TX-NR709 HDMI Card Failed - Waiting on part from Onkyo which is backordered. . .

So my Onkyo TX-NR709 died on me almost a month ago. The unit was still under warranty and I mailed it to my local warranty repair center - ABL Serv in Michigan. They received the unit on 7/30/12. I have had multiple communications with them - but the biggest thing that frustrates me is that they are still waiting on a HDMI Card that still hasn't arrived at the repair center. There is no excuse in my mind why a factory authorized repair facility should be waiting almost 2 + weeks on a HDMI card for my receiver. I would have expected the card to be sent out to the repair center by 2 day mail or next day so that they could fix it in a timely manner. Having been told that it would be at least 1 to 2 weeks for the HDMI card to just show up at the repair place is very unprofessional in my opinion.
Are there that many TX-NR709 receivers that fail due to this HDMI card that they don't have enough on hand at the Onkyo warehouse? I am very frustrated with the slow speed of getting it repaired. To me if you have a piece of equipment that fails due to no fault of your own - then it should be fixed at the quickest speed possible. It should not take 3 weeks to have it diagnosed as to what the issue is and then continue to wait on a part to arrive.
I have no issues with the repair company - ABL Service is fine in my book from what I can tell through talking to them and emails and have answered my questions quickly and honestly - obviously it is not their fault that it takes so long to get the part in. It is literally out of their hands once the part is ordered and they have to wait on Onkyo to fulfill that order.
Originally the HDMI Card was supposed to come in on August 9th. Well I found out on the 10th - that it never arrived and they would get back to me with a new date. On August 13th I found out that it was on back order and that it would be an additional 1 to 2 weeks minimum. Not cool!
I have emailed Onkyo customer support with this issue and haven't received a response yet. I guess that is common by reading some of these other posts on here.
I just am sick and tired of listening to my crap speakers on my TV and can't wait to get my receiver back. It still boggles my mind a little bit that it was only 10 months old and it failed already. I have 2 Yamaha receivers that I have used for over 6 years and another for 10 years that are still going strong and have not had a single issue with. I am going to remember the slow repair service and issues with support when it comes time to buy a new receiver in a few years. After reading all the positive reviews of this receiver I decided to give it a shot - am regretting it now.

Please resend your email to the following: onkyoadmin@us.onkyo.com so we can further determine the issue and respond back promptly.

Thank You;

Forum Moderator

Thank you for the email correspondence; I have replied to your email and will follow up with the service center- as I have stated the email and of the resolution to your issue.

Cordially;

Forum Moderator

Thanks for your prompt and courteous response! I can't wait to get the receiver back in action.

No problem. Sorry for the wait and inconvenience. Please respond back with your enjoyoment of your receiver when it is repaired and enjoying the sound!!

Best Regards;

Forum Moderator

So it appears as though the HDMI board is defective on my TX-NR709 as well. Does Onkyo recognize that there is a problem here? Seems like these common complaints would throw up a red flag, which would initiate a recall. I am SO not happy right now. I bought my receiver right at a year ago, and my receiver is now bricked since I downloaded and installed the latest firmware update. I installed the update about 4 hours ago, and it's been completely useless ever since.

Soon as mine goes out, and I know it will, I will be buying another Yamaha. Onkyo's quality control is as bad as I have ever seen, with the exception of maybe Yugo.

To reinterate- this customer's issue is NOT widespread and doesn't affect all units. Units diagnosed with this issue are promptly being handled on a swift basis and serviced at our authorized regional service centers. If you are affected by this issue; Please contact our Product Support Dept (800-229-1687) for further assistance with this specific issue via our phone number and hours of operation below. We would like to speak with you and work to troubleshoot and resolve your issue as prompt as possible.

Cordially;

Forum Moderator

I have sent an email per your suggestion above.

Thank You; I will be replying back to you shortly. I am conversing with the Parts & Services department.

Cordially;

Forum Moderator

I've experienced a few issues since my receiver was returned to me - nothing that says to me that I have to ship it off to get it repaired - but it does make me wonder. My screen on my TV has blanked out a couple of times for no reason and it's not the cable / DVR causing the issue. It's the receiver - definitively. I checked connections and verified working signals in other rooms - cords are all good etc... - the picture just goes out. I had to turn off the receiver and power it back up.
I also have one of my speaker inputs that doesn't work now after getting it back from the repair facility. I went through the set up process to do the set up with my surround sound and it would not recognize my rear left surround speaker for 5.1 surround. I repeatedly tried the set up which is not a quick process by any means and everytime I got to the rear left surround it gave me an error. I decided to move the speaker wire / banana plug from the rear surround left to the side left speaker - and the same for the right channel so at least the sound would match. That worked - however it just doesn't seem right to have to use a work around after getting the receiver back from the repair facility.
I also felt like I needed to install a small USB powered fan on top of the receiver to blow air out of the area and try to help cool the receiver more. If the receiver is getting too hot and it's causing the failure - then I figured additional air flow would be beneficial.
I just feel like my receiver is waiting to die on me again at this point, and I literally feel like I have to hold my breath when I hit the power switch to turn it on and hope/pray that it works still...
I hope that is not the case - I do like it and I do appreciate the features and the sound it produces through my speakers. I just think that it is only a matter of time before it fails again. Luckily for me I bought an extended warranty through square trade when I purchased it for an additional 3 years. My biggest complaint is that the down time for the receiver in this last case of mine was about a month. They reimbursed my shipping of the unit to ABL in Michigan for $26.14 - so I have an additional $573.86 of coverage to go or 2 more failures. . .

Chas-71;

In regards to your issue- it would possibly be more effective to contact our Product Support Dept for further assistance with this specific issue via our phone number and hours of operation below if these issues persist. We would like to speak with you and work to troubleshoot and resolve your issue, with you having access to your unit, as prompt as possible. Please contact our Product Support Dept for further assistance with this specific issue via our phone number and hours of operation (Monday- Friday 9am to 8pm EST/ Saturday- Sunday 10am to 4pm EST: (800) 229-1687; option #3 PRODUCT SUPPORT). We would like to speak with you and work to troubleshoot and resolve your issue as prompt as possible.

Thank You;

Forum Moderator