I bought a dual zone LG air conditioner (cooling and heating) from an on-line merchant. I was informed that although I could do the main installation, including running the tubing and wiring, but that to ensure its warranty I must hire a certified LG AC tech which I did. He did a great job charging the coolant and testing for leaks.
A few months later, within the parts/labor warranty, one of the indoor air handlers malfunctioned. My LG installer handled the job with no cost to me.
A few months later, while still under warranty, the compressor outside malfunctioned. This time my tech was in overload and in the process of retiring and couldn't do the repair so I had no choice but to call Hilo Mechanical, LG's local representative. They said they would repair it but that only the original installer could repair it under the warranty. I ended up paying $1071.11. A month later another part of the compressor malfunctioned. It cost $963.64.
So although I saved money by purchasing it on-line and doing the basic installation myself it cost me way more in the end. Nowhere does LG's lit say anything about their policy of only honoring warranties when serviced by the original installer. This ordeal leaves me no choice but to caution others.
BTW: All the parts that were replaced were not the original part numbers, they were parts that had been re-engineered/improved since the original date of manufacture, parts that had proved to be unreliable.
I'd now recommend Mitsubishi's AC.
Update 6/12/16: Stopped cooling. Fortunately the repair was done by soldering a small corrosion spot on one of the compressor's 4-yr-old coils. Total cost including topping off the coolant: $390.00.
Note: I will delete this post if LG makes some kind of warranty adjustment offer.
