Originally posted by starbase218 How many times has Toyota recalled a model in the last 5 years? If that's not acknowledgement, I don't know what is.
At least in the US the auto industry is closely regulated and any potential safety issues must have a recall notice issued. That's the law and even if the government did not require it, the lawsuits would. I don't think you can compare cameras and autos in this situation. There is no comparable legislation for non-auto products except perhaps "child safety" regulations that concern stroller, baby cribs and so on.
Originally posted by Franc Something like that happened here. One member of the Dutch forum got his SDM problem repaired for free by using the statement in the interview. So maybe there is a service bulletin issued but you have to use the given statement as a ground for a free repair.
I have seen over time a number of posts from people who state that an SDM issue was fixed no charge, and some cases where a lens went in for something else and the work order said the SDM was also replaced. These reports are all second or third hand but I see no reason to disbelieve them.
In a situation like this, where a percentage of the product will fail earlier than expected, I would expect a service bulletin to be issued to repair shops stating that if a lens comes in, to fix the SDM while it is in. I would not throw the company on the proverbial sword by publicly announcing anything. If (just speculating) 10% of the lenses fail then those should be fixed but why issue a recall and have all 100% sent in to have something fixed that won't ever break? You have a huge cost to fix something not broken and you inconvenience a lot of customers that have to be without their lens while it is in the shop. That's in an ideal situation, and I've no idea what Pentax did, if anything. And what they did or did not do may have changed over time as ownership changed. And add in different distributor in different regions with different management and it is easy to see why no consistent action was taken.