Ps 3 bluray player failure rate?

oqvist

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I got a PS 3 bought second hand so I suppose I am out of warranty? Or can you send it back to Sony directly and so how old can your PS 3 be?

My Ps 3 is getting more and more finicky about reading my cds or bluray discs... Bluray discs it seem to have an easier time with for some reason.

Sometimes while converting I get the corrupted message. It doesn´t find the cd anymore until several attempts with ejecting the disc or replacing it. The same frequently happens on a fresh start as of late... It´s noticable getting worse and worse so I am afraid the bluray player or what it´s is singing on it´s last worse.

Question is this a common fault?. This is not the Slim or the backwards compatible PS 3 version. If you can´t send it in for repair somewhere can you exchange the bluray player yourself. Or will it just cost more then getting a new one with warranty?

Slim is tempting but some say it´s louder then the old PS 3? I am using it to play cds and watch movies so I want it as silent as possible! Of course reliability is crucial too!
 
As long as its unopened, you can pay Sony for out of warranty Service. I think the standard price is $150.
 
Went that route with a used 60GB i got off ebay about 2 years back. It worked, but sounded like it was going to die at any moment, so figured that even with Sony's $150 repair fee and my purchase price it was still only a little over $200. (Not a bad deal imho since it's been running great ever since i sent it in)
May go the slim route tho eventually, but still also have a near new 60GB along with the one i use now..lol
As long as it's unopened it should be fine like the above poster said... :D
 
There are 3rd party repair services for consoles I had my xbox fixed by one it had a bad dvd drive and it was fixed very satisfactorly. it ran about a 100 to get ir fixed, the xbox dvd drives can be purchased and replaced by the user semi complicated procedure that I didnt want to tackle not sure if you can replace the PS3 bd drive yourself.Putting a 320 GB drive in the PS# was easy as could be .
 
I don't think it's that common of a fault. The PS3 on the whole has been a fairly reliable console. Check ebay to see what you can get for a semi-working console. It may be smarter to just sell yours for what you can get and buy another instead of paying $150 to repair it.
 
the harddrive has been exchanged to a 150 gb but that is the only modification I know of anyway.
 
I believe it is a definite problem, at least with the older models. I had a 60gb model where my 1st game on it was GTA4 and where after 2 weeks, the Blu-Ray drive crapped out and refused to read any Blu-Ray discs though still read CDs and DVDs. People didn't believe when I said that GTA4 "broke" my drive but you can Google the issue and see lots of people have had it. Same with some other games like Metal Gear Solid 4.

I am not happy with Sony regarding the fact that they haven't recalled their systems like the 360, even if the failure rate isn't as high. It is their own fault and for them to charge $150 for out of warranty is not acceptable. They just want to sweep it under the rug and not admit their system has build quality problems so they can look good vs. the 360 with its very high failure rate. MS was forced to own up to it but I want to see Sony do it too, that is my sore point with them currently. :mad:
 
I believe it is a definite problem, at least with the older models. I had a 60gb model where my 1st game on it was GTA4 and where after 2 weeks, the Blu-Ray drive crapped out and refused to read any Blu-Ray discs though still read CDs and DVDs. People didn't believe when I said that GTA4 "broke" my drive but you can Google the issue and see lots of people have had it. Same with some other games like Metal Gear Solid 4.

I am not happy with Sony regarding the fact that they haven't recalled their systems like the 360, even if the failure rate isn't as high. It is their own fault and for them to charge $150 for out of warranty is not acceptable. They just want to sweep it under the rug and not admit their system has build quality problems so they can look good vs. the 360 with its very high failure rate. MS was forced to own up to it but I want to see Sony do it too, that is my sore point with them currently. :mad:

There is always a small percentage of defects in electronics, especially new to the market ones. The PS3 has a a pretty small failure rate last I saw from research studies.

MS never recalled the 360 but should of due to its high failure rate, instead they extended the warranty to 3 years for RROD problems.
 
I'm not sure about the failure rate on the Blu-Ray drive itself, but I do find that the drive is much much much more sensitive to even the tiniest little smudge than any other drive I've ever used.
 
2nd time I had the blu ray drive die on me on the same ps3. My other one never had an issue.

I got my new blu-ray lens for $70 on ebay.
 
the reason the BD-ROM lasers crap out has everthing to do with the drive being a cheap POS
 
If you would try clean it then is it then what is the best way to go around it?
 
the reason the BD-ROM lasers crap out has everthing to do with the drive being a cheap POS

Pretty much this. It's shameful that after just a year of PS3 use, Sony feels it's OK to charge $150 for a 'general repair' even if it's just that junk drive kicking the bucket.
 
Okay as an update mine died permanently now. Quite some death struggle but then I don´t use my PS 3 much. I am a bit torn what to do.

How easy is it to replace the driver yourself? You never know what you get with shitbay so that is a worry. I have a local service that will repair it for 130$... Probably fair since the consoles cost a lot more here. However shipping on top of that and I read about people being on their fourth PS 3 by now which is kind of scary. Maybe worth gambling that Sony do better on the Slims...

At least we have two year warranty here so maybe I will save some cash in the long run. if I repair the bluray drive and it dies again Iam the biggest looser... I am just tryint go justify slim purchase please agree ;)
 
my 40gb ps3 recently stopped reading blu rays discs. I paid a local game/repair shop $100 in game trade ins to fix it. they replaced the laser with a new one and gave me a 90 day warranty on the repair. been working fine ever since, though my drive seems to be more noisy on seek operations now.

opening the console is not really hard, however it was easier to pay them the 100 since I was unsure what the problem was (could have been the laser, entire drive, or the logic board).
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It's really easy to replace. Just pop off the top, take out the screws holding the top plastic plate off (make sure to watch for ribbon cables if your PS3 has flash card slots), lift that top off, pull out the old drive disconnecting the ribbon cables as you go, swap the controller boards on the drives, put everything back together, and blam.

There are lots of tutorials on the net how to do it. You should be able to find a replacement BR drive on eBay.
 
^don't you mean swap the transport mechanisms? that is what fails on the drive......
 
You need a new flux capacitator!!!

Ok ok, i kid i kid!

The PS3 has a super low failure rate compared to the 360, but as with most electronics that rely on lasers to read media, eventually they do wear out, and that of course relates more often than not as to how often it was used, it's just normal wear and tear.

On the old PS1 machines, it was possible to modify the laser to make it stronger and in some cases to replace it completely and have it working functionally.

the PS3 blu ray drive is really easy to replace, it takes a minimum of effort and you just have to know what you are doing, i think there's youtube videos that show you how to swap out the PS3 parts, including the hard drive and the BR drive.

Honestly, I'd try the DIY route before forking over $150 to get it "repaired" because the economics don't make sense to have Sony "repair" it when you can just buy a brand new PS3 for a few more ducats. At least if you do it yourself, you'll get an educational experience out of it, not only that, but if you manage to fix it and repair it to working order, you will definitely have a sense of pride.

Also if you know of someone with a broken ps3 or whatnot, you can offer to take it off his hands and try swapping in the parts to see if they work.
 
I wouldn't say the failure rate is as high as 360's but from what I have seen around me it is pretty common to see the lasers die on the ps3's but it is fairly easy to fix as others have said.
 
I know six people with PS3's. Of those six, only one has occasional issues with Blu-Rays. He's got a 60gb launch model. I think I've read that the launch model had some problems with their lasers. But you can buy new lasers off ebay for around $50, IIRC.
 
I think the problem is more common than people like to admit (since PS3 is supposed to be the reliable console and whatnot). A few weeks ago, I was thinking about getting a PS3, so I was looking around Ebay and Craigslist to see if going the used route would be worth it. I was surprised at how many consoles were being sold that had broken blu-ray drives (would read dvd/cd but not brd). The most common seemed to be the old 40gb model.
 
^don't you mean swap the transport mechanisms? that is what fails on the drive......

Well, you could also do that as well as long as the laser lens works and you feel comfortable tearing the drive apart. :cool:
 
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when the laser fails it's the transport that fails and those are what you can buy on e-bay
 
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