Has the 20D battery grip problem.....

...been solved by Canon yet? Do the new grips coming onto the shelves have the issue resolved or not?

I know Canon has acknowledged the problem and agreed to service/repair anyone's grip who is having the issue, but what I don't know is have they implemented changes to the manufacturing process?

From other posts on this board I found that Canon did change their BG-E2 design.
The serial numbers of the new grips are from 96001 and up. The battery magazine also changed design to include gold contacts.

I purchased one of these last week, and I have had good luck so far (no power interruptions).
It feels comfortable and very solid. My serial number is 114XXX (I cannot remember the last three digits off hand).

Do a search on the grip problem in this forum. It should yield some results by those who determined what exactly was causing the power interruptions.

Oh, and if you do buy the grip, get the hand strap, too. It is very nice.

They have acknowledged "some" of the problems, but they still exist. I am on my 4th grip, after 4 months of sending back faulty ones. This one is serial #109xxx, and it still has the flex/power loss issue. Also, the design has NOT changed at all. They only put gold leads in the AA adapters. I have made my own fix for it as I am not going to send in my grip and camera (yes they want both now) for another month.

Also, this weekend I went out shooting, and the battery life seemed really short.
After only 100 or so shots, and lots of chimping over a couple hours, the battery was almost completely drained. Usually I can shoot for 5 hours with lots of chimping and still have plenty of power.
My battery may not have been fully charged when I went out this time, so I will have to give it another try to be sure. Getting one of the new "fixed" serial numbers doesn't guarantee anything.

I also have a newer model and the flex/power loss is utterly RIDICULOUS! The Grip for my 10D is solid as a rock with no flex what-so-ever. The twenty d grip loses connection if it's flexed ever so slightly. They aren't acknowleding this problem, only battery drain issues. They really messed up on this one.

Oh, how I wish the BG-ED3 would fit on my twenty, it's a much better design.

Curious, how old is your 20D Miyamoto?

chimping = ??

My best guess is meaning using the LCD screen a lot. But I just want to make sure.

EDIT: I just googled it like I should have originally and I guess I was right.

I have a fairly new 20D and a new grip and have not had the problem.

Bought the grip.....we'll see what happens

I got a new grip from B&H not long ago, it works perfectly.

Have you tried attaching an external flash, and then giving it a shake?
If I have the external flash installed, and I pick up the camera by the grip quickly, the grip will pull away just enough to cause a brief power interuption that you won't notice unless you have your LCD on (it will turn off) or you have some pictures in the buffer (they will disappear).
After trying 4 new grips, I have had to make a homemade solution.

Yes. No problem.

I have had my 20d for about 8 months now and the grip all of that same amount of time. Im over 9000 shots and still have not issues with it. I was paranoid when I first heard of it, but no worries as of yet. I even use cheap-o off brand batteries in it too. no porblems to speak of. Just nice to know that if you do have problems, canon will stand behind it.

Canon hasn't stood behind the power/flex issue that many of us have had.
4 times they told me they were aware of the problem and it was a quick fix.
Each time they just sent me a new grip, with the same problem. Actually, last time they just sent the same grip back and didn't even touch it.
Ask Toogy in the forum, he's gone through the same mess.

I just tried giving mine a shake with a 420EX mounted. No error. No power interuption.
I assume that if you are viewing an image (playback mode) and the contacts come apart enough you will get an error or a power interuption.

Drisley, since you have had no luck getting through with Canon, I take it that you are somewhat content with your solution?