16-35 II focus ring stuck --- looking for what might have caused the problem

The lens was on my camera for a bit today and the focus ring failed. No bumps or dings that I recall.

It got stuck between infinity and like... 20' or so. It couldn't physically move to a focusing point closer than that. I would turn the lens upside down and it would become un-stuck... and the weird thing - by the end of the night after carefully manually focusing... it began working again.

Since this is my workhorse lens, I plan on sending it in to get it checked out for fear of it TOTALLY failing during an important shoot.

I'm wondering if anyone has encountered a problem like this before, or might know what MAY have caused it..?

[edit: sent to canon and fixed <3]

I had a play with a Sigma 24-60 around New Years that had a similar problem... the zoom ring jammed whenever the lens was held horizontal but freed up perfectly when tilted to vertical.

...no idea why though. Something binding that shouldn't be. Interesting that yours freed up again...

That's why I made a thread in the first place. If it just failed... sure - no problem. I send it in to get fixed. The fact that it unjammed is wigging me out.

I had a problem with the zoom ring on 24-70. It was stuck between 24-35 which sucked cuz i had a portrait shoot in 2 hrs and I hate to say it i just kinda forced it past 35 and I havent had a problem since. Some times a little tough love. I wouldnt do that with anything less than a L lens. Knowing that the lens is built rather tough I was pretty confident that I wouldnt break it. Ive tested it a lot since then and still sharp as hell

I purchased a new 16-35 II last July in the USA. My parents still live in the US, but I go to Uni in the UK. While I was in Vietnam, I was using the lens (on my Elan 7NE), when the lens developed the exact same problem. Rediculous... I have never dropped the lens, nor have I ever even taken it in inclement conditions. I have taken maybe 300 pics with it at most since I got it.

I was told by Canon that because it was an L-lens, I could get it repaired in the UK. Great. So I sent it off the their authorised repair centre. But, today, I get an estimate from the repairer for £162 (~$240) to fix it. Why? Because Canon only cover the WHITE lenses worldwide I'm told, not the other L-lenses. So, now I will have to pay more shipping to send it to the US... I will probably have spent $60 just in shipping, if not more, by the time I get it back.

I am furious and very disappointed with Canon. This furthers my bad experience, given that my G9 has several hot pixels that I never noticed initially but now show up in every pic.
Thumbs down to Canon for wasting my time and money with some "luxury junk"...

To update my post:

Canon USA told me that I should be covered by the international warranty, and Canon UK confirmed this. So it seems that there is a misunderstanding about warranties getting honoured between Canon and the authorised repair centre. At least they apologised for wasting my time.
Despite this, I'm still not amused about the lens just breaking like this, considering it's a $1400 lens...

Not sure if you will receive this post as this thread was created 2 years ago, but I am having the EXACT same issue with the same lens and also find myself in the UK as a US student abroad. Where was the canon repair shop you took you lens to and how long did the repair take?