GBLOD out of warranty repair cost & help

Mine was out of warranty, but fixed free

Yup, mine was oow for about 2 mos when i took mine in. Since they fixed it for free, it must be a known problem.

 

Anand,

I have heard that just pointing the service people to the threads on dpreview helped them. Perhaps you could do the same.

Good luck,

 

For those of us who don't know, what is GBLOD????

 

Green Blinking Light of Death. It happens on early shipped D70's and is supposedly a loose cable. The cam is basically dead except for a blinking green LED on the back. I have the problem (I got one from the first shipment to the US), but haven't sent it in yet.

Anand, please keep us up to date on what you find. I would be very upset if I had to pay for a known manufacturing or design defect.

 

Hmm, interesting. Recently sent my D2H for the infamous Light Meter related problems. Mine was about 1 month outside my warranty period. But I sent it with a respectable letter stating that I've been using Nikon products exclusively for 15 years, and asked that they please honor my warranty as the light meter is a known D2H issue that is well discussed in many online forums. I guess I was lucky because they in fact chose to service my camera as a complimentary service. I did purchase an extended Mack warranty, but Mack will take up to 2 months to repair and return. Nikon's turn around was about a week. I'm waiting for its return now.

I did not know about the D70 problem. I had been considering a D70 for backup. Does this problem appear out of the blue? Is it common?

 

I love Nikon's ostrich view, stick your head in the sand and deny anything wrong. I am going through the same attitude with my 70-200 VR. Intermittantly and without warning, VR and AF functions cease, and you have to remove the lens from the body to get it to work again. Known issue (though I thought by the time I bought mine it had been resolved) as a ground wire was added to the first ones out and cured the problem. (Mine does the same on both the D100 and F5, so it's not the body, nor dirty contacts, does the same thing in dry or humid conditions, and does it with or without the TC14EII). Talk to Nikon Service, they act like they never heard of any such thing. You tell them about all the fuss in the beginning and what was done, they respond like it's just a few malcontents on the net who don't know how to use their equipment.
My advice, keep after them, go up a level or two in service and keep after them. I sent my F5 in for repair, it came back with something different broken. I stayed calm, they fixed it, said it had nothing to do with the previous repair, did not accept responsibility, but said they would repair for free. I don't really care what the their rationale is as long as they fix it and don't charge me.

It might be interesting to find out if Nikon NY or CA is better dealing with out of warranty/ slightly oout of warranty issues???

 

Wow. It looks like all the equipment I have my eye to buy has "known issues"! I never had problems like this before digital. Believe it or not, none of my film bodies or non-vr lenses every had any problems for 15-20 years of fairly regular use. Welcome to the digital age.

 

It is true that digital will have more repair issues, there is so much more to go wrong. When it does, it is expensive and requires a professional to fix. Look at cars, same thing. I used to be able to fix my first Chevy by the side of the road if it broke down, a spare coil, rotor, cap, points and a few plugs, wire or two, timing light, dwell meter and some tools. Carried it in a small tool box in the trunk. Hardly ever needed it, though, but when I did.....now, all you need is a cell phone to call the tow truck to take it to the dealer 'cause they are the only ones who can fix it.
Even the lenses....ok, the 70-200 VR has a vibration reduction system, an internal focusing motor, all this is more than even the older AF lenses had. I would not hesitate to buy a grey AF lens, nothing much to go wrong, never need to send it for repair. The new lenses, if they have VR or AFS, figure you will need the warranty. Likely, you won't, but it's nice to have if you do. There is more to go wrong, but only because they do more to begin with.
I've had Nikon gear for 25+ years. FE needed a shutter, F4 had the trigger wire to the flash in the finder break, F5 just lost a button on the back (Nikon said they never saw one that just fell out until mine.....) and never a lens problem. D100 was in once for an AF adjustment. Not bad considering where all this stuff has gone over the years!!!

 

Please keep us informed!

 

#1064 - You have an error in your SQL syntax;

 

Well, consider yourself lucky. Nikon charges $700 or so smackers for the D2h light metre issue.

 

They really shouldnt charge anybody for a design flaw. It is too well known an issue to be anything else.

 

I agree, but what irks me more is.... Well, I won't say it, cuz I'll get banned - PM me, and I'll tell you if you want my honest opinion.

But a couple of hundred dollars repair is no biggie in comparision - I'd gladly pay several hundred dollars if Nikon would just address *one* issue (the one I'm not going to say openly).

 

Glad to hear they're taking care of you. Nice of you to share your homework with others who may find themselves in the same situation in the future, I've bookmarked that page. I have an early D70 that's working so far, and it's really just a backup now, but given my luck I think it will probably just be a matter of time till the BGLOD shows up.