Class Action Settlement for Owners of Overheating eMachines Notebooks
Posted by Edward N. Albro | Monday, June 19, 2006 10:41 AM PT
David Heitbrink and Robert Rattner, you are my heroes. Thanks to you, there may be a happy ending to the most infuriating technology purchase I?ve ever made.
Heitbrink and Rattner are the lead plaintiffs in a class action suit against eMachines over the M53XX series of notebooks, one of which I had the misfortune to purchase in September of 200X.
When I got it home, the 5305, one of the first widescreen notebooks, worked like a charm (though its battery life was always pathetic). But within a couple months, it started overheating and spontaneously shutting down. At first, it would quit after an hour or two of computing, then the shutdowns came after half an hour. Finally, you could barely get Windows started before the notebook came to a crashing halt.
I sent it to eMachines and a week or so later, got back a notebook that again seemed to work like a charm. In another two months, though, guess what started happening? In the meantime, I?d done some research and found that many other eMachines customers were complaining about the exact same symptoms. It seems that even tiny deposits of dust on the notebooks? main fan would choke off the necessary air supply. One user had even posted a
wonderfully detailed, superbly illustrated guide to dissecting your own eMachines notebook and cleaning the fan with alcohol and cotton swabs.
I called eMachines tech support and demanded that they replace the notebook, but the rep politely refused to budge. I had to send it in for repair. And what if it happens again in three months, I asked. Then send it in again, the rep said. And again. And again.
After two rounds of repairs, I?d had enough. I tried fixing it myself a couple times, then gave up and bought a Thinkpad.
But now, because of Heitbrink and Rattner?s suit, I may get $800 for my trouble, which would be nice. Even nicer, though, will be the thought that eMachines (which is now owned by Gateway) is getting punished for putting out a substandard product and refusing to adequately remedy the problem. (The company doesn?t admit to any wrongdoing or liability, but has agreed to enter into a settlement.)
If you think you may be covered under the eMachines suit (it includes model numbers 5305, 5309, 5310,5312 and 5313), you can call 866-817-6513 or visit
www.m53xxseriessettlement.com.
Wow, I just heard about this lawsuit through a letter I received. I have had my emachine 5309 for over two years and have not had a single problem with it at all. It never crashes or shuts down. I am very pleased with my purchase and will buy another. I was very surprised about the lawsuit because my laptop works so well. I usually buy Dell, but purchased the emachine because Dell outsources tech support to India. Also, with an AMD processor, and onboard ATI video, I knew it would be a good purchase. Sorry to hear that so many people are having trouble with their laptops.
Lisa
I've had an M5312 for just short of three years. The only repair I've had was for a noisy fan and that was within the warranty period. Although I've never had the computer shut down on me, the bottom got very HOT on my lap so I purchased a cooling pad fan system for it. I never use the computer w/o the pad. I didn't pay too much attention to the suit - until I started running some very intesive software (AutoCAD Civil 3D) and the computer responded slooowly. I downloaded and ran
- - sorry, my thumb slipped and I posted the comment before it was done - -
I downloaded and ran Clock Version 1.2. It correcty identified my CPU as a mobile Athlon XP 2400+. But the reported speed was in the 530 MHz range instead of around 1700 MHz as expected. I'll have to do a little more investigating, but it looks like I'll be watching the suit a bit more closely...
You're living my life brother! I loved my M5305 for most of a year. Just after the warranty expired, it begain it's death flops. Finally after being out $200 for 2 repairs, I gave up and sent the laptop to the back of the cabinet. Receiving news of the lawsuit made for a pretty good day! Also, just clearing up the issue brought some satisfaction. Thanks to Heitbrink and Rattner for sharing their pain. If the $800 really does make it to my house, I'm not sure which laptop I will replace the M5305 with. I really did like the widescreen and the keyboard ergonomics of the M5305. Thanks for your note.
You're living my life brother! I loved my M5305 for most of a year. Just after the warranty expired, it begain it's death flops. Finally after being out $200 for 2 repairs, I gave up and sent the laptop to the back of the cabinet. Receiving news of the lawsuit made for a pretty good day! Also, just clearing up the issue brought some satisfaction. Thanks to Heitbrink and Rattner for sharing their pain. If the $800 really does make it to my house, I'm not sure which laptop I will replace the M5305 with. I really did like the widescreen and the keyboard ergonomics of the M5305. Thanks for your note.
The class action suit is a sham, you have to prove it was repaired by Arima or emachines. No other repair facilties are accepted. So if you bought your machine from one of the big houses and took it back there for repairs you are out of luck. The other options in the settlement are to have the machine repaired or get a small cash settlement and give up your notebook. So if you had it repaired like I did and went to all the trouble you get zip.
The class action suit is a sham, you have to prove it was repaired by Arima or emachines. No other repair facilties are accepted. So if you bought your machine from one of the big houses and took it back there for repairs you are out of luck. The other options in the settlement are to have the machine repaired or get a small cash settlement and give up your notebook. So if you had it repaired like I did and went to all the trouble you get zip for your trouble and the loss of the notebook for 4 months.
Has anyone ever heard of Arima before, and were you contacted by emachines or Arima to send your computer there? I am in the same boat, and a best buy repair doesn't seem to count, which is insane. I will fight for my $800 and to give $360 when the won over 2.25 million is crap.
It is Painful and Shameful act by emachines. eMachines really is sucking from last 2 yrs to me. I hope I would get reid of it.
People whose claim is rejected, should file NEW CLASS SUIT against eMachines.
Hi everyone,
Has anyone had there M53xx machine tested by Redemtek (the settlement testing company) and had their claim rejected because it passed their test?
Having talked to the class attorneys, it is clear that the testing if rigged. Specifically:
All machines are "cleaned" prior to testing. This "cleaning" involves back-blowing dirt from the CPU heatsink into the keyboard and CD/DVD drive.
The temperature that Redemtek, eMachines/Gateway considers acceptable if 97 degrees Celsius, well above the limits of the processor.
If you have had your claim rejected, please email:
M53xxFraud@remotehead.com
with any information you may have.
A new class-action suit is in order.
mark
This class action is a bunch of crap. I've been involved for over a year now. Everytime I called about it, I got the run around, them telling me not to do anything, don't get the computer fixed, just wait. Now Feb. they said a testing paper was sent out which I never received so they can test the computer to see if it qualifies for this refund. There were lots of people that never received the letter too. So since I didn't get it and send it back in, the class action is null at this time and I'm out a computer like many others. So if there is another way around this I'd like to know.
S.