8600M fails again, making a small courts claim

I can't believe it.

I had my Vaio FZ31Z motherboard replaced in November 2009.

The laptop worked absolutely fine, until 2 days ago.

I started the laptop from sleep mode, suddenly distorted lines came on screen then screen turned white n then black..

I restarted the laptop, it logged in etc fine and then after 2 minutes the same thing again.. weird lines n then black screen. I thought its the same nvidia problem again. However, now my laptop doesn't even Post (It doesn't boot).

The fan, hard disk , wireless switch work fine. However I can't even turn Caps lock on.

I have searched online and it seems there are a few other people who have developed the exact problem who have replaced motherboards.

It seems like Sony really messed it up and installed refurbished old motherboards which are inherently defective.

I have now decided enough is enough, I am going to start small claims court proceedings against DSG Retail Ltd ( from where I bought the laptop). I have sent them a letter before action.

My advice to any1 with a faulty nvidia chip, do not accept a SONY repair. It will stop working again.

Demand a replacement or refund from the retailer you purchased it from or your credit card company.

 

Good luck. What makes u think the retailer is responsible for that?????

 

sounds like if you're going to sue somebody, it would be sony.

 

the retailer is responsible for the product being free of defects under SOGA.

When i originally informed the retailer of the fault, they informed me to contact Sony as they were the manufacturer. I was naive enough to accept Sony's free replacement of the motherboard.

However this has happened for the 2nd time now. I don't expect a £ 1150 laptop to fail twice in 2 years, so I am in the process of obtaining an independent engineers report which states that the nvidia 8600m chip in the laptop was inherently defective; and is the cause my laptop has failed.

From researching this has shown to be sufficient for a small claims court action.

Any thoughts will be appreciated.

 

a lot of laptops with 8600's in them are ticking time bombs. if anything, nvidia is to blame.

 

You should see if the recent Nvidia settlement applies to your Sony laptop. Taking legal action against the retailer is likely to be expensive and not worth it for a laptop. If the country you reside in has strong consumer laws it may not be necessary to take legal action. If you live in a region where consumers only rights are obtained through lawyers (North America) your in for an expensive excercise.

 

He's taking them to small claims court which will not be costly too him, moreover, if you win you can get your costs.
As for winning this, accepting a replacement directly from Sony would probably absolve the local retailer of liability.

 

small claims court is very inexpensive and normally gets a manufacturer and dealer's attention.

Bronsky

 

i reside in the UK.

Yes, a small claims court is fairly inexpensive. However, I have to give them 14 days formal notice before I start any action.

The Sale of Goods Act in the UK, unfortunately does not allow me to pursue the manufacturer. I have to go to the retailer and add my credit card company as a co - defendent as they are jointly and severally liable.

I am surprised I can add the credit card company, but ah well the more the merrier.

 

Its still kind of pointless when there is still a possibility of resolving this with another replacement FZ31Z or its nearest equivalent without the ticking bomb 8600M problem.

1 replacement failure I can put down to sheer fluke. 2 replacement failures smells more like irrepairable design flaw but its a waste of time to get even Small Claims involved if there is still a reasonable way to settle this dispute amicably.

 

well the nvidia chip is a widely known design defect.

Ageed I would like to resolve this amicably , however knowing other people who have had theirs fail twice (some even four times).

I am not inclined towards a repair.

To prove the inherent design flaw, I need an independent engineers report which is not difficult to do.

 

Is there no attempt to prosecute Dell for non-compliance?

my temps are 93C my expert say my laptop will again prematurely.
They have simply installed the same defective parts models as failed before.

They claim to have installed a heatsing for my 2nd repair but the temps are already 3-4C hotter than when i sent it to them last week.

The settlement specifically stated we are entitled to a NEW GPU which seems we have the right to a next generation CHIP.

 

U do realize that the thread you resurrected is... from October 6th 2010... and that you are in the Sony forum?

 

Wrong forum, VERY old thread, and totally wrong diagnosis. You're batting 1000. The issue with the 8600 never had anything to do with it running hot. The issue was solely with heating and cooling cycles. There was an expansion coefficient difference between the bonding material and the substrate. That is, the two items expanded and shrunk at different rates. This caused stress cracks to appear in the solder connections. If you are having heating issues, it has nothing to do with the 8600.

Gary