FEATURED EK Recalls EK-XLC Predator 240 and 360 units due to faulty O-Ring!

[Nebulous]

Originally Posted by EKWB
What was initially estimated as limited risk situation with small percentage of units developing a leak over time that can be resolved with direct customer contact, turned out to be a more widespread problem.

After receiving first few customer feedbacks in December 2015 about the leakage issue, EKWB identified the issue in the faulty O-ring in the EK-Supremacy MX CPU water block that was used in the unit. Since there had been no complaints from initial pre-order customers before December, EKWB decided that the issue should have originated from the new batch of O-rings used in production at the beginning of November. Therefore, EKWB recalled all affected products at resellers and informed the customers who bought the unit after that period to check the production date accordingly and arrange a replacement unit.

However, with more and more customers reporting the issue we have realized that O-ring issue is not limited to November batch and the only appropriate action to protect customers is a total Product Recall of all sold and unsold units.

All Revision 1.0 units produced from October 2015 until end of December 2015 are potentially affected by the risk of leakage and in order to prevent any computer component damage, the units need to be replaced. The leakage may occur between copper cold plate and bracket on the water block after it is heated up and pressure rises. Current statistics show that 1 out of 10 units leaks.

We are warning all customers of EK XLC-Predator units to discontinue use of cooling device and contact EKWB for replacement unit or refund. EKWB is taking full responsibility for this issue and will be:

Replacing or refunding all returned units to the customers
Refunding the customer any computer component damage created by a leakage
EKWB has redesigned and released a new version of EK-XLC Predator (Revision 1.1) on the 4th of January 2016 that prevents any leakage under normal working modes. All customers with Revision 1.0 units will be offered a replacement R1.1 unit or a full refund. Revision 1.0 backplate is not compatible with Revision 1.1 backplate!

Main Souce

 

[EarthDog]

Thanks for the heads up! I am glad they are doing the right thing!

 

[Nebulous]

Yup. At least they didn't wait too long to rectify the problem.

 

[Blaylock]

Outstanding pro-active action on EK's part. It's a shame that this happened but we all know it does. How a company handles it speaks volumes.

 

[JrClocker]

Recall is a tough nut to swallow as a company. But, they are standing by their product and its warranty. Negative press at first, but people will remember how the warranty was honored.

They are doing the right thing. I have had to do this sort of thing a few times over my career, and the wording of the message is a bit...um...well...not what I would have done. I would have worded the 2nd and 3rd paragraphs better. The current wording makes me question their quality system.

Any doubt I had about their products is gone now.

Hats off to EKWB!

 

[ATMINSIDE]

Glad they're handling it this way, but it sucks to see...

 

[Robert17]

There are a lot of parts manufacturers (and others) that should use this EKWB recall announcement as a training tool and make it part of their ISO Quality Manual.

 

[Janus67]

Sucks that it happened, but at least they are making it right and taking full accountability.

 

[BugFreak]

That is very impressive how they are handling this. Replacing damaged pc components could get really pricey but is the right thing for sure. Well done Ek!

 

[GTXJackBauer]

Wow. At least its been announced. Hopefully its spreads like wild fire on to other forums for the sake of those users.

If we were to assume there were, I wonder what will happen to those that were affected catastrophically by this.

 

[dylskee]

Damn, that sucks! Great bunch of guys over there and they make some high quality stuff! I hope this doesn't tarnish anyone's opinion of them as far as quality. It was a purchased part that caused the leak so I hope they correct that. As a machinist myself I know how it feels to have an outside vendor ruin your product. Platers have messed up so many parts of ours over the years! Well, I wish Eddy well and hope the company moves forward from this.

 

[BugFreak]

I hope this doesn't tarnish anyone's opinion of them as far as quality.

For me it gives them a better reputation if anything. Accidents happen, its how the company reacts and treats it that hurts their reputation imo. They did it right.

 

[Nebulous]

For me it gives them a better reputation if anything. Accidents happen, its how the company reacts and treats it that hurts their reputation imo. They did it right.

I concur!

 

[EK Luc]

Hi Everyone,

You can't even imagine how I appreciate what I just read here!

It's been a nightmare for us since the start of 2016 and we try do conclude this "episode" as fast as we can so our customers won't be too affected.

Thanks again!
Luc

 

[Alaric]

Hi Everyone,

You can't even imagine how I appreciate what I just read here!

It's been a nightmare for us since the start of 2016 and we try do conclude this "episode" as fast as we can so our customers won't be too affected.

Thanks again!
Luc

And you have made sure my upcoming build will have EK cooling installed. The web is full of customer service horror stories , so not being one of them goes a long way.