Crap Dvd Players -- Don't Move Your Headrests!

[Xoan]

Hi, I posted the following message a couple of months ago:

"One of our in-head rest screens stopped working. It seems some of the cabling that runs up through the trunking and into the screen in the head rest has come loose, probably as a result of the no more than two occassions that we'd had to remove the head-rest.

Our dealers' installers say that the whole screen needs to be replaced at a cost of £200 to £500, even though there is nothing wrong with the screen and its just an issue with the cabling (it's not been ripped out or broken, just come loose). They reakon that the system has been "abused" and "mis-used" and that there is nothing they can do given that I've had it for 16 months (warranty was for 1 year only).

My argument is that the system is not fit for its intended purpose as I should reasonably expect to be able to remove the headrest without writing off the DVD screen and that such a product should have a life of at least three years (regardless of how long the warranty runs for).

Has anyone else had a similar experience with DVD players/screens? "

The outcome of this was that the Toyota dealer first agreed to just charge us labour (which I was going to refuse to pay) and then, without me kicking up a fuss, agreed to not even charge me labour because I hadn't been made aware that the DVD player leads were likely to be damaged as a result of moving the headrest!

It seems that the DVD player system installed in our car (a no-name brand that I'd never heard of) is likely to stop working if you're frequently adjusting the headrest or removing it (a case of it clearly not being fit for intended purpose).

I should add that our headrests have only rarely been adjusted, never man-handled and never removed. We are now being extra careful with the headrests, but given the admition by Toyota that this is why it is faulty, I'll be returning it again should anything else happen in the next two years!

[TheNissanMan]

Seems a tad strange as headrests will move, does that mean if you were ever in any form of impact collision your dvd system would stop workling as the front passengers hit the headrests...

[Xoan]

Seems a tad strange as headrests will move, does that mean if you were ever in any form of impact collision your dvd system would stop workling as the front passengers hit the headrests...

Quite possibly. Our headrests have had no where near the sort impact or movement you'd expect as a result of an accident.

However, it is possible that there was nothing wrong with the system other than it was incorrectly fitted in the first place.

[Anatoli]

I've had my Verso T Spirit, which had the factory fitted DVD set-up, for just over three years and not had any problems.

I do believe that the fault you had was nothing more than a connection problem if they told you it was due to movement of the headrest.

[Parts-King]

The problem was that a cheapo DVD was installed in the first place and the dealer got what he paid for. I know it wanst your choice, but had the Toyota DVD system been fitted you wouldnt have had the problem, however the price of that system is very expensive by comparison. The one thing you do get with Toyota accessories is a good product with a 3 year warranty, is the dealer honouring a 3 year warranty on your DVD?

Kingo