Surefire warranty not what it seems?

It kinda seems like they honor warranty claims only on an opportunistic/lottery basis whenever a "classic" series light is involved. Recently I think Vicv got a warranty replacement on a KT4 head with the old polycarbonate lens that got cooked by an MN20 after an accidental activation. Surefire replaced it on a warranty basis, but with an old KT4 (smooth bezel+high temp glass lens) with some wear on the anodizing.

So I'm guessing the service department harvested that from a different light that was sent in and retained by the service department after probably sending out a completely different warranty light for someone else.
 
Oh okay. Ive used the surefire warranty maybe 5 times over the past 20 years or so. Usually when i call in, im told "Yes sir, we will get that taken care of for you."

I sent in an older T1A Titan yesterday. To paraphrase, im told "The light has reached the end of its intended lifespan, so the warranty would not apply." They are going to attempt a "courtesy" repair,

Just caught me off guard i guess. I remember alot of the older packaging had "lifetime warranty" plastered all over it.
 
I sent in an older T1A Titan yesterday. To paraphrase, im told "The light has reached the end of its intended lifespan, so the warranty would not apply." They are going to attempt a "courtesy" repair,

Just caught me off guard i guess. I remember alot of the older packaging had "lifetime warranty" plastered all over it.
I would have been said that it is on the packaging or in the manual. I know the T1A had two different types of packaging, a red box without any design and later the red Black glossy design box with the T1A on it. I should have both boxes somewhere stored...
 
Ok cool. Let me know if any of those boxes mention a warranty. Im not mad about it, just a little confused.
 
They are going to attempt a "courtesy" repair
They really like that word now. Reminded me of the last messages I got from them.

Unfortunately, we are unable to provide courtesy parts/repairs for these as we no longer possess or manufacture these models nor their components.
If a grip ring was sent it was sent as a courtesy of a non inventory part that was taken off of something and sent to you as we do not have them anymore. A tailcap O ring will be sent as courtesy on order.

I want to be clear I'm not exactly faulting Surefire, since the models that were popular on CPF are now 20-25 years old. Like if someone's saying "well they used to fix my M6 for free, why did they stop?" the answer could be because that was literally two decades ago. I also remember when I was new on CPF the members here were, in my opinion, abusing the hell out of their customer service. SF was making lights intended for active military contracts and you had guys demanding they replace flashlights because the ano didn't match/beam wasn't preferred tint/a speck of dust was visible somewhere.

On the other hand they definitely don't have the kind of open attitude they used to. They're kind of testy and quick to tell you they can't help instead of figuring something out. I've had much better experiences with Streamlight the last few years. Although looking at that, that's because many of their new models share parts with old ones in a way Surefire's don't. If you call Streamlight about getting your TopSpot or SL-15X fixed they'll shrug their shoulders as well.
 
My experiences we all over 10 years ago but non had a satisfactory ending. A few switches failed and I was told to basically pound sand. Like another member said it was like dealing with an insurance company, they did everything to avoid sending a replacement. I had a red lense filter fail right out of the box, the retaining clip broke because there was way to much tension and they told me no, its wear and tear and actually hung up on me. The item was literally out of the box for less than 5 minutes.

The warranty might be ok for those in the US but as a Canadian we are not allowed the pleasure of phoning them. As soon as the rep found out I was outside of the US they informed me all communication had to be done by email. That may have changed now but I can not confirm it. I wont purchase another Surefire product anymore. If I need replacement parts there are still plenty of 3rd parties out there.

The funny thing is I would order switches for the Streamlight PolyTac to replace the one on my Surefire G2's. One of the Streamlight switches failed after a day and even though I admitted I was using the product on a light from a different manufacturer Streamlight stood behind their product and mailed me one at no charge.
 
I found one of the boxes after searching a second. It is in the all known SF Design, and it is stated "Backed by Surefires No-Hassle Guarantee". If you are interested getting a picture, no problem...
Thanks! No pics necessary. I was just curious about the wording. Ive seen it worded several ways throughout the years.


since the models that were popular on CPF are now 20-25 years old

In my opinion those were some of the best times for surefire. I know its probably not profitable to keep fixing flashlights that are 25+ years old, but most of these lights were advertised with a no hassle guarantee.

I still love their old p60 compatible lights. I probably wont be buying any newer lights from them, seeing how things have changed.

Ill keep everyone updated on the outcome, good or bad.
 
If you protest enough they'll give you a discount coupon. Streamlight does a similar thing for old models. But usually you're looking to get an old light fixed, not get a few dollars off retail.
 
If you protest enough they'll give you a discount coupon. Streamlight does a similar thing for old models. But usually you're looking to get an old light fixed, not get a few dollars off retail.

I guess thats better than nothing. I guess from here on out, ill just buy the surefires that i can fix myself.

Do yall think those mcclicky switch kits are gonna be around in 10-15 years? Or should i go ahead and stock up on a few?
 
I guess thats better than nothing. I guess from here on out, ill just buy the surefires that i can fix myself.

Do yall think those mcclicky switch kits are gonna be around in 10-15 years? Or should i go ahead and stock up on a few?
It's better to stock up in advance than to search later and not find it
 
I also remember when I was new on CPF the members here were, in my opinion, abusing the hell out of their customer service.

On the other hand they definitely don't have the kind of open attitude they used to. They're kind of testy and quick to tell you they can't help instead of figuring something out.
While it's not going to win me any points for the popularity contest, is anyone shocked that the former created the latter?

It's pretty common to hear of companies that had very generous warranties that had drastically narrow it on account of abuse. It's a story as old as time. When warranties become a black hole for your budget, that's bad, and you don't stay in business burning money. When you're out of business, no one gets a warranty, so the bean counters create guidance.
[Reminisces on the good ol' days of Sears, before people ruined the Craftsman warranty by breaking things on purpose]

In my view, people have a tendency to see a lifetime warranty as some kind of "infinite free replacement program" versus a guarantee against materials or assembly defects. They've never covered wear and tear, and doing so has always been a courtesy. I can't emphasize that enough. ANY company covering wear and tear or misuse and replacing a product was doing so as a courtesy. If you disagree, you're in for a world of disappointment. Then again, some people seem to look for excuses to get angry...

Warranties exist because manufacturing cannot make perfect products, and sometimes tolerances stack, and a product doesn't work as intended, and most companies agree that customers are entitled to a product - out of the box - that works. A lifetime warranty is very nice because sometimes you may not notice that the materials or manufacturing process was defective for YEARS. Unfortunately, wear and tear and general use can also lead to defects, though those are not covered by a warranty - replacement at that point is a courtesy.

Companies change owners, management changes, the market changes. Something that was easy and feasible one year, it simply not possible a next. I'm always grateful for any courtesy I receive, but I temper my expectations for the future.

Cue the enraged people that insist that a lifetime warranty is a guarantee forever that your product will work, regardless of age, availability, wear, and sane expectations of the lifetime of a product. Ironically, these tend to be the same people that will buy a Chinese light, have it break in a year, have their warranty claim entirely ignored, throw it away, and replace it....but expect a free replacement on their blown out light from the Pre-9/11 world that they bought on clearance.

Regarding Surefire, I'm sure they're more generous with their warranty when it comes to their larger customers; i.e. a police department or military unit that has purchased a large quantity of items. I don't lose tons of sleep over any of this, as this is something super common in the gun world; the big purchasers pay the bill and get the priority. Those of us spending hundreds of dollars just aren't a priority.

I mean, I get it. Everyone likes getting free stuff. But, some of the things people expect...really?
 
But, some of the things people expect...really?
I dont expect much.

"SureFire warrants that if you—our customer—purchase one of our products, and we determine that it is defective in material and/or workmanship during your lifetime, we will repair or replace it—no hassle!"

What if a component on the circuit board had a premature failure? If it's 10 years later, would they still count that as wear and tear?

I completely understand consumables not being covered. Im just looking for a little clarification on what exactly this warranty is for.
 
Oh, yeah, I wasn't pointing my comments at anyone here in particular.

And, I think that's where it's hard for companies. IF they can repair it? Sure. But often, they can't. I think that's where the grey area comes in. They can't say FOR SURE of anything, you know?
 
If they say they're gonna try to attempt a fix I'd at least believe them on that. I sent in a *dead* A2 aviator around 2017 (I tried all the usual fixes myself first: bulb change, battery change, clean all electrical connections, even swapped in a different Z62 tail cap, but all to no avail) and they actually got it back to me working 100%. I'm sure it's tougher to come by a happy ending now though since their spare part stocks only get smaller with time.
 
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