100-400L IS motor faliure

Hey people, I've had a 100-400L from new since Jan 2011, and about 4 months ago it started doing strange things when in portrate mode, the image would "flick" and the apperture would read "00" on my camera, It didn't bother me too much as I hardly ever use it in portrate mode, but about a month ago it started doing it in landscape mode also, ive tried all IS modes, cleaned the contacts, tried 2 bodys, and 2 weeks ago I sent it away for repair,

Im told the IS motor has failed!! the lens is 14 months old and obviously just out of warrenty the supplier says they will give me the labour portion of the reapir cost for free. This will save me $210 NZ but it is still going to cost me $480 NZ. There is no sign of damage to the lens, and I know it hasn't been dropped as I'm the only person who has ever used it.

Should Canon be paying for a repair outside of the warrenty period if I havn't damaged it? I paid $2250 for the lens and without the repair it is worthless, i've googled and it appears to a rather common fault which pisses me off even more.

Milutiche wrote in post #14111173
Hey people, I've had a 100-400L from new since Jan 2011, and about 4 months ago it started doing strange things when in portrate mode, the image would "flick" and the apperture would read "00" on my camera, It didn't bother me too much as I hardly ever use it in portrate mode, but about a month ago it started doing it in landscape mode also, ive tried all IS modes, cleaned the contacts, tried 2 bodys, and 2 weeks ago I sent it away for repair,

Im told the IS motor has failed!! the lens is 14 months old and obviously just out of warrenty the supplier says they will give me the labour portion of the reapir cost for free. This will save me $210 NZ but it is still going to cost me $480 NZ. There is no sign of damage to the lens, and I know it hasn't been dropped as I'm the only person who has ever used it.

Should Canon be paying for a repair outside of the warrenty period if I havn't damaged it? I paid $2250 for the lens and without the repair it is worthless, i've googled and it appears to a rather common fault which pisses me off even more.

if you damaged a lens during the warranty period would Canon pay for the repair? unfortunately the answer to both questions is no. Canon has sometimes been known to make exceptions but it isn't anything you can count on.

ed rader

Sorry to appear unsympathetic, but...14 months minus 4 equals 10, which is when you started having problems. That's when you should have sent it to Canon, but

Milutiche wrote in post #14111173
...It didn't bother me too much as I hardly ever use it in portrate mode...

Back then it would have still been in the warranty period and you wouldn't be complaining now.
Maybe if you argue the toss with them they may extend some goodwill and cover you, but you can't blame Canon for you not doing something sooner, especially when you ignored the warning bells.

I hate to say it, as you won't want to hear it.... and neither would i, if i were in your shoes; it's out of warranty. So.. no, they don't "owe you" to cover it. Most warranty's at best, are limited too(with a boat load of fine-print).

Use the Consumer Guarantees Act. Go to the STORE you bought it from, and make them deal without. It's reasonable to expect a $2250 lens to last more than 14 months, warranty or not so the STORE has a responsibility to you to ensure it is fixed.

That being said, you should have done something 4 months ago.

Did you pay with a credit card? Check with the specific card company, and ask them if they cover it for an additional period. With my Visa, they double all manufacturer warranties up to a full additional year--for free.

Simpleboy wrote in post #14111252
Use the Consumer Guarantees Act. Go to the STORE you bought it from, and make them deal without. It's reasonable to expect a $2250 lens to last more than 14 months, warranty or not so the STORE has a responsibility to you to ensure it is fixed.

Really.?? Seriously.??

After browsing thru that act, I see nothing that says a retailer has to provide warranty service on anything that is past the manufacturer's written warranty.

What you may or may not consider reasonable is an objective question. The fact of the matter is that the original warranty was 12 months/1year, period. Neither Canon or the store where the lens was purchased is under any obligation to extend that. Realistically the retailer could end up eating any costs for attempting to provide no-charge warranty service without Canon's authorization. It's doubtful they would be willing to do that.

Yes, there have been reports of Canon doing no-charge warranty work on products outside of the warranty period, but there is no hard and fast rule that applies to this.

I might suggest that the OP send the lens off to Canon, and explain that the problem started to show itself before the warranty period had expired, and perhaps they will make an exception in this case. That's about the best anyone can expect.

DennisW1 wrote in post #14111295
Really.?? Seriously.??

After browsing thru that act, I see nothing that says a retailer has to provide warranty service on anything that is past the manufacturer's written warranty.

What you may or may not consider reasonable is an objective question. The fact of the matter is that the original warranty was 12 months/1year, period. Neither Canon or the store where the lens was purchased is under any obligation to extend that. Realistically the retailer could end up eating any costs for attempting to provide no-charge warranty service without Canon's authorization. It's doubtful they would be willing to do that.

Yes, there have been reports of Canon doing no-charge warranty work on products outside of the warranty period, but there is no hard and fast rule that applies to this.

I might suggest that the OP send the lens off to Canon, and explain that the problem started to show itself before the warranty period had expired, and perhaps they will make an exception in this case. That's about the best anyone can expect.

It's not providing warranty, its making sure that in NZ that the consumer is protected. From the website.

And those points should have you covered. I've used it to claim on broken electronics way beyond their warranty period. But if you think durable is 14 months or that consists of acceptable quality for something in this price class, well hats off to you.

Thanks for the feedback people, I am aware that I should have been more prompt in pointing out my problem to the supplier and I should have sent it back as soon as it started to fault, as it happened I had a lot of things going on in the lead up to christmas and this didn't (at the time) top my priority list, when it started faulting I thought it was more a "quirk of the lens" as opposed to a developing fault.

Maybe if I look through my photos I can find some where the EXIF data shows the lens fitted and the strange results I was getting, I don't know if this will help to prove when the failure started . . . .

Also I do think the Consumer Guarentees Act will probably be my best bet in getting a positive outcome, My wife worked for a Tel Co for 10 years and she had people using the Consumer Guarentees Act on $200 celphones that had failed 6-12 months outside the warranty


As Simpleboy stated
"Goods must be of acceptable quality"

How long would you accept a professional lens to last? I would expect at least 5 years and if it failed after 2-3 I could probably accept that, but not 14 months

Milutiche wrote in post #14111173
Should Canon be paying for a repair outside of the warrenty period if I havn't damaged it?

nope - at this point it's nothing to do with Canon (as it's out of warrantee)

Problem lays squarely at the doorstep of the retailer that sold you the lens if, and only if, it wasn't bought by a business (who the C.G.A. rules don't apply to - please tell us you're not a business...) Even grey market "parallel imported" retailers are bound to sort it properly.

Okay so you should really have dealt with it when it first appeared and now it becomes a bit more tedious to apply the letter of the law, but 14 months is not a reasonable time for a product like this to fail within and if the C.G.A. applies then it's up to the seller to resolve and if it were me I wouldn't be putting up with the labour only B.S.

Waltz up to the counter with a printed copy of the relavant act and ask if they have ever seen it...


who's the retailer?

a bit of useful info (and a video Phil might find funny ) here: http://www.consumeraff​airs.govt.nz …sumers/goods/fa​ulty-goods

[QUOTE=Milutiche;14111​395]Thanks for the feedback people, I am aware that I should have been more prompt in pointing out my problem to the supplier and I should have sent it back as soon as it started to fault, as it happened I had a lot of things going on in the lead up to christmas and this didn't (at the time) top my priority list, when it started faulting I thought it was more a "quirk of the lens" as opposed to a developing fault.

Maybe if I look through my photos I can find some where the EXIF data shows the lens fitted and the strange results I was getting, I don't know if this will help to prove when the failure started . . . .

Also I do think the Consumer Guarentees Act will probably be my best bet in getting a positive outcome, My wife worked for a Tel Co for 10 years and she had people using the Consumer Guarentees Act on $200 celphones that had failed 6-12 months outside the warranty


As Simpleboy stated
"Goods must be of acceptable quality"

How long would you expect a professional lens to last? I would expect at least 5 years and if it failed after 2-3 I could probably accept that, but not 14 months[/QUOTE]This lens should theoretically last 20 or more years!! Have you ever heard the saying.."the squeeky door get's oiled"?

Basically, if you make a lot of "noise" about this.. even if it mean going to newspapers, etc.. well, companies hate this. It means negative advertisement, and will they will usually try and :"shut you up", to avoid the far-reaching negative-publicity that REALLY costs them money in the long run.

I went thorough this with my '88 Mustang GT. From new, the clucth and tranny decided to self-destruct after 11 days of ownership. After brutal fights, it was covered.. i had to threaten to go to the BBB and TV! I t was a $6000 repair bill.. and when confronted with legal action... they came to their senses.

The consumer law in Aus and it appears also in NZ is nothing to do with what the manufacturer claims is the warranty - that's simply the time frame within which nobody seems to put up a fight. The reality is that, as stated, it's what most would consider acceptable given the product and cost etc, and it's the responsibility of the retailer rather than the manufacturer.

Unfortunately not only most consumers but most retail workers do not realise this and it rarely gets utilised. For something like a 100-400 that cost $2250 I think it's fair to say that it's not good enough for it to be failing given light use.

http://www.cab.org.nz …es/Gettinggoods​fixed.aspx this is quite reasuring
I think I'll be contacting CAB in the morning

i find this discussion a little odd, you buy something with a stated warranty, obviously you hope that it will last when you pay such a large amount for something but when you buy it you know what the terms are. at this point you are betting on the companies good will and throwing yourself at their mercy. things break, sorry you were the unlucky one but we all experieince it at some point.

minhi wrote in post #14113475
i find this discussion a little odd, you buy something with a stated warranty, obviously you hope that it will last when you pay such a large amount for something but when you buy it you know what the terms are. at this point you are betting on the companies good will and throwing yourself at their mercy. things break, sorry you were the unlucky one but we all experieince it at some point.

It looks like in many countrys other than NZ the consumer doesn't have very good protection against poorly manufactured goods. Thank goodness we have the consumer guarentees act and the citizens advice bureau, im feeling more confident about my dilema now.

I will keep you all updated.

Mokofoko - I didn't pay by creditcard