I currently have 2 of these sets in my house. They were bought around May 2004 and I believe the label on the back says manufactured in March 2004. Well of course we had issues...
By the way these were bought due to a fire that ruined pretty much everything so we just replaced (and upgraded) the old sets that we used to have.
Ok the first set I'll talk about began having problems in December 2004. I began to notice green circular spots a few inches in diameter when the screen was dark. I called Sony and was referred to a service center. They came to look at it and the guy said I needed a new Optic engine which was like a $1600 part he said.
So he told me he would order it and then he could come and install it, and that it would take about a half hour for the install. I had to call and track them down since I didn't hear back and was told Sony changed their policy about fixing this TV and that they would have to come pick it up to fix it. Anyways that took about 1 week and I just got it back today. Haven't had time to test it but hopefully spots are gone. Everything else seems to work fine and never had the bulb/power on problem. I will let you know how it turns out.
Now the second TV set works pretty good. The only problem is sometimes when changing the channel to a HDTV channel (we have Comcast cable), the screen will look real messed up, like on an old TV when you switch to a channel that has very bad reception. You can switch to a regular channel and no problem but cannot get the HD channels to come in right even turning off the box and then turning it back on. Now if you turn the TV off and then try to turn it back on...NO LUCK! The only thing that works is to unplug the set for a few seconds and plug it back in. This only happens a few times a week but is still annoying and I don't think it is good for the set to unplug it like that.
This problem does not seem to be as bad as the more common bulb problem issue. The tech recommended that next time it happens to unplug the component video cables running from the cable box to determine if it's the box/wires or the TV itself. Hopefully it's the cable. I haven't found anyone else with this exact issue though.
Well these are my experiences thusfar, and having 2 of these sets and both have problems (although 1 IS still undetermined) pretty much stinks, especially since Sony TVs have been good to me in the past. Could be a case of new technology but they should own up to such an obvious problem.
I am wondering if the new model 42WE655 has fixed these problems? I actually have a friend that bought the new model, almost right before I began noticing problems on my sets. I am worried about how these sets will hold up in the coming years, but definitely will think twice (probably 3 times) before plopping down thousands for a new TV (in this case 2!).