Nikon Shutter Failiure on D7000 at 90k clicks

<p>I just had my shutter replaced (out of warranty) by Nikon. The D7000 had about 90,000 actuations on it. They wanted to charge me ~$160 and claimed it was impact damage. After I proved it wasn't impact damage (submitted continuous sequence of shots from exactly when the shutter failed showing camera didn't even move) they agreed to fix it complimentary. Thanks Nikon. $160 for shutter replacement seems very reasonable but I'm really glad they fixed it for free.</p>

<p>Great for you but already 90k actuations on less than a two year old body? Speechless! I shoot events and seniors and one of my D300S just reached 80k. </p>

<p>90k sounds a little low for a shutter failure even for a consumer body like a D7000</p>

<p>Nice that they fixed it for you at no charge.</p>

<p>But we've beat this horse to death on this forum - Shutters are an electro magentic compoment in a electronic device. They will fail. Some will fail later than others, some will fail sooner. The test numbers that many hang their hats on are mean time between fail. They are not 100% accurate, nor are they guarantees.</p>

<p>Dave</p>

 

<p>I'm stunned that the repair cost was only $160.</p>

<p>Michael, that's a fallible argument. Average life is not a guarantee of shutter expectancy. I had a D80 that failed at 13,000 actuations, and I have a D200 that has no hesitations at 115,000. David hit the nail on the head.</p>

<p>...got my D7000 back from the service today - the shutter was dead after about 55.000 clicks.<br>

Repair cost (incl. tax, insured shipping...) was over 300 Euro. The service denied a repair on warranty.<br>

They told me that I'd damage the shutter during a improperly done sensor-cleaning (this was not the case).<br>

I did want a working camera, not a law-suit and paid the full amount.</p>

<p>And I shoot a D300 with 160k plus on it and still going. For that matter I have a couple of F3's that probably have more then 160k on them.<br>

I did not put it forth as an argument more as a comment. I know exactly what the MTTF numbers are used for.</p>

<p>Currency fluctuations apart, $160 does not equal 300 Euros! How does Nikon organize it's Worldwide pricing?</p>

<p>It seems Nikon have a complete list of reasons to deny service under warranty, and unless challenged expect to be paid.</p>

<p>Combined with the no-longer-supply of parts to independant fixers, this is a slippery slope towards denial of <em><strong>any</strong></em> work under warranty...therefore you accept the estimate and 'grin-and-bear-it' like Michael did......</p>

<p>Mind you, balance that with the fact that Thomas L got a free fix <strong>OUT</strong> of warranty!</p>

<p>However, as I read it Georg S had to pay for his even though it was <strong>IN</strong> warranty!</p>

<p>How about a biy of consistancy here Nikon??</p>

<p>My D3's shutter failed after 90k.</p>

<p>Mike: Replacement parts (shutter, maybe some screws or so) came to about 75 Euros, labor costs ca. 170 Euros, the rest was shipping, insurance and 19% tax on top of it all.<br>

My beloved D700 is still full of life after about 250.000 clicks, a D200 is way over 150.000 shutter actuations and a D100 also survived many years of hard use. A D2H failed early as well as a D1.<br>

I still like Nikons products and can't think about switching to another system, even if my last service-experience was not so amusing.</p>

<p>I have been shooting about a 1000 clicks a year on my D200 so I figure my shutter has another 85 yrs if it breaks on the 90K mark. </p>

<p>Before it died of old age (not shutter failure), after I gave it to a friend to use after I already had given it a lifetime of use, my D70 had about 215,000 actuations and not one failed shot until the final moment.</p>

<p>(and no, it was not fixable under the usual D70 warranty exception).</p>

<p>I've waited, chatting and getting advice or just waiting out on-the-spot repairs, numerous times at Nikons West Coast repair facility, and they are experts at the counter (at least) in spotting smallest signs of breakage or other indicators that suggest damage that would cause a warranty repair exclusion. They also will show it to you as they have to me several times to my surprise; I had been unaware of any damage but the proof was there and visible.</p>

<p>However, the personnel there are very generous in applying the damage exclusion, and in my experience over eight years of hanging around there, sometimes for long time, during repair periods, and observing, I have only good things to say about the way they apply the 'damage exclusion'. I've never seen one call I would question and no problems except for viewing a hothead or two (you know the kind, they raise their voice when they don't get their way and expect that just causing waves will cause people to do their bidding), I've never seen any real problem at all, nor have I experienced one.</p>

<p>I know they are experts at finding small tell-tale signs of damage that almost no one would ever spot, even experienced photographers, and recall that their techs (even their counter people) really are techs and college educated. They're no dummies and extremely experienced. Their counter people are NOT CLERKS; they're experience, hands-on repair pros.</p>

<p>I've owned Nikon products for 40+ years and never experienced a shutter failure -- not ever.</p>

<p>Nor have I seen a Nikon camera (other than arriving at their repair facilty and then most rarely) with a failed shutter.</p>

<p>I have highest respect for Nikon USA's repair policies as well as their products.</p>

<p>Nikon Ukraine, however, I wouldn't use for any reason --- I have found their service policies execrable, and it's a good reason not to buy in Ukraine where I often shoot.</p>

<p>I note the high European charge and that the claim warranty exclusion came from a 'repair facility' and does not specifically name Nikon Corp.</p>

<p>Nikon USA has a whole series of repair shops they authorize to do their work, and in those facilities practices and policies may vary. </p>

<p>If in fact your camera was evaluated by a repair shop and you were told about replacing a shutter before hand (other than authorizing all repairs no matter what the cost), then the alternative would have been to send it to the factory repair service, assuming they maintain a parallel service network in Europe as Nikon USA does in the US.</p>

<p>In my experience, best to walk out the door if presented with a high charge, and start calling around. </p>

<p>There are those who take advantage in any business.</p>

<p>When I lived in a part of California, the most slippery outfit in one town I was familiar with was the local auto club towing company franchise tower . . . . . as reported to me by former employees, other customers, and in my own experience. </p>

<p>But everybody trusts 'the auto club' that tows your car or changes your tire, but once after an accident (I was struck from the rear) rather than let them have their hands on my car, I refused an ambulance . . . . . and got to the hospital another way -- that's how much I mistrusted them.</p>

<p>(Cops said they had 'no choice' about whom to call; that outfit had a geographical franchise and they couldn't call anybody else no matter how much the injured me begged them.)</p>

<p>So, when something's very high, and if you have time and value your money, spend an hour on the phone and maybe you would have found that shipping 500 km would have yielded a much smaller repair price, and also the next shop might have done it under warranty if you did NOT preauthorize repair when you sent it to the second shop.</p>

<p>I formerly resolved complaints for people for a living, and know how to get lowest prices. </p>

<p>The same approach works for almost everything in life that's portable.</p>

<p>If one private franchise repair shop charges a price that seems way high and/or they deny a repair best to look around, even pay for shipping.</p>

<p>If you dropped if off and incurred charges just for disassembling at a more local repair shop, maybe better first to have first sent it off to Nikon's factory repair for the best, guaranteed repair.</p>

<p>[i know you can't do that now, but others who read this may be guided by your experience and the advice here; it will be archived for a long time and accessible to the world by Google.com.]</p>

<p>john<br>

John (Crosley)</p>

<blockquote>

<p>How does Nikon organize it's Worldwide pricing ?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Here in the Europe it can flactuate .., same repair or service is not always the same price..<br />Also a lot more is accepted under warranty, when you bring the camera for service to a major dealer, or better present it at the Nikon offical service center yourself. when send in through a smaller ( non NPS ?) dealer it seems that a lot of repairs are refuesed for warranty..</p>

<p>Can anybody tell me how to check clicks on my D200?</p>

<p>download Opanda - it is an Exif viewing tool - there are 2 versions - a free one and a pro one. The free one will allow you to see the exif data which includes number of activations. </p>

<p>My "Nikita" started failing a few months ago -ERR plus shutter failure. Bought in USA 2 years ago. I'm not a pro, haven't used it in harsh environments and didn't dropped. But I have to pay the reparation, 40% the cost of a new camera to change the shutter for a new one. If not, I loose the whole camera. <br>

Congrats Nikon, you're the very best camera vendors. Many people ask me what to buy, guess wich branch I won't recommend. Yes...! You got it!</p>