Anybody have any feedback on the 'NEW' Lionel Warranty Repair Service...

IT was posted to Lionel's website that it opened a few days early and people are already getting parts.So box up your Lionchief set and let us know how it goes

 

That is all

Where did my post go?  I responded to the question saying that I was told one thing from lionel before the move and being told another.  They said they will take care of my issues with a set I bought and now said I will have to buy the parts.  Horrible customer service.

Without details hard to say (Most of these kind of disputes are multi sided) If you do not like the answer you got on the phone I suggest contacting Lionel and elevating it.

 

If it's an matter of your warranty running out while they were closed for the move, I'd be surprised if Phil wouldn't work with you

I still have a warranty on the set for another few months and they said I do not. Even though I have the shipping label from the manufacture of when this set was made.    They seem to be trying to cut things short once again

Is there someone else I should speak to instead of customer service?  I'm tired of supporting lionel and getting the worst customer service ever.

Phil is now in charge of service, call and ask

So do you have a receipt showing date of purchase? Or is this an item that exceeded the 3 year after manufacture warranty (not a fan of that clause)

I have the original receipt and it has not exceeded the factory warranty.  Is Phil in charge of customer service?  I've been speaking to some lady.  First on the phone then through e-mail

Yes, he took over from Mike Reagan

 

And their stated reason for not covering it?

If you have the ability to take a photo and email pictures of the box with the date on it, I'd send that to customer service and ask them to explain how three years can be up.  Or, ask to speak with a supervisor, or do the usual escalation stuff.  Don't waste your time talking to someone you feel isn't being responsive.

I am just glad they are back up and fixing trains again. Wow. Great News.

What engine and model number is it?

I feel like I'm getting a better bargain with the shipping charge because they are farther away now. 

I sent one of the few engines that need to go back to them out last Monday. It made it there on Wednesday, they email me today with a tracking number and its on its way. So a turn around of a week and a day. 

My experience is similar to joker34. I needed warranty work done on an ES44AC which was doa ( dead short rollers to chassis). I shipped the locomotive to them on the afternoon of 5 Aug. I received an e-mail confirming reciept on the morning of 7 Aug. I received a second e-mail yesterday afternoon ( 14 Aug) stating repairs had been made and the locomotive had been shipped and the tracking number.

just to add some more feedback to lionel. Yes the got the engine sent back to pretty fast. I had the shell replaced on one of my GP9. They sent me a note saying what they fixed and how long they tested it, also saying a supervisor checked off on it. Only problem was they left the bell off. Im guessing these guys at lionel are not train guys and its more of a job to them. I called lionel and told them about this and the lady sent me the bell at no cost to me.

talktous@lionel.com

 

mReagan@lionel.com

 

not sure

phull@lionel.com

 

 

Anyone know how long parts orders are taking?  A friend of mine ordered parts a week ago Monday and still hasn't received notification of shipping.

 

Roger

And so, the journey has begun. Contacted Lionel LLC last Friday, August 15, 2014, requesting help with the warranty repair that has not been available for months because of their relocation and move. The electrocoupler is not and has not operated correctly since I first received my Lionel LionChief Plus 4-6-4 New York Central Hudson back on April 1, 2014 (April Fools Day, maybe it was an omen)! Months ago the only offer to help was a suggestion from the Lionel Service Department to try some graphite as it may loosen up the coupler...tried it and it didn't help. So last Friday the suggestion from Lionel Service Department was again, you guessed it, have you tried graphite? They said to let them know if it did not help and I responded that attempts to use graphite, as they had suggested, were not successful. That was last Friday, it is now late on Tuesday, August 18, 2014...and I have had no further contact from anyone at Lionel Service Department, no offer to repair or an RA for a return. This is going to get very interesting...hope that they are planning to extend warranty service to everybody that was unable to receive warranty/repair work during their downtime...glad to see some have had good experiences, however, at this point and time...I can't say that I have.

If an electrocoupler is your only problem, that isn't much to worry about. They're cheap and easy to replace, and there are also a bunch of great information pieces as well as videos and other resources to look at on the internet about repairing them. There's a good chance you can figure out the problem and fix it yourself.

My suggestion is go to a nearby Lionel Service Center. There should be a list of service centers in your set paperwork. This could be Quicker. Warranty work is warranty work, so, contact one of the Lionel Repair Stations.

Have you phoned them?

 

no one said Lionel isn't going to fix it, what seems to be missing is the poster getting an RA. I am not sure where the disconnect is there. Either he isn't asking or they are not hearing the request for an RA

Just curious, does the coupler make the requisite buzz when you address it? Or is it perfectly quiet, indicating that it's an electrical problem? 

Cjack,

Here is a video of the electrocoupler...it has the sound effects of the coupler opening...but that is as far as it goes. Occasionally/rarely it will actually open on the first attempt...but will not operate on additional tries to actuate the electrocoupler...

I would take the tender shell off and check the wires/connection.  The sound is part of the software. It looks like you have no electrical connection to the coupler, they are pretty bullet proof as far as operation goes for the coupler itself.  Why send it off if you can do an easy fix in 30 minutes at most. It won't void the warranty either. 

cjack, The two clicks you heard, prior to the sound affect, is the horn button on the LC+ remote, it needs to be pushed quickly two times in order to actuate the electocoupler. As for the comment from pennsydave, "It won't void the warranty either"...I'm not familiar with all of the new electronics used on the LC+. Months ago and early in this process I suggested that they just send me a new tender, I was told by the Lionel Service Department that the majority of the electronics for the LC+ were located in the locomotive and basically all that was housed in the tender is the speaker...so I can't take a chance on being the one to "open things up" and void the warranty by messing with the innards.

Interesting. So the tether to the tender is wired and not IR? And electronics are in the engine...so the only issue is maybe some connection board in the tender to the coupler. Since it sounds intermittent, one might have the hope that it is a connection in the tender.

But...probably send it in.

Can these Lionchief Plus locomotives share other Lionchief Plus tenders? Are the tenders generic and the specifics for the remote all in the locos? Interesting if so...

Have you called (not emailed) Lionel and said "The graphite didn't work, please give me an RA#"  The few times I have had to send stuff back I have had zero hassles

The coupler is housed in the tender. I was merely saying to check the wiring and the connection for the coupler itself.  Every electro coupler I have seen has a two pin plug that plugs into something else.  If in the LC Plus the wiring goes all the way to the engine without a mid connection, that would probably require the engine being sent back to Lionel. 

 

Ok. Well, the relevant thing to me, for such a relatively minor repair, is the shortest distance between two points. Time has value to me. I wouldn't get all wrapped up with this and spend a ton of time, communicating back and forth with the service department, and the Forum, and getting a RA from Lionel, and waiting for that, and sending an engine off, and waiting for that, etc. etc. unless it was a worthwhile expenditure of my time.

 

It probably wouldn't be for an electrocoupler, unless it appeared that at least a modest effort at self-repair was ineffectual. It seems to me that spending lots of time over proving some "principle" of warranty service is a poor excuse for use of time. I only made the suggestion, as a matter of efficiency, to check out some very good web resources for a fix-it, and learn something that might be of value later as well (like when the warranty runs out!). 

 

If time is of little value, well, press on. There's that joke about the old farmer and his hog. A visitor observed him spending a lot of time walking the hog twice a day from its pen to a distant water bucket and back. The visitor asked the farmer why he didn't just move the water bucket closer to the hog's pen, because of all the time it was taking to walk the hog back and forth to the bucket twice a day. The farmer answered "Well, I could do that, but what's time to a hog?"

Funny, never thought of it until reading the last comment from cjack (Can these Lionchief Plus locomotives share other Lionchief Plus tenders? Are the tenders generic and the specifics for the remote all in the locos? Interesting if so...) and then the light went on.
As I have both a Pacific 4-6-2 and a New York Central Hudson 4-6-4...I decided to switch their respective tenders and give it a try. In the first video...the Hudson tender is connected to the Pacific loco and works as advertised. In the second video...the Pacific tender is connected to the Hudson loco and it does not work. In the last video...the Hudson tender is connected to the Hudson tender and as usual...does not work. And the Pacific tender is back connected to the Pacific loco and works as usual. So both tenders operate as they are supposed to when connected to the Pacific and neither work when connected to the Hudson.
Just a WAG on my part, but just might be the Hudson 4-6-4 loco that has been the culprit for months now. Great to know that a members comment made on this forum can lead to a simple determination after a little bit of research.
My next question would be...why wouldn't the Lionel Service Department make that recommendation long ago, instead of twice suggesting a graphite fix...as they were fully aware that I owned both the Pacific and Hudson LionChief locos?

 

Chris, I believe in communicating through email...I like the opportunity to have something that I can refer back too if someone says one thing and the email proves another...does happen. I was also assured by the Lionel Service Department, that because email addresses of leadership were not for public knowledge...and that all of my email communications would be forwarded to both Howard Hitchcock and Mike Reagan...thought for sure one of them would respond, but...maybe nothing ever got forwarded??? Nice to know though, that you have had nothing but good experiences in your dealings with Lionel...just can't say the same...

 

breezinup, appreciate your comments, however now that I know it's not the tender or the electrocoupler, but in fact the Hudson...with all of the electronics inside...guess I'll just have to slog on...it may be an easy fix for you, but not so for me.

Great way to discover the real issue! Congrats on that one.  Send the engine to Lionel!

Now we're gettin' somewhere...

I think I saw where Lionel tenders in general can be swapped. And Lionel locos will run without tenders. Someone jump in if I'm wrong.

And now we know LC+ tenders can also be swapped.

Just as an FYI, the clock is now running...Having contacted the Lionel Service Department again late yesterday afternoon...I was finally issued an RA# this morning, the unit has already been packaged and shipped with a projected delivery date to Concord, NC for this Friday, August 22, 2014. I also sent them the videos from yesterday and hopefully that information will help expedite the repairs and make for a quick turnaround...If all goes well, then the 4-6-2 Pacific will be going next...

Roger, I ordered parts last evening (smoke unit and some small miscellaneous parts). Received notification from the parts department that they shipped them priority mail this afternoon.

 

Way to go Lionel!

 

-Pete

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