ThinkPad T61P Repair Issue (Opinions Please)

Well first let me start off by saying the ThinkPad T61P is a brilliant machine, I ordered mine back on October 5th, 2007 and have to say I've been quite impressed with the build quality and performance of the machine. This post is not intended as a rant only a statement of facts and for me to seek advice from fellow NBR's.

=====

Here goes:

I purchased my ThinkPad T61P on October 5th, 2007 and three weeks later it arrived on October 26th, 2007. I will admit I was impatient, but I'm very understanding of the part shortages and I was more upset just because of how much I wanted to use my ThinkPad.

Upon arrival the machine worked flawlessly, that is until I received my aftermarket RAM from Newegg. The dreaded 4GB RAM issue reared its ugly head, so I called Lenovo and requested a depot repair. They sent me a box and sure enough, the motherboard was defective when utilizing 4GB of RAM. After two weeks of waiting due to the motherboard being on backorder, I received my ThinkPad back.

Immediately after lifting it out of the box I knew something was wrong, for one I could hear loose components moving around as I carried my laptop. (With the lid closed and everything secured) I immediately sat my laptop down and carefully removed the five screws securing the touchpad cover so I could access the RAM slots. Surely enough, the keyboard wasn't even properly attached! Upon closer inspection I counted at least ten screws missing just at first glance. (Thats just externally, not internally...) I also noticed a problem that wasn't present before, erratic LCD behavior.

So I called Lenovo back and asked to speak to a manager, within five minutes I was talking to the depot supervisor. (This impressed me and put my worry at ease as he assured me he'd personally take care of it) Needless to say, I received another box and within a week on November 23rd, 2007 I received my laptop back. Unfortunately, the first thing I did out of instinct was remove the touchpad cover to access the RAM, surely enough the keyboard still wasn't properly attached. In addition the depot said my LCD was fine, even though it displays horizontal lines when using graphic intensive applications, is unevenly lit, has severe light leakage and is extremely grainy. (This is after a clean format and using several drivers)

=====

So as of now I'm debating what action I should take. I'm leaning towards calling Lenovo on Monday and asking to speak to a manager. I figured I'd give them two options:

1) Replace my ThinkPad T61P with a brand new replacement with identical specs

2) Issue a full refund

I am heavily leaning on number one because as I said I love my ThinkPad T61P and all these issues are resulting from incompetent depot technicians not the machine itself. Do you guys find this unreasonable? What guarantee do I have that I will receive the machine back from the depot repaired when I had a manager who had worked there for five years handle it last time and it still wasn't properly fixed?

If the manager refuses I will be forced to send it back in for another repair, but lemon laws in Virginia state that if I get it back broken one more time by law they have to issue a full refund. Not to mention considering I've had a defective laptop for two months straight, I'm sure the BBB would side with me. At this very moment I'm just trying relax and not let this get to me, the funny thing is I ordered a Compal IFL-90 and cancelled it for this particular laptop. This is where it has led me.../sigh Oh, did I mention I bought this laptop for college? As one might guess it hasn't seen any use...

Any opinions are valued and welcome,

Thanks

 

You have obviously given them benefit of the doubt and was patient enough to want to resovle problems.

I would support your idea to give your Option 1 an honest attempt and see how's the outcome.

(You wrote "...within five minutes I was talking to the depot supervisor."; so you did not actually spoke to the "manager" you originally intended. Please keep a record of whom you dealt with -- his / her name -- in case you are subsequently asked to support your case.)

All the best to you.

 

Well this was just on the second repair so I was somewhat understanding and just wanted reassurance that the missing screws and LCD issue would be taken care of.

As you might imagine this time I will be much less understanding. Hopefully it will be relatively easy getting assigned to an actual manager who will resolve or make an attempt at resolving this issue.

I appreciate the advice and will be sure to get his/her name and their number and extension if possible.

 

Thats the problem with sending the unit to Depot (AKA, Flextronics). They suck and unfortunately Dell, HP, Lenovo, and maybe Toshi uses them for their mail in service. They replace stuff and ship back without verifying that it actually solved the problem and it makes the manufactures look bad.

Here's the deal. Lenovo will NOT replace/exchange your laptop unless your system has been to depot at least 3 times in a row so for you to request it, you would need to send it in again. You can say no and request it anyway, but your chances are very slim you would get it.

If I were you I would download the HMM from Lenovo and call Tech support back and explain that depot created problems and request parts:

1. Planar
2. Mics screw kit
3. Thermal grease

Follow the HMM and DIY.

Connect your laptop to an external monitor and use FN+F7 and see if you get the same issue on the external. If you do than its a DOA video chip on the board.

 

Well, if they won't grant the exchange judging from past experience I have no doubt I would receive the laptop back defective yet again.

At that point I'd be filing a complaint with a BBB on the basis of lemon laws for a full unconditional refund.

 

Ugh...this makes me fairly wary of sending in my own ThinkPad T61p due to a graphics card issue (machine shuts off after 15-20 minutes of gaming). Unfortunately it seems to be the only way to get my notebook fixed to how it ought to be.

 

Seriously...I was considering sending mine in to ask for a replacement LCD panel (to fix light leakage from the Samsung), but even if they approved that, I don't want to deal with the possible bugs introduced by someone taking it apart and not putting it back together again correctly. I understand that even if they put it back together "correctly", it still might not be as "solid" as it is now. Sort of like when you take a heat sink off of a CPU, you've got to go through that whole process of cleaning off and re-applying the thermal interface matierial to get it to perform like it originally did. It sounds like they might not always bother with that level of care...

 

One sad fact I've learned about any type of repair service, whether it be computers, cars, or anything else is that no one will care about your property the same way you do. Unfortunately, all repair centers operate on the mentality of cranking out as many repairs as fast as possible. In that type of environment, it's impossible to have any type of quality of service and it's very rare that anything will come back up to factory standards.

Personally, this is the thing I dread most about laptops... at least with desktops, you can perform any repairs yourself. Laptops are unfortunately more complicated and many core components are brand/model specific and very costly.

Companies such as Lenovo need to take charge of their own repair services and not outsource to 3rd parties that could care less about customer satisfaction and QA.

 

agreed! those ugly 3ps will destroy the good name of Thinkpad! write a letter to Lenovo management.

 

Aren't these repair work done by Solectron or some 3rd party contractors? It simply shows that Lenovo's service is really no better than any other brands that uses the same repair contractors.
I suggest you speak to a manager/supervisor. I'm not sure if Lenovo has dedicated case managers for their business support like HP/Dell.

 

Solectron is no more, they were bought out and are now Flextronics.

 

I appreciate the responses guys, as soon as Monday gets here I am definitely going to do something about this.

I guess it serves me right for going with Lenovo over XoticPC, great machine but judging by the poor depot repair buying a warranty was the equivalent of flushing money down the toilet.

 

I would just fill a complaint and get all the screws and etc myself and repair it. If you have this much trouble going there twice i wouldn't trust them again.

Well. Either they the depot got no clue what they are doing or they realllly really really hate you........ lol just kidding

 

Will they send you replacement parts and let you do the repair? That would be awesome... I would totally rather do that than send a laptop to the depot!

I have had various laptops stripped all the way down before and it's not that hard. The depot probably just rushes because they have so many jobs to do. All you have to do is be careful.

 

I'm actually an Information Systems major and am perfectly comfortable with taking it apart and re-assembling it.

HOWEVER, Lenovo's policy is they refuse to send internal replacement screws, only external.

So unfortunately I don't have that option.

On the bright side it seems through this thread a manager at Lenovo has contacted me and wishes to assist me in these issues. So I'm rather shocked and rather impressed...at the same time. (lol)

 

Thats awesome!

 

Glad to hear it!

FYI for anyone in need of replacement screws for some reason, you can order a whole set of them from IBM spare parts. Just look up the part number of the screw kit for your model of ThinkPad in the part number catalog and have it when you call them (main Lenovo number, the menu number for spare or replacement parts is towards the end of the six options).

They're pricey (for screws) but can come in really handy if you accidentally lose a few when upgrading RAM and what not. Also, the screw kit should have all the screws necessary to replace every screw in your model of ThinkPad so it's a complete set.

 

Just so everyone is aware, Lenovo has been quite helpful in this case.

I just got a call from a representative today who is processing a complete replacement. I have requested an LG-Philips LCD Panel and she has granted it as well. Ah, can't wait to see the difference between my Samsung and an LG.