Call to Arms for the dreaded U052 Wrong Printhead Error

[macnicol]

This is a "call to arms" for all of you Canon customers who have had this problem and have had their printers disabled because of it.  Please respond with the model of your printer and if you were able to fix it, what you did to fix it. 

We need to put pressure on Canon to respond this product defect.  It appears to be bad firmware that does not allow the user to override the problem and to continue to use the printer even in a degraded mode.  From my investigations the problem is NOT a printhead issue - no way one can be printing fine and then have this error alert without having changed the printhead or ink cartridges!

Canon, PLEASE take this issue seriously and provide a solution across the affected models.  If nothing else there should be a trade-in allowance for those printers that have been affected by this product defect.

I have had many Canon printers because they have superior functional specifications. I want to be able to continue using Canon products but only if I can have confidence that this product defect will not destroy my investment.

If Canon is unresponsive our next step should be to aggressively publisize this product defect on social media and on major product vendor outlet sites as negatives reviews.

Forum Users, please reply with your affected model number(s) and with details of any succdessful fix procedure.

[tykra]

My post was deleted because I said B and another letter before T .... WOW!

Anyway,  IMO this is a designed failure!

I used the exact same ink cartridges at 9 months and now 15 months it bricks!

CANON this is FRAUD and I hope someone calls you on it in court!

[faithful]

I have had the same issue with my mx700.  It began in early January 2014.  At first I followed the procedure given and it worked a few times.  However,, the unplug-reset is no longer effective.  Another frustration is that it shuts down all other operations of the all-in-one, such as faxing and scanning.  Neither of which require the printer.  Has anyone contacted their state's Attorney General? 

[RenuNergy]

I just received this dreaded U052 error this past weekend on my relatively new Canon MG5320.  I've tried reseating the print head several times, have just removed power to try that ill-fated fix and will start looking into a print head which maybe as expensive as buying a new printer.

So although I've been a Canon Printer loyalist for many years now, I'm going to be looking for a new Printer Manufacturer.

I don't know if they are using Agile development practices, simply not paying attention to quality control or building in a failure mechanism to entice people into buying new Canon Printers or expensive defective Printer heads. Whatever the case I will be taking my business elsewhere.

Canon you have made such wonderful products in the past and I'm extremely disappointed to see that this issue is going unresolved.  I will be posting my feelings about your line of printers on Facebook and LinkedIn to encourage you to resolve this matter.

As a powerhouse in the electronics industry you should know that the customer is always right. They buy your products which pay the creditors, pay you salaries and keep your shareholders and board members happy. You should tread cautiously here since the power of the people can be magnified by the power of the 30 billion computers connected to this Matrix we call the Internet.

[KBeck]

Just had it happen to me. MP 610, several years of service. Just printing out taxes and the printer went dead. Turned off the power for a bit, turned it back on: U052, printhead error.

Followed random procedures, cleaned the printhead, nothing works.

Darn. Well, two things:

1. Given the lack of response and lack of new printheads on Amazon and the typical, Marketing-Speak of "We'll give you a paltry, no-amount discount on another poor quality printer" that I've seen before from Canon, this thing goes straight into the electronics recycle bin. And, no, I won't be buying a Canon, ever again.

2. I'm an electrical engineer by trade. I troubleshoot field repairs, design new hardware, and keep things going. I'm not impressed by the lack of support.

Goodbye, Canon!

KBeck

[JLH]

My Pixma MG5320 Canon printer is about a year old and has been used very little.  All of a sudden we're getting this U052  code.  I've tried a number of "fix it" leads found on the internet... unplugging the power source for 5-10 min, removing the ink and printer head and rinsing the printer head and reinstalling it, etc.  Nothing has worked.  Very disappointed in this product.

[athesen]

This thread is growing. Is there anyone who has replaced their printhead and that has solved the problem? What was the cost? Has there been any response by Canon to this thread? How does this get taken further?

Is there an ombudsman for this industry? Is it an industry standard that if one part of a three-in-one machine goes down then the scanner and emailer no longer works?

[SamSpade]

Add me to the list. I have just encountered the problem on an MP600. After each print job I must turn off the printer, wait, turn the printer back on and it good for one more print job before I must repeat the process. CANON GIVE US A FIX!

[tomhock]

I have a MP530 with this problem. The printer has only printed a total of 393 pages. What a shame to scrap such a nice printer because Canon will not give us a fix that works.

[plumlullaby]

I'm having a similar problem: error 5200 with my Canon Pixma MP610

Two days ago my printer was working fine, now it will do nothing.

I can't even check printheads since nothing is working and there seems no way to extricate them manually.

I was recommending canon printers to a friend for her business the other day but unless Canon gives me some way to solve this problem, I am going to be recommending something else.

Also frustratingly, I have no idea how to get a Canon manual for this printer. I've tried finding it on the canon site but it just gives me a link to download drivers which I don't want. I just got a user guide with the printer and do not have a cd drive in my macbook air.  

It is extremely unprofessional to tell someone to look in the manual and not provide this EASILY for someone to get from the Canon website.  

[wiseguys90]

I am now just another one in the long list of unhappy Canon customers. Today I was hit with the U502 error message on my PIXMA 892 after it had powered off on its own. The power button was unresponsive and I needed to unplug the printer before it would power back on, at which time I got the error message. Tried removing, reseating and cleaning the print head without any success. I have contacted Canon, but do not expect a satisfactory response.

This was my second PIXMA - previous one, the scanner died on me aftre about a year. Now with this one dying after less than 2 years, I do not expect to be buying another Canon printer - unless they are able to satisify me and resolve the problem quickly.

I would be glad to join any class action lawsuit, if it were to come to that.