Fan replacement under warranty- I have to send it in?

[vinuneuro]

My T60 under Depot warranty is running too hot. But they won't send me the fan, forcing me to send it in. Is this normal and something specific to the Depot warranty?

Thanks.

[dr_st]

The fan is not considered a CRU (Customer Replaceable Unit), which is why they require that you send it in. If you had the more expensive onsite warranty, they would come and change it at your site. But under no circumstances (at least according to official procedures) will they send the fan for you to replace yourself.

[vinuneuro]

Two friends have Thinkpads; one X61 (rattling fan) and another with T61 (over heating). Both of them were sent replacement fans. I think both were under the initial warranty though.

[dr_st]

What is "initial" warranty? The terms of the depot warranty is the same whether it came with the machine or was purchased as an upgrade.

Like I said, according to the official procedures, they should not send fans, no more than they should send LCD screens or motherboards for the user's self-replacement. This is 100% clear from reading the service terms and the hardware maintenance manual.

The fact that the service people sometimes waive (or are not even aware of) the procedures is known. Certainly a fan looks like something the user may/should be able to install on his own, so it may not occur to them to check whether it is actually a CRU or not.

You may consider yourself unlucky. You can try calling again, and hopefully getting to a different representative who will authorize your request.

[richk]

One thing to consider is that if your motherboard ever fails during the warranty period, they can claim or assume it overheated because if an imporoperly installed fan

[vinuneuro]

Yea, you guys are right. I looked at the service manual and it's not a CRU. 4 months left on the warranty, so better not risk voiding it with my luck.