Mitsubishi air con repair problem

[Hemmy]

My 2-3 yo Mitsubishi double inverter air con would start then stop after a few seconds.  A service technician referred by Mistsubishi said the ic board was short circuited by a gecko. After paying 14,000 for a replacement ic board the air con still isn't working.  He said he'd order a sensor which may be the problem but he hasn't done anything. A week ago over the phone he said he would order the sensor and still nothing. It's been two months since he first said he would order a sensor. I would appreciate any suggestions to resolve this issue.

[Peter Denis]

Wow!  You paid 14.000 THB for a replacement IC board and the AC is still not working, and now you are waiting already two months for a sensor.

I presume you do not speak Thai, so do you have a friend or someone you know/trust

a) that speaks Thai well (farang or thai) to who you can explain the issue and

b) that is not shy/timid but able to speak up on your behalf.

That person should then contact that 'repair-man' and/or his boss (in case he is is not the boss of the shop).  Also make it clear that you will contact Mitsubishi Thai regional Headquarters to file a complaint if the problem is not addressed properly.  And if the problem lingers on 1 more week then do exactly that.

Question: Did the 'repairman' leave the faulty circuit-board with you?  If not, it would be difficult to prove that the problem was not with that expensive circuit-board. 

I would also inform at Mitsubishi for the price of a new circuit-board as 14.000 THB is more than exagerrated for a new circuit-board of a 2-3 year old Airco.  You can buy a brand-new Airco for that price.  And I do hope you kept the receipt of that repair or paid using credit-card or bank-transmissal, because most probably the repair-shop will not acknowledge you paid such an amount for a non-working repair.

[Kwasaki]

Get onto Mitsubishi head office,  if the air-con still don't work after replacing the 3 yr old ic board you should of done something then,  at least not pay for it. 

Edited December 17, 2020 by Kwasaki

[CharlieH]

I had a similar problem, the replaced sensor fixed the issue, but we had to wait a week for it to arrive from Bangkok.

 

I also had the gecko story on another unit outside box but he actually showed me the fried gecko stuck on the board. That board was only 3k though.

[Lacessit]

Has the OP checked his warranty? Inverter types normally have 5 or 10 years. Not the same I know, but my LG inverter refrigerator has a ten year warranty.

Mitsubishi has a good reputation for air conditioners, I suspect the repair person is a scammer.

[dddave]

I went through similar frustrations with a Samsung AC unit.  Appointments took forever, parts were expensive and somehow, never covered by warranty.

Out of frustration, I decided to try one of my neighborhood repair shops; you know, the shops with old refrigerators and tube TV's out front.  He came to my apartment for an extra B100, got it up and running and charged me B400.  Every time I've had a problem since, I call him.  He comes, fixes the problem and charges me a pittance.

 

These guys actually know their stuff.  Give them a shot.

[Oldie]

3 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Has the OP checked his warranty? Inverter types normally have 5 or 10 years. Not the same I know, but my LG inverter refrigerator has a ten year warranty.

Mitsubishi has a good reputation for air conditioners, I suspect the repair person is a scammer.

If a Gecko damaged it the warranty will not pay for it. 

 

It is simply bad construction if the Geckos can get inside and can damage the board. It happens so often. And suddenly your inverter gets very expensive compared to a conventional aircon. You will have to save a lot of energy to save money...

[dddave]

5 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Has the OP checked his warranty? Inverter types normally have 5 or 10 years. Not the same I know, but my LG inverter refrigerator has a ten year warranty.

Mitsubishi has a good reputation for air conditioners, I suspect the repair person is a scammer.

There are actually two "Mitsubishi" entities selling AC in Thailand.  "Mitsubishi Heavy Industries" which leans towards commercial applications and has an excellent reputation and plain "Mitsubishi" which concentrates on consumer level appliances and has a middle of the road reputation.   Easy to confuse one with the other.

[Lacessit]

1 minute ago, Oldie said:

If a Gecko damaged it the warranty will not pay for it. 

 

It is simply bad construction if the Geckos can get inside and can damage the board. It happens so often. And suddenly your inverter gets very expensive compared to a conventional aircon. You will have to save a lot of energy to save money...

You may be right about the warranty. Geckos are a problem here, I've had one Panasonic conventional aircon blow because of them. Cost me 2000 baht for a new circuit board, which is why I suspect the OP is being scammed. You can damn near buy a new aircon for 14,000 baht.

[Oldie]

42 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

You may be right about the warranty. Geckos are a problem here, I've had one Panasonic conventional aircon blow because of them. Cost me 2000 baht for a new circuit board, which is why I suspect the OP is being scammed. You can damn near buy a new aircon for 14,000 baht.

2000 Baht for an inverter board would be cheap. At my conventional Daikin the wanted 6000 Baht. But luckily I discovered that only a cable was loose...

 

Whatever. Make sure that at your aircon Geckos can't get onto the board. Can save a lot of problems and money and last but not least can save the life of a Gecko. And a new board without protection is just waiting for another Gecko. 

[bankruatsteve]

As another suggested, call Mitsu customer care. They don't like these rouge practices. You probably won't get money paid back but you should get it fixed. 

[Hemmy]

The air con was already installed in the condo when I bought it. The manager for the developer said the warranty period has ended and the contents insurance doesn't cover air cons.  My air con has two outlets inside but only one large unit(compressor?) outside controlling both which may explain the 14K cost.  Another repair person quoted 20K! These prices don't include labor.  I've been having a Thai friend translate and I'll ask her to insist they replace the sensor or I'll contact Mitsubishi. If it doesn't work after the sensor is replaced I'll call Mitsubishi (consumer).  I don't have the old ic board but I do have a payment transfer receipt. 

 

Thank you to everybody for all your helpful suggestions.  Knowing that there are people who care enough to take the time to respond to my post lifted my spirits.

[sometimewoodworker]

8 hours ago, dddave said:

There are actually two "Mitsubishi" entities selling AC in Thailand.  "Mitsubishi Heavy Industries" which leans towards commercial applications and has an excellent reputation and plain "Mitsubishi" which concentrates on consumer level appliances and has a middle of the road reputation.   Easy to confuse one with the other.

I disagree, Mitsubishi’s reputation is one of the two best the other is Daikin, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries may be OK but they are seldom used by people who bother to post, so it looks as if it’s you that are confused ????.

[Hemmy]

Update:

 

I got no relief from Mitsubishi. I received the repairman's number from the Mitsubishi phone hotline.  When I contacted them by email  I was told the repairman was no longer on their list.  I showed them the invoice, screenshot of the record of my calls with their hotline so that they can check their recordings and screenshots of the Line messages my friend had with the repairman. My friend spoke to Mitsubishi by phone. I was still told that there was nothing Mitsubishi could do.

 

A second repairman said a second ic board was also gecko damaged and will cost 25.5K including labor to replace.

 

I may have been scammed or these air cons that use one outdoor unit to power two indoor outlets are extremely costly to repair.

 

I plan to replace it with two regular inverter type aircons made by a different manufacturer. I'm going to look for Fujitsu General. I had them for 20 years in HK and absolutely no gecko damage although we had geckos there, too.

 

 

[bankruatsteve]

2 hours ago, Hemmy said:

plan to replace it with two regular inverter type aircons made by a different manufacturer. I'm going to look for Fujitsu General. I had them for 20 years in HK and absolutely no gecko damage although we had geckos there, too.

Give LG a check. They might be the best AC providers now.