oldcro

Just a quick update, a third vertical line has now appeared. I now have two green and one red line. Yipee! Can't wait for some blue line to appear so I'll have the full set. shouldn't be too long as Panasonic are quite reliable they say.

Any movement from Panasonic yet? Have you tried a stiff letter to the CS dept, citing the 5 year warranty on new sets and the fact yours is less than half that and is becoming unusable? Might be worth writing to one of the hifi or AV magazines as well, to let them know the situation?

Yes, I did get a reply asking me to take the TV to a Panasonic repairer and report back to them. So depending on the report they may replace the screen. My problem is my nearest repairer is 200 miles away which includes a 12 hour ferry journey so taking it would cost more than a replacement. I could send it but would have to make a suitable box for it and pay carriage both ways plus the repairers bill all with no guarantee Panasonic would replace the Tv.

Thanks for the tips Mike_B I'm just waiting to hear if Panasonic respond to my last letter, but am not holding my breath.

I Googled "Panasonic plasma fault + lines on screen" and it listed many reporting the same fault, even some dealers have called the fault common. BTW I bought my TV from Panasonics Eshop. In Panasonics favour, I reported the fault again after the second line appeared and this time they have shown an interest but I'm not sure they can help me. All I got when first repoting a line on screen was to take it to a Panasonic repair shop.

Well, there are some people reporting it, true... But if you replace Panasonic with Sony or LG you get the same things being reported on those TVs instead. I guess it's more of a 'feature' that flat screens tend to fail with lines on them, rather than total failure or loss of one colour gun like you might get with a CRT set. How old is your set?

My set is 22 months old. As you say faults do seem to be a feature of flat screen TV's which is a puzzle to me. LCD monitors seem to last for years without problems which is why I question whether a plasma is a better buy than an LCD. The choice is limited when it comes to screen sizes for both which can be an issue although LCD's are being offered in the larger sizes now. When you bought a CRT Tv you expected it to last for years, which they did, So when I upgraded to a state of the art plasma the least I expected was an acceptable length of service.

£1850 paid and less than 2 years before developing a fault just ****** me off, reason for my rant by the way.

Just a quick update, a third vertical line has now appeared. I now have two green and one red line. Yipee! Can't wait for some blue line to appear so I'll have the full set. shouldn't be too long as Panasonic are quite reliable they say.

Can second kam05's recommendation for Panasonic. Just took delivery (week or two ago) of a 42inch full HD plasma - and it's absolutely stunning.

The Panasonics don't look as bright in the shops, but when you get them home and set them up properly, the image looks a lot more natural than the ultra-bright Sonys and Samsungs which stand out so much in the shops. The sheer power of the luminance coming off the Sonys makes my eyes water!! (It seems to be them in particular, maybe they are just set up in the shops like that in the same way that some radio stations pump up the loudness of their music to make the reception *seem* better...) The Panasonic is much more comfortable to watch for longer periods, especially for movies.

A couple of months before I bought, I spent an hour in a quality hifi and home cinema shop in New Malden (SW London). The guys in there really know their stuff; their opinion was that the Pioneers were the best, but the Panasonics were 95% of the quality, for 75% of the price - which makes them much better value unless money isn't an object. Of all the ones on the market, and they had several makes on display, their opinion was that Pioneer and Panasonic were the best, in that order.

The considered opinion is that for 37" and below, LCD is the way to go, but for 40" and above, plasma is better. Plasma also tends to give more natural looking colours, especially in darker scenes as black is exactly that on a plasma - black rather than dark grey. This is because of the way each produces the image; on an LCD screen there is a very powerful backlight which is then filtered through each pixel by combinations of LCDs. On a plasma, each pixel is stimulated to produce light internally, so when a pixel is dark there really is no light coming from it - and no possibility of light leaking through. So since you're looking at a big set, look at plasma.

A month ago I would have agreed with you and said a Panasonic plasma was the bees knees.

I Googled "Panasonic plasma fault + lines on screen" and it listed many reporting the same fault, even some dealers have called the fault common. BTW I bought my TV from Panasonics Eshop. In Panasonics favour, I reported the fault again after the second line appeared and this time they have shown an interest but I'm not sure they can help me. All I got when first repoting a line on screen was to take it to a Panasonic repair shop.

Well, there are some people reporting it, true... But if you replace Panasonic with Sony or LG you get the same things being reported on those TVs instead. I guess it's more of a 'feature' that flat screens tend to fail with lines on them, rather than total failure or loss of one colour gun like you might get with a CRT set. How old is your set?

My set is 22 months old. As you say faults do seem to be a feature of flat screen TV's which is a puzzle to me. LCD monitors seem to last for years without problems which is why I question whether a plasma is a better buy than an LCD. The choice is limited when it comes to screen sizes for both which can be an issue although LCD's are being offered in the larger sizes now. When you bought a CRT Tv you expected it to last for years, which they did, So when I upgraded to a state of the art plasma the least I expected was an acceptable length of service.

£1850 paid and less than 2 years before developing a fault just ****** me off, reason for my rant by the way.

I bought a Panasonic 42 inch ( TH-42PX600B) a year last august direct from Panasonic for £1850 and up until a month ago was very pleased with it. But a month ago it developed a green line near the centre of the screen from top to bottom. Last week a second line has appeared next to it. These lines spoil the viewing experience and for the screen to last less than 2 yeare is a disgrace in my opinion. Panasonic are not interested and could not care less by their attitude show so far.

A quick Google of Panasonic plasma and lines on screen will show pages of people with the same problem. My next TV will definately be an LCD as a few missing dots is much better than lines right down the lengh of the screen. Sony by the way offer 5 years warranty free, which is far better than the 1 year I got from Panasonic by the way.

I've just done a quick google of panasonic plasma and lines on screen, but haven't found 'pages of people with the same problem'. Have you got a link to the forums etc with this? Not good if there really are loads of them with the problem... The PX600 models are now 2 generations old, and the OP is likely to be interested in a full HD model which will have a completely different panel in it so is unlikely to experience the same issue. BTW, Panasonic are also offering 5 year warranties if you buy from a proper dealer, and if you buy from John Lewis you get a free 5 year warranty on any brand they sell.

I Googled "Panasonic plasma fault + lines on screen" and it listed many reporting the same fault, even some dealers have called the fault common. BTW I bought my TV from Panasonics Eshop. In Panasonics favour, I reported the fault again after the second line appeared and this time they have shown an interest but I'm not sure they can help me. All I got when first repoting a line on screen was to take it to a Panasonic repair shop.

I bought a Panasonic 42 inch ( TH-42PX600B) a year last august direct from Panasonic for £1850 and up until a month ago was very pleased with it. But a month ago it developed a green line near the centre of the screen from top to bottom. Last week a second line has appeared next to it. These lines spoil the viewing experience and for the screen to last less than 2 yeare is a disgrace in my opinion. Panasonic are not interested and could not care less by their attitude show so far.

A quick Google of Panasonic plasma and lines on screen will show pages of people with the same problem. My next TV will definately be an LCD as a few missing dots is much better than lines right down the lengh of the screen. Sony by the way offer 5 years warranty free, which is far better than the 1 year I got from Panasonic by the way.

Plasma screens cannot and never have been regassed. It is a myth. Google it and see what the answers are.

Go because you want to live in a particular country. If you move just to get away from the UK you might find your new Utopia does not exist.

Part of the fun is in the discovery. Nowhere's perfect. When you're young you can afford to explore the world - it gets harder the older you get.

I could not agree more. Going for the adventure and excitment is worth more than money, even the bad times will be looked on with fond memories on for the rest of ones life. If you want to travel Rikos do it, you will never regret the experience.

Go because you want to live in a particular country. If you move just to get away from the UK you might find your new Utopia does not exist.

No, I am really p***ed of with Jamie's snide remark. So tell you what Jamie, print off Vykers original post, show it to a Police Traffic Officer and ask his/her opinion of the driver involved. I look forward to hearing what the reply is, and will accept his answer without reservation.

Makes me smile as it only seems to be these sort of posts that Monsieur OldCro posts upon.

Anyways, glad to hear both the car and owner are well amigo. So many contributing factors, just learn from the approach to the roundabout and the experience of it - resolve the problem and move on :)

All the best,

Jamie

Thank you for that Jamie, your wrong of course and a read of my last 10 posts would show this. As for Vyker there was just one contributing factor, he entered the roundabout too fast, made a mistake and learned from it. Better to read (my sort of posts) than that someone has had a serious accident. But then, I do not have the benefit of your experience, and I'm not even French Monsieur.

Best of luck for the future.

I bet you're an 'advanced driver' aren't you? :P lol

YES.

Quote from Vyer's post

"At the end of the road there is a roundabout, so i was braking hard dropping down the gears, but i don't think i slowed down enough....

as i entered the roundabout, still hard on the brakes, i dropped it into second, the car was carrying too many revs etc.

So from that I read you entered the roundabout at a speed to much to stop "i entered the roundabout, still hard on the brakes" . Too many revs in second gear proves this. My post was to raise your awareness of the potential dangers of what you did. It does sound like you realise your error and have learned a valuable lesson at little or no cost to yourself or others. Good for you.

Some of the initial posts did upset me with their comments of hard luck and drifting school type messages. I just hope you gain from the experience and become a better driver, and that does not mean faster by the way.

Doesnt really matter what of the above he has.. he already knows what caused it

but i don't think i slowed down enough....

going to fast!

Im surprised oldcro can even read these threads, the writing must appear tiny from way up there on his high horse. :P

No i'm not on any high horse. If the article had been written as an observer seeing a BMW driver doing the same thing, everyone would have taken the **** out of the driver. But if you drive a Lexus, you suddenly become a heroic do no wrong driver. The man approached the roundabout far too fast and had no chance of stopping if the need arose. Yes he is going to say he could see the road is clear, but there is always the one in a million chance that a kiddy he did not spot rides into his path at the last moment.

Call me what you like, but if I save a life by doing so then so be it.

I spun my IS at a roundabout.

I was driving down a country lane, its a looooong straight road, doing usual speed.

At the end of the road there is a roundabout, so i was braking hard dropping down the gears, but i don't think i slowed down enough....

as i entered the roundabout, still hard on the brakes, i dropped it into second, the car was carrying too many revs, so as i engaged the clutch, the back wheels went, as i was already turning into the roundabout, and the balance of the car nose down/front heavy, the back went, i did a full 360, thank god i hit nothing and there were no other cars, reversed it straight and drove on.

A close call, but all my own fault, the car was still cold, had been in it 1/2mins, i shouldn't have taken it into second, i probably would have had enough grip to coast it round in 3rd, then change later......

But boy is it one hell of an adrenalin rush! thankfully i stayed sharp and cool, i think i did my best to keep it on the road and not hit the kerbs, id be lying if i claim i steered it to safety but id like to think i corrected it slightly and reacted quickly. :P

Drive safe LOC'ers

Signing out, a pumped Vyker!

Sounds more like stupid irresponsible driving to me :crybaby

It is an emergency wheel to get you to the nearest Lexus dealer or tyre fitter, as mentioned many times. It is not for driving around admiring the change of looks for goodness sake.

Mercedes C320CDi Elegance is my choice.

Oh! hang on, i've already done that and am very happy with my choice. My Lexus IS250SE-L was a great trouble free car but it was not really what I expected. I think I was expecting a smaller version of the LS and got a rival to a BMW. At my age I am not inerested in going round corners faster than anyone else, or accelerating at warp speed as most members seem interested in. Judging by the number of mentions about turbos and superchargers in the forums. Nothing against anyone wishing for that kind of car, it's just not what I want out of a car.

I now have a great V6 diesel engine with an excellent 7 speed auto box and a more comfortable ride. Horses for courses and all that, so if Lexus IS is your choice then you have a very well built great car. :shutit:

Very good, worth a million £.

That's great, makes me want a Wii.

For a petrol automatic the Lexus 2.5 litre V6 is one of the best, but for diesel the Mercedes 3.0 litre V6 with 7 speed automatic is the one to go for. BMW make very good diesels, but you have to visit a BMW dealers to get one. Audi diesels are also very good, but the cars all ride a bit hard. So depending on what you want, you pays your money and takes your choice.

How often has your parking sensor malfunctioned due to it being frozen?

It's happened to me twice with the temp below -4.This morning it was -6 and put it into reverse and got a continuous tone which didn't clear until I put it into D.

I presume this is the parking sensor causing this?

As already mentioned, did you take a few seconds to just look at the sensors and make sure they are clean?

Just be carefull you don't be too greedy and loose what is a pretty good deal. By all means check other dealers to see what if any improvements you are offered, otherwise tread carefully.

Ahmed, It is bad practise to let the engine run for 5 to 10 minutes before driving off, unless you are using the time to clear the windows. Best way to warm it up is to drive it without using high revs.

Ooops i wasnt aware of that i was always under the impression that letting the engine run for a few minutes specially in cold weathers helps the engine. I do sometimes drive off straight away after starting the engine in very cold temperatures, i notice that the engine sounds much noisier and you can hear the hum of the engine working as opposed to when driving in normal conditions. Because of this i started using warm up method which to be honest does exactly the same thing as the engine temperature doesnt really increase much.

Why exactly is it bad to leave engine running for a bit before setting off as opposed to driving off straight away?

I was always taught that leaving the engine idle for too long wastes fuel as it it is not under load so produces less heat for the fuel used. Also by driving off all the rotating parts of the vehicle get a chance to warm up and lubricate themselves as necessary. Oil in gearbox and differential and the bearings need time to get warm as well as the engine.

Not sure if these points are relevant today, but it is how I was trained to drive and never had any related problems. It also stops you driving away like a bat out of hell once the engine is warm but the rest is freezing.

I try and drive off after no more than a minutes idling, although it is not always possible if ice needs scraping from windows etc. I'm sure others will contradict this and may be right, so it's your choice in the end.

thanks for all your replies. i have been trying to find the source of the vibrations but its really irritating because i cannot always hear it. Everytime i'm driving home from work and now that the weather is cold i let the engine run for about 5-10mins (snip)

Ahmed, It is bad practise to let the engine run for 5 to 10 minutes before driving off, unless you are using the time to clear the windows. Best way to warm it up is to drive it without using high revs.