Long backorder on Panny plasma parts - anyone else?

[bp61]

My Panasonic plasma 55GT30 got the 7 blinks. Since I was still under credit card extended warranty, I called a local service shop and they identified the SC board (TXNSC1NVUU) as bad. That was on Jan 30. They said it would be 2-3 weeks on back order. Later, they said it would be March 8th. They've now called Panasonic again at my request and Panasonic is saying another 3 weeks minimum!!

Anybody else having this long of backorder?

Is it know what is the cause of the backorder? Are they actually fixing a design problem and having new boards made? Or, do they plain just don't care about existing owners so they ship some boards when they get around to it?

thanks

[tom66]

Re: Long backorder on Panny plasma parts - anyone else?

Very common issue with this set with 6/7 blinks (along with 20, 24 and 25 series.) My guess is Panasonic aren't producing enough to meet demand. Lots of people have the same issue.

[bp61]

Re: Long backorder on Panny plasma parts - anyone else?

I considered the supply/demand issue, too, but being an 8 week back order is ridiculous. Almost makes it sound like they completely ran out of their warehoused supply of boards and are having to fire up a new production run to restock.

Anybody talk to Panasonic directly yet to get more specific info?

[rayrod81]

Re: Long backorder on Panny plasma parts - anyone else?

TV manufacturers do not make an endless supply of parts for newer TVs and since the plasma panels are made as a unit (Panel, SC Board, SS Board, and Buffers) they rarely make "extra parts". While they will generally keep enough parts on hand to cover repairs during the manufacturer warranty period once that is passed they will not keep building new parts. Most boards the repair shops sell and receive after warranty are refurbished from the company or are harvested parts sold by other companies. Backorders of 8 weeks is not unusual if the TV is out of warranty especially if it turns out to be a common issue on certain models. There are many TVs that parts are almost impossible to come by because they are way out of warranty and the problem arose after the warranty period ended. Even though you have an extended warranty it is the responsibility of your credit card company to fix your TV and not Panasonic. Many times when a TV fails the extended warranty coverage usually will just replace the TV because it will cost them as much or more to repair the customers TV.