This may come as a shock to you guys, but many manufacturers will stand behind a product with a known manufacturing defect- regardless of the paper trail. I know, they are totally poor, inexperienced business people, but it happens. You don't even have to be a big spender or a person of influence, they just feel like it's the right thing to do. These knuckleheads many times run great businesses and are written about as examples of making customers raving fans.
Now I'll let you get back to a attacking the original poster - maybe take his birthday away?