T410 CPU fan failures?

[michelleokc]

I have used an IBM Thinkpad for business travel for years without any issue. That was before IBM sold Thinkpad to Lenovo. Due to that positive experience, I've decided to spend top dollar to buy another Thinkpad.

Well, several days ago, my t410s displayed a 'fan error' on a black screen and wouldn't boot. We blew compressed air on keyboard and near the fan but still couldn't revive the fan.  I then checked for warranty repair (http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/product-service/warranty-status/default.page?) and confirmed that my PC is still under warranty. I took the PC to a Lenovo-approved warranty repair shop. They replaced the cpu fan in 2 days and now I can reboot the Thinkpad again.

Model: Thinkpad t410s

Date Purchased: May 19, 2010 (1 year 8 mos.)

Warranty: 3 year limited warranty

Price: USD $1600

On one hand, I'm glad that Lenovo offers warranty repair. Still, I am disappointed that the CPU fan fails so quickly. This experience certainly dampen my perception of Thinkpad's reliability. I'll think twice about buying another Thinkpad.

[nth_79]

Bought my laptop in November of 2010 with a 1 year warranty, and in December 2011 started getting the dreaded fan error. I came here and saw that there was a BIOS upgrade that was supposed to address the issue, but unfortunately it hasn't. I've also taken the keyboard off and cleaned the fan, and I've changed some settings in the power manager to ensure maximum cooling, but that hasn't helped either.

I finally decide to call Lenovo support and they tell me that the laptop is out of warranty (as expected) and they can't help me unless I pay $250-500 for a service repair. I was pretty dissappointed because the part that is widely known to be defective.

So, I call Lenovo parts and they tell me that the replacement fan 45M2724 is on the emergency part list and so in addition to $48 for the fan, it will cost $75 for handling and $113 for shipping. That's a total of $236 to replace a fan. Absolutely ridiculous. Supposedly the part might come back in stock at the end of February. Pretty annoying to be without a fully functioning laptop for more than a month.

Now I'm hoping that there is someplace else where I can get the part. Any suggestions?

[mBurch]

@:nth_79

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=Lenovo+T410+fan&_sacat=See-Al...

[dbonner]

Just sent a T410 in for depot warranty repair with the dreaded "Fan Error".  Below is the email I received from depot support.  Upon reading the automated message I called support to obtain more information on the parts needed to resolve this issue.  Much to my surprise I was told that the eta for the fan is "March 1, 2012"! 

Dear customer This email is from Lenovo Remote Technical Support. We show that on 2012-01-16 you opened Case # ???????. We show that at the present time 1 or more of the parts needed to effect your repair are on back-order. We apologize for the delay; all parties involved are doing everything possible to get your laptop repaired as quickly as possible. Typically, Memphis Repair Center repairs and returns laptops within 6 business days once the unit is received at the center. If you have any questions or concerns please call us at 1-800-426-7416 opt #2 (depot status). Please reference your case number listed above for rapid-record retrieval.

[nth_79]

Thanks for the suggestion mBurch. After a little searching, it seems that Ebay was the best route ($67 including shipping), though I searched for the particular FRU number. The part should arrive before this coming Monday. Hopefully it fixes the problem.

dbonner - sounds like we're hitting the same limitation on part availability. I now feel lucky that I didn't even have the option to do a warranty repair. I would be pretty angry if I found out I wouldn't get my laptop back for over a month.

[dbonner]

I went the extra mile and bought a two year extended warranty rider at time of purchase.  Lenovo did nothing but send an automated email message to update me on the status of this issue.  Poor customer service so yes I am angry to say the least.  I should have used the money I spent on the extended warranty to buy a spare laptop!!!

[nth_79]

Just to give an update, I replaced the fan a few weeks ago with the new part I ordered over ebay, and everything has been working fine so far. Hopefully the fan holds up.

[mBurch]

Some of you guys are working with this issue on their job, right? Was just wondering if Lenovo officially or at least unofficially ever confirmed this problem..?

@nth_79: How is it going with the replacement?

[nth_79]

The fan is still working fine!

[Kicker774]

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mBurch wrote:

Some of you guys are working with this issue on their job, right? Was just wondering if Lenovo officially or at least unofficially ever confirmed this problem..?

@nth_79: How is it going with the replacement?

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Yes Lenovo did confirm the issue and sent out a bulliten several months ago to dealers/servicers.

It basically states that any T410 unit manufactured before 6/30/11 should get the fan replaced upon the first signs of failure or getting the  "Fan error" message.

I stoppped counting but I'm certain I've replaced over 100 if not 150 of these fans where I work.

If you have a CPU Fan with the FRU of 45M2722  or 45M2721 get it replaced.  If it's not under warranty I would push Lenovo heavily until they do replace it under warranty.