concern,

I was online searching for what just happened to my Mitsubishi DLP Television WD-62525, and I came accross this thread. I assumed the the bulb went out, but did'nt believe it since the television is only a year and a half old.

I guess this is a common issue with all of Mitsubishi's Big Screen, and if there is a Class Action Lawsuit, I would like to be a part of it. Please send required paperwork to shi128z@aol.com

Thanks
Shiraz

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Mitsubishi WD-62525 television
Apr 15, 2008 11:53AM PDT

I was watching television last night, and all of a sudden my televsion screen went blue. Complete video loss. Tried switching over to my PS3 and my DVD player but no video (just a blue screen). I am guessing my bulb went out. Any suggestions???

Thanks

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not a bulb
Apr 16, 2008 11:37AM PDT

if the bulb went out it would be complete black as if it were turned off. maybe a color wheel? maybe something else electronic dealing with the picture signal?

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Extended Warranty And Lawsuit
Apr 16, 2008 4:16PM PDT
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Satisfaction!! (and how I got it)
Apr 17, 2008 10:17AM PDT

I went to the Better Business Bureau website, and filed a complaint against Mitsubishi-TV in California. Believe it or not they had an A rating.

I carefully listed all my details, going through 3 bulbs in one year, explaining that it was an exisiting condition that had not been resolved.

I explained that I wanted the TV to be repaired at their expense and to work as advertised. If that couldn't be done I wanted the set to be replaced.

After submitting the complaint I got a confirmation that they would submit my complaint within 24-48 hours. I got mine the next morning, and it stated to allow Mitsubishi 2 weeks to reply.

They called me 48 hours later. They are sending me a new bulb at their expense with a guarantee that states: If the the bulb burns out in one year's time they will replace the TV.

I haven't had one last 4 months yet so I feel pretty good about the offer. I would suggest everyone on here do the same, and negotiate your own offer if you don't like this one. I spent hours on the phone. The BBB form took me about 15 minutes. What have you got to lose?

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I GOT THE SAME OFFER....EVERYBODY DO THIS!!!!
Apr 22, 2008 2:37AM PDT

I took the advice of JB4375 and contacted the BBB -just like he did I detailed my problems and in the resolution section I said that I would either return the set for the full purchase price or would like a replacement set of equal size and value WITHOUT the problems...
the BBB notified me at 9am today that they had sent my complaint to Mitsubishi and at 1113am... a person named Vigil from Mitsubishi called me to offer the free bulb replacement and the guarantee that if it burns out within one year they will replace my set. He also said that i could send in my receipt for the newest bulb I bought last week and he would refund my purchase price. He said I should have the bulb and the letter at the end of this week so I will do a follow up post when and if that happens. I told him that the internet is full of disgruntled buyers and he never admitted guilt or even acknowledeged that I am just one of thousands. If everyone on just this forum would file a complaint with the BBB TODAY... Mr. Vigil should have job security for a very long time if he has to contact each person individually. This is not a perfect resolution but it's better than anything we've gotten so far. PLEASE take the 5 minutes to do this... let's make them pay -- even if it's just for a new bulb!

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BBB Complaint Against Mitsubishi
Apr 22, 2008 3:24AM PDT

I just filed a complaint agaist Mitsubishi with the BBB in Los Angeles as well. It was all done on-line and very easy (www.labbb.org). I recommend more of us do the same, to put pressure on the company.

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*** Satisfaction (A Follow Up) ****
Apr 22, 2008 11:49AM PDT

I called Mitsubishi today. After getting over the initial excitement of getting the offer, free lamp and a new TV if it fails in a year, I realized I still had questions.

I asked to have a mgr call me. I hadn't heard back, and I hadn't gotten the lamp. It arrived today, but there wasn't a guarantee in the box as promised. After about 40 minutes of confirming, and reconfirming my information, being put on hold several times I was finally connected to a mgr. She explained that the guarantee was for one year from the receipt of the lamp, and agreed to mail me the guarantee in writing.

I compared the new lamp to the old one. The part number is the same, however I noticed that the screen was different. The new screen is more porous with larger air holes. I'd read several posts about people cleaning the screens with canned air and "fixing" the problem. Hopefully, this will make the difference.

Right now, this 57" screen looks like 107" after watching the 27" out of the bedroom for the last month and a half.

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Extremely unhappy with mitdssubishi and the big screen store
Jun 2, 2008 1:40AM PDT

I purchased a Mitsubishi DLP Television WD-57831 on 1/15/07 from the big screen store. Within two months the screen began having problems. The first was a tempature sensor malfunction. The tv would just cut off. I would have to turn the set on and off until finally the message would go away and the set would stay on. I was told that by the big screen store that this was a known defect of the tv. (not told to me when I purchase the set). That issue was fixed. two months later the lamp busted. that was fixed. then I started to get white dots on my screen and I was told that the light engine qwas going bad (never was fixed). Now just the other day the tv won't even show a picture and will cut off with a red lamp led comes on. the Tv is just over a year old. So yes I want join the law suit and I want to talk to someone about adding the BIG SCREEN STORE to it. I can be contacted @ regislj@comcast.net

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FOLLOW UP ON OFFER FROM MITSUBISHI
Apr 28, 2008 12:56AM PDT

Well, on Friday, there was a package on my porch - new bulb from Mitsubishi and the letter that "Vigil" promised guaranteeing the bulb for one year or the replacement of my television. At least I have gotten this far. We will see how cooperative they are when it is time to replace the set. I hate to say it but I dont have a lot of confidence in the "new and improved" bulb.

I highly encourage everyone to file a complaint with the BBB -- at least you will get a response from Mitsubishi. Maybe if they start having to send out thousands of these bulbs they will do something to fix the sets.

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Additional Followup
Apr 28, 2008 6:56AM PDT

I got an email today from the Better Business Bureau. Your complaint has generated activity that needs your attention.

Company's Initial Response - Posted 04/23/2008
Thank you for contacting MDEA. I am sorry to learn of the problem the customer has experienced and apologize for any inconvenience this situation may have caused. We have supplied the customer with a brand new lamp and have also given the customer a guarantee that if the lamp should fail again within 1 year we will replace the TV. The customer has accepted our commitment and we believe this situation is currently resolved.
We have supplied the customer with a brand new lamp and have also given the customer a guarantee that if the lamp should fail again within 1 year we will replace the TV.

Consumer's Rebuttal - Posted 04/28/2008
I'm sorry that I had to go through the Better Business Bureau to get Mitsubishi stand behind their product. I literally spent an hour on the phone with management and the most they offered to do was give me 20% off on a new lamp until I told them I had already purchased one. Then they wouldn't even do that. I'll consider this issue resolved once this bulb works as advertised or I have a new TV. Right now all that's happened is they replaced a lamp that I was forced to purchase, and it's worked for a week. Resolved? I think it's a little too early to call just yet.

It's now waiting for response back from the BBB. I'll keep you posted.

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Possible replacement
May 20, 2008 10:41PM PDT

Lets preface this by saying, I will believe it when I have a new TV sitting in front of my recliner, but Mitsubishi called 3 times yesterday, both at my house and work. My wife, who was actually the one who purchased the TV, called the number back, and she was told that they were replacing our TV, and asked who we bought it from. Unfortunately, it was Ultimate Electronics who went out of business in Texas, so they said they were going to try and locate a different supplier or just ship one direct. The problem is she didnt inquire as to what kind of replacement, or what kind of TV.

I had filed a complaint with the BBB, and written a 3 page letter to Mitsubishi's office of the president on 2 seperate occasions. This obviously was the second complaint. Again, I do not get my hopes up, as I do not have a TV here in front of me, but at least things seem to be headed to the proper conclusion.

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Offer from Mitsubishi - potential problem
Apr 28, 2008 9:21AM PDT

My concern with this is that I don;t think a one-year warranty or life span for a $300 repair is good enough. What happens if it lasts 13-15 months as in my case? Should we all believe that we should be willing to pay a $300 repair cost every 13-15 months and be happy about it?

I can understand the situation temporarily helps those who have had to replace multiple lamps within one year, but sometimes these things seem to last just over one year, and then the one year warranty provided in this situation is meaningless.

I'd prefer to be part of a class action suit and get the TV fixed permanently to the state that would be considered industry wide acceptable , or the TV replaced with a model without this issue, or my money refunded.

What do others think?

How do we get this class action thing going? Surely some attorney would be willing to take this kind of case on?

On the belief that the more this issue is known out in the public eye, the quicker Mitsubishi will acknowledge a genuine issue needs resolving and do something meaningful to correct the situation, I am going to forward this thread to the local TV "Consumer Help line" reporter who takes up action items on behalf of local consumers.

I suggest that others do the same - and send this link for proof of the widespread issue.

Thanks

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Mitsubishi WD-65732 Television problem
Apr 17, 2008 11:19PM PDT

We were watching this $3500.00 which I purchased approx. 13 months ago when it decided to no longer work. The lamp indicator light is now on and if you turn the television on it will turn back off after about 30 seconds. Hs anyone else had this problem this soon after purchasing this television?

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Wow- you got 13 months!
Apr 19, 2008 3:16AM PDT

Sounds like your bulb has failed and needs to be replaced. Ours died after only 6-7 months. I guess you were lucky?

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Mitsubishi policies...
Sep 29, 2009 10:02AM PDT

As a former Mitsubishi employee I spent 1 year there as a temporary employee, well 99% of consumer relations are temps. When you call in, you first get ventus which is located in Manila Phillipines. They are reading from a script and are instucted NOT to transfer the call to the U.S. unless they cannot handle the issue. When you do get the U.S. office, the consumer relations advisors are not properly trained for assisting with trouble shooting, yet reading from the instruction manual, or given answers from the technical advisor Curtis Gentry. He can be reached at 1-949-465-6146, his DIRECT line. He will not take transfers from advisors, only answer questions from advisors by asking three more questions. Please call his extension with any technical problems you may experience. In regards to chassis repairs, that is the rule, NO REPLACEMENTS, ONLY REPAIR, advisors are given no choice but to relay that information. When you ask to speak to a supervisor, there are two of them, Arjun Sheth AKA AJ, and David Ratinoff. When you customers ask to speak to them, there only job is to monitor what each advisor is doing, let me tell you it's like working in prison over there and we commonly joked about that. When a supervisor is approached with a question, they all have different answers hence the lack of training and the fact they are complete idiots. A trained Monkey can do there job, LITERALLY. All they do is look to see who is doing what from there double monitored desk. When a customer asks to speak to a supervisor, we are INSTRUCTED to say they will call back in 1-2 business days, and if the customer is irrate, which most are with the product, they say "Tell the customer we'll call them back before the end of the day." Which they have no intention on doing, and then a week will go by. Advisors have a breakdown sheet regarding what they can do to help the customer for repair, depending on the age of the unit. They will repair the unit untill repair exceeds the value of the set, but not what you paid for it, DEALERSHIP cost when there have been multiple repairs in a short period of time. After your Mitsubishi 1 yr manufactorer warranty runs out, you are referred to you extended warranty company, if you have none, they will assist and cover up to 18 months from purchase date accompanied by a receipt, if not then the day the t.v. was shipped to the dealer. Oh and for your info, Arjun Sheth AKA AJ's DIRECT number is 1-949-465-6144, David Ratinoff's DIRECT number is 1-949-465-6182. When assisting customers, they are not instructed to do what is right for the customer, but how much we can save the company including flat out denying the customer assistance right after the 1 yr factory warranty was completed. Then we have AJ and David's supervisor, Vigil White, his DIRECT number is 1-9494656142. His job is to do nothing but sit in his chair and pretend he is running the department like he was General Douglas MacArthur due to his extensive war commendations while fighting wars in Playstations 1, 2, and 3 as well as X Box. This is his first real job and has been there for about 20 years as skilled as a well trained ninja in the arts of "How not to supervise" and "How to know nothing about your product and rise the ranks", remember, we are dealing with a honorary war hero. He won't speak to ANY customer UNLESS the President of Mitsubishi has been written a letter about the customers disatisfaction of there product, and that is the BEST way to get your t.v. replaced. After that was done, he will just assign the file to some advisor who already has 100+ files to work on in his 8 hour day, THEN will hound them until the issue is resolved and he will offer no support to the advisor. It is LITERALLY the deaf leading the blind. The corporate address is 9351 Jeronimo Rd., Irvine Ca., 92618, but let me tell you the highest person to speak to is Vigil White. His boss is Glen Yamashita, his DIRECT number is 1-949-465-6141. All these phone numbers will be helpful to you, ESPECIALLY Curtis Gentry techincal advisor who is the ONLY employee in consumer relations that half way understands how to trouble shoot the t.v.'s. If you need to complain about Vigil White, I STRONGLY advise you to call Glen Yamashita, and if you want your t.v. replaced, write the president of the company Yashi Moriyama. Good luck with your issues.