 The replacement/solution will likely be ready before Christmas Sales." |
Edit:
Meanwhile Ricco Krog (LEGO Technic Design Manager) wrote at technic.LEGO.com blog the message below with some information about the current status.
Linear actuators on 8043 Motorized Excavator to be modified
Just a few days after we launched 8043 Motorized Excavator, some of our LEGO® Technic fans told us about a problem with the model. This problem was unfortunately not discovered during the extensive testing we always do before launching a new product, so we had to run some tests on models provided by our fans.During the testing we isolated the issue to the linear actuators, which were not moving as smoothly as originally intended. The solution was to modify them and place the new linear actuators in all new sets that we will produce.
We are also making the modified linear actuators available to all existing owners of 8043 Motorized Excavator. If you have experienced problems with the digging arm, please do not hesitate to call LEGO Consumer Service 1-800-838-9647.
Thank you Hans, for the heads-up.
Last Update: 2010.Jan.10 01:24 CET
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6 comments:
Its a very unfortunate situation for everyone involved, but I'll give it to LEGO for being so easy and transparent during this situation.
Any clarification yet on what part(s) they are replacing?
"likely before Christmas Sales"?
What does that mean?
November? Early December?
Last monday the customer service representative told me the service packs will be available at the end of october.
The repacking and restocking wouldn't take that long?
And furthermore it would be a nice thing if LEGO is giving the customers a notice of this issue directly through their website.
At least in Portugal, Christmas sales start in November, so the "end of October" milestone might be in accordance with this communication... it all depends on what TLG's definition of "Christmas Sales" is.
Also, since this is a quality issue rather than a safety issue, I'm not surprised they didn't issue a public statement: the worst that can happen is worn out parts, not risk of injury or death. If the customer is happy with the current revision, then let him be; if he is unhappy, he'll contact LEGO, and in that case he'll be given the parts "patch".
I also agree that the 'Christmas Sales' start quite earlier than December, so "likely before Christmas Sales" is consistent with E10. The message may reveal still some uncertainty though, but believe it will never be a huge difference in time.
I'm sure there a lot of things to prepare and do.
Regarding the notice, technic.LEGO.com has a message on homepage that clearly says "Problems with your 8043 Motorized Excavator? Contact Customer Service at xxxxxxx" (except if seeing in German Region).
It seems an adequate way of dealing with the present situation.
Also we know that the Customer Service has been exemplar dealing with the overall situation.
This is a quote from the technic blog on technic.lego.com (currently unavailable)
"During the testing we isolated the issue to the linear actuators, which were not moving as smoothly as originally intended. The solution was to modify them and place the new linear actuators in all new sets that we will produce."
Good news isn't it?
Yes, very good news. I guess that's more or less what we've all expected.
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