longevity of eco-drives

[seikopath]

I've had a few eco-drives and never had any problems. What are the experiences on the forum ? When things go wrong , what is it that usually fails, and is it an expensive fix ? Are the spares generic or particular to each model ? What's citizens commitment to keeping these on the road ? Thanks Dave

[SIB]

I vaguely remember a thread on here from maybe last year where some guy was saying his lasted 7 years and when it went back to Citizen they said the internals couldn't be replaced as the watch was obsolete.

I've had loads personally and never had any issues. Oldest one I've had was a "Ray Mears" model which I THINK was about 8-10 years old and ran absolutely fine

[EdHughes1]

They have now upped the warranty to 6 years (5 plus 1 if you register online).

So at least that long for newish ones.

I've bought an older one in the past that 'needed a new battery' but a few hours on a sunny window sill and it was off and running again.

[Beanie]

I bought a. Chrono in 2007 and it sits in my watchbox most of the time. I dig it out every few months to treat it to some sunlight and it still holds a good charge and everything works. I don't know if the light use its had helped or hinders its longevity.

[Eamon]

I got mine in '97 IIRC, so about 18 yrs old. Still going strong. Needed the "few hours on a sunny window" treatment once.

[watchhead]

I don't know if the light use its had helped or hinders its longevity.

A watchmaker once told me that the best way to store a solar powered watch is where it gets a bit of light, not in its box apparently so that the battery never completely empties itself. I've had an eco-drive since the late 90s and it's still going strong...

[kevkojak]

I've had a few die on me and generally it's the capacitor that gives up the ghost, much like the Seiko Kinetics.
The cells are a bit more expensive than Seiko ones but still under £20 a time and easy to fit. I have to admit I've never used Citizen UK to repair anything but I imagine they'd do it relatively cheaply.

[seikopath]

A watchmaker once told me that the best way to store a solar powered watch is where it gets a bit of light, not in its box apparently so that the battery never completely empties itself. I've had an eco-drive since the late 90s and it's still going strong...

Likewise, I've always kept ecodrives on a window sill and never in a box. Don't know if this is good or bad though.