Vizio review: Defective product, poor customer service! 82

I recently purchased a vizio 26 in tv. got it home and plugged it in and the screen had a red dot on it. called vizio to see what the problem was they said it had a bad pixel but unless it had at least five red dots they would do nothing to relace or repair it.. maybe im wrong but when you buy something new it should work and the company should honor their warranty... should of bought a sony and for sure will in the future, vizio will never get another dime of mine...

I'm just posting this info. wherever I find people who hate their Vizios. I too have experienced the dreaded black screen. Here is a law firm exploring a class action law suit:
http://chimicles.com/case/vizio-televisions
TimothyMathews@chimicles.com

I know nothing about the firm, but I figured it couldn't hurt to report to them that I have had the same issue a lot of folks have. Might be worth writing a quick note.

Customer Service sucks!

Vizio 47" XVT472SV - Slide program won't work. Put in a usb thumb drive with JPEG images (edited in photo shop and saved as JPEG).. the VIZIO slide program creates a separate folder for each photo on the thumb drive. Execute the slide show program and whenever the program attempts to view one of the phantom folders that slide show created you get a photo file error message. Customer service is worthless at conveying to proper source for a fix . Engineers blew validation on this one. Samsung has a slide show that works just fine using the same images.

My problem is that the picture turns green and no sound on at least 2 stations. Vizio has had 2 boards replaced and now after less that 24 hrs the problem is back, I cant wait to here what they tell me today when I call again. Mine is a 47 1080p new in Sept 09. problem started 2 months after purchase.

I also purchased an expensive Vizio T.V from Sams. The sound is poor and the remote quit working almost immediately. There is a major design flaw. The remote is made of cheap thin plastic that makes the remote prone to being defective unless you store it in a glass case and not touch. Vizio should take responsiblility for replacing the remote if the company wants to have me as a customer again! I am stuck with an expensive T.V. and have to mannually change the channel. Shame on you Vizio!

I heared of this many times.its the capacitors on the power board that pop.its from over heating.its alot like a computer power supply if it had no fan to keep it cool.replace the capacitors on the power board and make more vents around were the supply is and it should not happen again.

Same problem. Bought a Vizio 50" plasma at Wal-Mart. Soon as the warranty ran out, POP. Someone PLEASE bring a suit.

Horrible T.V./Horrible customer service. I got scammed too! Just 3mo. after I purchased this tv the picture had a large green vertical line thru it. I too called custtomer service, I too was told to take a picture of the problem, I too was on hold forever, I too am frustrated. Then, they said they needed me to take more pictures of the piece of junk and email them...and I did, and still nothing. So, I called again and they said they would call me right back . Guess what? I am still waiting.

It is painully obvious that this is a widespread and pervacive problem with this company and with their T.V.s and I have not yet begun to fight.

Another Angry Vizio Customer

Found a name at VIZIO to complain to jim.noyd@noydcom.com. Didn't respond to 1st email but sent 2nd with some very pointed info and he finally responded. So anyone that has had problems with VIZIO send complaints to Jim NOYD!

Well here's a complaint from someone who is STILL UNDER THE WARRANTY, not that it's helping resolve my issues mind you.

4 months after getting my Vizio (22") I noticed the colors were muted (everything looked like a shade of gray) when feeding in from the component cables. I called to lodge a complaint and was told they could send someone out to fix it. That's fair I thought but I would be out of town for a spell and told them I'd contact them when I could schedule a repair. Shortly after my tv developed a brand new problem. It turns itself off! Sometimes after 5 mins, sometimes after 10 or 15. It's different each time but consistent in turning off

I called Vizio again. The man was very helpful and gave me instructions on what to fax to the company in order for them to set up an exchange thru my local Costco (the store of purchase) Within a week they had received all documentation. I called Vizio to confirm this and was then given the bad news that "the person you originally spoke to does not work here any longer and we will not do exchanges or refunds"

Since my tv wasn't large enough (or expensive enough) they won't do an in house repair. My only option was to spend my own money to ship it back to the company (insured with tracking) and wait A MONTH for them to send me a refurbished tv back in the mail.

My disappointment was evident. Vizio customer service then reminded me that I was lucky to be working with a company that even offers a warranty 'so many months' after purchase. So many months after purchase!? The thing stopped working after 4 MONTHS! My dad still has a tv he bought in 1980 and it works great. Now I was not expecting this tv to last 30 years but a 4 month life span is ridiculous

I'm currently battling with Costco to override Vizio and give me an exchange thru the store. If this does happen, I won't be replacing it with another Vizio thats for sure! Shame, I had heard good things about the company but after my experience and reading all of yours, this is the last time I'll be dealing with them!

Ok one thing for sure, Timetraveler is really the CEO of Vizi-crap. Listen idiot, I bought my 46" Vizio and it started acting up on my wife while I was out of state for a funeral. When I got home and saw the problem, a hideous black gradient shadow covering the entire screen, I got on the phone with Vizio. I got some pimple faced kid Scott who told me this was a known issue and he could replace the set with a new one under the warranty. The he put me on hold, came back and informed me that my 1-year warranty had expired, YESTERDAY! He went on to say, and I quote... "basically all I can do for you is ... nothing. You have to buy a new TV."

So as far as I am concerned, according to Vizio Quality Standard's every American should have to replace their $1, 479.00 television annually without fuss.

Hey Vizio... EFF YOU!

catchfinally@yahoo.com

Wow, it seems like most of these complaints are from people who never made a decision to cover themselves AFTER the warranty expired.. Geez people.. What part of 1 year warranty do you not understand..? We are all consumers and we all have to decide who repairs or replaces the item when it breaks, whether it’s a TV or a toaster after the warranty expires and over 50% of these complaints are from these people..? Most of these stupid complaints are from people who are unwilling to accept any responsibility for their own issues and then try to make them someone else’s..? I just do not get it... Every company I have dealt with always takes care of the problem if it is within warranty... It is not their issue people when the warranty expires... Get it..? Do yourselves a favor and do your homework before you buy and then you can only blame yourself if something goes wrong... As for those that received Refurbished units.. Look around - every electronics company does it so please don't tell me this is the first tv you have ever owned..? It happened to me with a GPS unit and a Samsung.. No company gives you new units unless you are still under the vendors return timeframe.. God, do some research first before you start ###...

Vizio is a company that takes the money and runs. We brought a 42 in flat screen and it went out in 6mos. They replaced it with a refurbished one and it also went out. Now they want to replace it with another refurbished one and no warranty. When it goes out in 6 mos, we will be without a TV. You can bet I won't buy another Vizio.
I will never by another VIZIO, the company sucks.

same here. i purchased vizio 60 exactly 2 years and 2 months ago from Costco. (well, then it was $3000) yesterday, i noticed a black line going from one side to the other in the middle of the screen. of course i called vizio but they say i am SOL basically. Wow. 2 months after warranty expires... i believe in Karma... would never buy vizio...

It seems that many have had the same problems with picture and sound. And many just after factory warranty is up. We complained right after we got the set and lived with the sound being low and grey areas in the black. now it has died after 2 years and 1 month. The cust. service has not changed one bit. unhelpful and at times just rude. 1, 800.00 dolars we have to eat. I contacted the Better Business Bureau. It may not help but at least I fell like I did SOMETHING. You are welcome to follow suit. @ www.bbb.com good luck.

VIZO sucks. Spent 1000 on our first Flat screen 42" Vizio. It broke- No Video No Sound 16 months later! It only had a 12 month warranty and after calling Vizio and talkling with 3 separate customer service people (two managers) -they wouldn't stand behind their product or do anything for us because it was a couple months past warranty. Our TV was literally smelling like smoke- could have been a fire- and they wouldnt' do anything. THEY SUCK. NEVER BUY FROM THEM!

We bought a Vizio 47" LCD at Costco (3 hours a way) for $2, 000. When we got it home we found it to have grey areas in the black. we loaded it up and returned it...3 hours away. thinking no prob to return. NO! they said we had to call Vizio. We did. After days of fight they said to take a pic, and send it. We did and no response. We kept it. 2 years later it suddenly went dead. we called to find that our 2 year warranty was up 1 month ago. They said our light went out and that is not worth the $ to repair . What suckers we were. Defective and they will not stand behind! We thought we would support them as they were supposed to be for the people (as I heard, anyway) We are just sick about this. disgusted! and saddened with humanity.

what is the CEO William Wang and CTO Kyle Wescoat email address?

We purchased a vizio 50'' less than three years ago. Last night it made the dreaded popping sound and now it no longer works. We've contacted vizio who sent us to two different companies they contract to fix it. One will not call us back and the other doesn't have any service in our area. We called around several other techs don't even fix vizios. When I spoke to the people at vizio they told me they were surprised my tv lasted almost 3 years and that most plasmas don't even last that long. They are aware of the problems that have been happening with their tv's but they don't seem to care.

Well, we purchased out 47" Vizio in July 2007. Yesterday it popped. Nothing works, so we called and was told the same thing...3 to 5 days we will hear from them. Today we got a call back and they said the part is on back order. They said they will call with in 5 days to schedule a day to repair. I am thinking that we should start looking for a new tv. I too think there should be a class action!

No one in customer service delivers customer service! They have no answers. No one can help...no matter how many times you call back no one is available to answer your question or they just hang up on you! 5 months I have been waiting for some sort of answer to what is wrong with our TV. We have already spent $140.00 just for a sears repair man (Vizio certified) to walk in and say...sorry their is nothing I can do...they no longer make that circuit board ? What..a year old and they no longer make a part? When you spend this amount of money for a flat screen TV you expect it to last more than several month...this should not be a throw away item! All the above stories are correct because I have experience the same things. SOMEONE MUST START A CLASS ACTION AGAINST THIS COMPANY.
I am sending a letter to the Better Business Bureau...and another to CEO Wang...VIZIO SUCKS...and they are doing nothing about it.

I agree worst service ever! WOrst TV...we need class action law suit!

I bought my 42 inch vizio on Feb 28 2008 it went out on march 6 2009.
Called them several times and they refuse to do anything about it.

I purchased my VIZIO GV47L back in August 2007. Last night 18 months to the day the "POP of Death" now no picture, sound or anything. VIZIO is so what its out of warranty call IHI. I have purchased 3 over the last 18 months, 47 inch, 36 inch and 22 inch.

NEVER again will I buy a VIZIO.

I bought a 26" VIZIO HDTV almost a year ago. This piece of equipment is EXCELLENT. I use it as my a monitor for my main PC (through the #2 HDMI port) and I occasionally connect my laptop through the VGA port. I also have my N64, PS2 and Xbox360 connected. Analog TV reception is crisp and clear while the digital TV reception is out of this world. So far, I have had ZERO troubles with this HDTV. Even with all inputs in use and the TV running almost non-stop, I can say the $475 I spent at Wal-Mart was well worth the investment.

In regards to the other persons, it seems the common thread through all the problems is the larger screen sizes. I would venture a guess and say the LCD driver board isn't sturdy enough to handle the heat or electrical current for those larger LCDs. Heat is DEADLY to electronics. After a long term of heat build-up, of course some component on the board is going to die. It IS a fact of electronics.

The sad fact from the above posts is that VIZIO doesn't need to be rude or abusive to it's customer base. There is absolutely no reason for any company to be rude or mean to anyone that was gracious enough to buy their product.

I purchased a 42" Vizio plasma and a 32" Vizio LCD. The plasma at low volumes was making this buzzing sound that drowned out the audio. (this is when the tv is 11 months old) luckily costco gives you 2years warranty. called them up and after dealing with thosed idoits i had to wait 3-5 days for the repair guy to call. then another 3 weeks for them to come and fix it. guess what 2 weeks after its fixed starts doing the same thing. after much cursing and yelling at vizio customer service they end up bringing me a newer tv to replace mine but that took another month because it was backordered.

now my 32" lcd which is 1.5years old. the hdmi inputs dont work and the components work sometimes. now i have to wait for the repair guy to call and repeat the whole process.

i will NEVER EVER purchase a vizio or lg product again (the components inside vizio tv is lg and the remote control code you use is lg)
and anytime i see someone looking at a vizio tv i now go up to them and warn them about the poor quality and service. i should have bought a samsung

I purchased a Vizio VS42L FHDTV 10A on 4/9/08. I had been saying nothing but good things about my Vizio experience until now.

This is the situation:

As I was trying to insert a HDMI cable into the HDMI 1 port, I accidentally touched the corner of the male end of the HDMI cable to a port called the "Service Port." The "Service Port" is only 3mm distance from the HDMI port in the back of the TV and when trying to insert the HDMI cable to the HDMI port, from the side of the TV, one could easily see that the "Service Port" is directly in the way of the HDMI port. When trying to plug the HDMI cable in, I accidentally touched the "Service Port" causing my entire TV to shut down. This did not produce a smell or a "pop" noise, but apparently destroyed my TV.

I contacted Vizio to ask for guidance on the matter, thinking that something so easily touched would have a "reset" button or something that would easily fix the problem. But immediately after I briefly explained to the tech support rep what happened, the Vizio rep told me, "your warranty will not cover that." Then proceeded to tell me to fax in my Proof of Purchase, serial number, case number and phone number. I questioned him why he was so sure Vizio would not honor the 2 year warranty after only getting a brief description of what happened and he told me to "just fax your info in."

I called a day later to check if my fax went through and they confirmed it did, but right away I was being told that the warranty won't cover what happened. I asked, "shouldn't a tech person check it out first to determine that"-considering how minor the touching of the HDMI cable (which wasn't connected to a power source yet) to the "Service Port" was. That person put me on hold and came back to tell me that he talked with someone at "level 3" and that I can not do anything about it. Once "level 3" says it's over, there's nothing I can do. Then he basically told me that I should hang up now and move on.

I said I wanted to speak to someone who was a supervisor in "level 3". This customer representative named Ray # 75847 told me "no". I then said that I wanted to speak with the person in charge of his department and he said NO. I even said, "I respectfully request to speak with the supervisor of your department, " and he said "NO, I can't." I played this game with him for a few minutes before I told him that, "I'm a disgruntled customer and I want to speak with someone in charge, doesn't Vizio care about that?" and he told me, (seriously), "Vizio doesn't care about disgruntled customers." I almost blew a fuse. I never cussed or cursed at him nor did I yell at him, or be condescending. I kept my cool. He didn't offer any advice on who to talk with in regards of repair. When I mentioned that nowhere in the user manual, warranty, or on the TV itself, did it mention anything about how delicate and fragile this "Service Port" is and how everyone should avoid it, h
e basically said Vizio doesn't care. I then told him that I didn't jam anything in there, I didn't force anything, it was not abuse or misuse at all. But he didn't care and tried to get me off the phone.

I realized that I was going to have to approach this a different way and told Ray to watch out for the Karma police.

I called Costco and told them the story. The Costco concierge then called Vizio, put me on hold, then after about four minutes connected me to a guy named Eric in "Level 3." Eric was useless and gave me a number for ITI the 3rd party repair people that Vizio works with. (I called during business hours, but had to leave a message, that has yet to be returned- which after reading other posts does not surprise me.) I then asked Eric how could my 2 year warranty not cover this situation when Vizio does not warn against touching the "Service Port" anywhere in the literature that came with the TV. I said, "Vizio should have a protective covering if this thing is so fragile." He said the newer models do. I said, "then you know how delicate it is and how easily it destroys the TV. Please honor my warranty." He said he can't. Then he tried to connect me to the customer service manager at Vizio- all the while the Costco concierge was listening to my whole discussion. While th
e phone was trying to connect to the customer service manager at Vizio, the Costco rep said, "it sounds like they don't care to help out." Then the phone never connected to the customer rep at Vizio.

But luckily I got the extension and dialed a few times myself. After talking with a few underlings, I talked with the floor manager Donna. She said, "I see your point, but I can't do anything about it." After about twenty minutes of re-explaining that Vizio can't use their "fix-all" excuse of not honoring the warranty because of the broad and vague "abuse" clause they have, she put me on hold to talk with some engineers. She came back and told me that the engineers said the TV cannot be repaired, that the port is "very delicate" and that I basically would have to live with it.

I then asked for her full name or ID number for I would need it in the small claims lawsuit that I was going to file against Vizio. She paused and then offered me a "very good discounted rate on a re-certified Vizio." I said, "well that's the first time anyone at Vizio has done anything positive in trying to correct this problem, but I don't want a refurbished TV." She told me that they are not refurbished and explained the difference. She then said she would call me tomorrow to tell me the deals. I told her I wasn't that interested.

I spoke well over three and a half hours with Vizio throughout this day- 1/28/09.

At this point I don't care about her deals, nor do I expect to hear from her. I will never buy a Vizio again. I will take it back to Costco and try to see if they will help me out, even though the 90-day return policy expired 6 months ago.

Damage Resulting = The TV cost just over $1000.00. It was the first big purchase for my wife and I after we got married. We are not wealthy. This was supposed to be a special treat.

My husband and I are retired and we saved our money to buy a VIZIO 42" TV on 5/26/07. It is now 19 months later and the TV is hanging on the wall and does not work. We called VIZIO and they were rude and told me that I should know how electronics where and should have purchased the extended warranty. I told them that I didn't purchase it because of the cost and that I had put my trust in VIZIO. Bad mistake. It will cost $500.00 to fix it I was told. I told them that I would expect a TV to last longer than 2 years and if the company was good then the TV would have lasted longer. I think the TV speaks for the company-NO GOOD. I hope the Better Bureau gets involved. I will never buy anything that concerns this company again.

I can't believe I'm out $1413.42 for a tv that lasted 14 months. conveniently, just out of warranty. had it out with vizio customer service (which is awful, by the way), and their bottom line is that I am SOL because i did not buy the extended warranty. Upon further research, this is quite common. lots of vizios break within the first 2 years. This is sounding like a class action lawsuit that is a drop in the bucket for any lawyer.
1. color starts going bad, green, red, lines, looks like bad wiring...
2. tv "pops" and is dead.
3. will turn back on but only lasts about 20 minutes before it goes out again.
4. finally, doesn't turn on at all...

share your similar experiences! I know some hungry lawyers!

My 47" remote quit working within 3 weeks of purchasing my Vizio. It is now 6 months later and I am still haggling to get a new remote. Tech support asked me to fax a copy of my sales reciept, I have. 3 TIMES. All my emails go ignored now, this is ridiculous. My TV was not cheap, it was recommended by someone who owned one. Little did I know what piles of junk they really are.

Samsung next time, regardless the cost

I purchased my Vizio 46' on 5/11/08. The tech came out on 11/04/08 to check out clicking sounds from the back. He replaced most or all the circuit boards. On 11/11/08 the TVwouldn't turn on. I called Vizio, telling them my problem. their Customer service .They wanted me to fax then the sales receipt. So far after several attempts the fax was illedgable. I sent them an e-mail with the attachment. When I advised them of what I did our connection went dead, leaving me hanging.Earlier the agent explained that after one repair the TV would be replaced, that's their policy. In the warranty it states I'm responsable for shipping the TV back. I can't wait to see if that's what they tell me. They have the option to replace the unit with a refurbished unit. That Sony was sitting right next to mine in Walmart. If I only knew. To be continued.

We have purchased two Vizio TVs. The first was a 32in LCD purchased about 18 months ago. There has never been a problem with it. The second is a 47 LCD. After about two months all of the contrast areas would turn green. I called customer service and they talked me through the problem. They were very friendly and helpful. Three weeks later the problem was back and worse than before. Customer service said they would send someone out to fix it. I received a call within 2 days to set a repair date. He came out two days later and replaced some type of board. Well, today the green screen is back. Customer service said they would replace the tv with a refurbished one. When I told them that I wanted a new one the said they would have to check with level 3 service because we were now past the 90 day mark. After checking the date of my original call they agreed to send out a new tv. Everyone I spoke with in customer service and tech support was very polite and thorough. I was never disconnected or hung up on.

Maybe there has been some service training?

That is what all of you get for buying a piece of junk product. What do you expect? Maybe now you will understand why the product is cheaper priced. You get what you pay for! Next time don't be cheap, spend a little but more and buy a quality product.

I paid over $1200 for Vizio and it broke 1 month after warranty ran out. They seemed to careless about marketing, public relations or repeat business when I called in for help. I was hung up on, told "tough, it's technology" and offered little support when I even offered to buy additional warranties to insure this wouldn't happen to me in the future if I paid the $650 to fix the problem. In my job I have purchase will over 300 televisions and none have failed after a year, technology my... One TV that failed in the second year was replace by Sony to insure good customer relations.

I wish I had read all the complaints before buying. Never ever buy Vizio with or without a warranty!

I am going to make sure that every purchasing agent and administrator throughout the university and college system in ARIZONA knows about this problem.

same crap happened to me

I have to admit that of all the customer service dept I have dealt with, vizio is by far the WORST I have ever seen. They have got to be purposely not wanting to do what they say they are going to do. The are an extremely stupid company and never deliver what they say they are going to do.

I will never have anything to do with this company. The product gave out months ago and we're still waiting for them to do something. They just don't care and I really can't believe this company will last.

A LETTER I WROTE TO CEO OF VIZIO HDTV INC. WILLIAM WANG. POOR SOUND POOR SERVICE DEPT.
C.E.O VIZIO INC

William Wang, 39 Tesla

Irvine, CA 92618 United States Founded in 2002 Dear Sir,

This is to inform you that I am TV. Extremely disgusted of your customer service dept. and tech support dept. I purchased it, At Costco a 20 inch HDTV. From the start I had problems with very low sound. I called and a tech told me that was pretty much the way it was with that size TV. Now the sound has a very loud static in the speaker itself. I called again and there's no record of my previous calls, at this time, I have been asked to get the original sale slip and fax it in. I was given instruction on where to fax it. And told that when they received the fax they would arrange to have me mail in the tv for repair. They never acknowledged the fax. I called several times and they said they couldn't fmd it. Then it was "what is your customer service number" I was never given that either. I called again customer service and this I was told to mail back the tv and they would send me a new one. I question how to mail it back. They said someone would get back to me with the information. A few hours later Rubin from tech support called me and gave me the address to mail back the tv. He never gave me the R.M.A number. He said he would send me out packing material. I complained that this is going to take weeks before I receive the replacement. His answer no. you'll get the packing material in two days. That was six days ago. Today I called once again, and found out the packing material was never ordered. Now they promised to send it out a/s/a/p. This ordeal started on Sept 13, and today is Sept 22, I have not made any progress what so ever. Today I had to ask for a Case number. And a RMA number I had to ask for a supervisor and make a complaint. By the way when you call the tech support number your given an 800 number for quicker service, try dialing and you hear music and then your disconnected. Needless to say I am totally turned off to your company and to your televisions', and will make complaint to the BBB and to Costco. Your customer service people
and tech people are totally inept .

Theresa Granata

You'd think for $1300 you'd be able to get a remote control that worked!

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The screen on my 50" Vizio went out and I called Vizio and even though my tv was out of warranty, they said they would cover the repair and have someone contact me within 3 days. The technician called the next day and said the parts have been ordered and set up an appointment. The tech came yesterday evening (I didn't have to take any time off from work or waste time waiting for their window), replaced 2 circuit boards, help set up all my cableing, and viola! It works! I give high praise indeed to both Vizio's customer service and the technician who showed up. Apparently Vizio is trying to upgrade it's image.

We called on 1/16/08 to report 1/3rd of our screen is blacked out with vertical lines on our 50 in. Vizio HDTV that we purchased in October.

We were told an on-site repair would take place within 3-5 business days.

Exactly 2 weeks later, we made 6 attempts to find out the status in one day. Badge #74768 couldn't find us in her data base and transferred us to customer service. That person told me it looked like it was on back-order on 1/25 and he would call to check on the part while I hold. However, the line disconnnected. Badge #75629 told me I need to call another number. However that number had a continuous busy signal. Badge #75161 told me she would transfer me to customer service and stayed on the line to ensure I wouldn't be disconnected. The service rep who answered said he can only check on the repair order via email so he will contact us later. Reitterated all this to Vizio in an email. Still haven't heard anything back from them. After persistent calling, they say they'll send a replacement refurbished tv which should take 7-10 business days to process the paperwork before it even ships. If I call back in a week, they'll have more information.

Yeah right?! If 3-5 business days is 3-5 weeks, I can't imagine what 7-10 business days are?! Vizio customer service is ridiculous!