Canon 17-85mm IS Lens Issues : Martin Pot

Steve wrote at 2010-10-05 18:36

Hi Martin:

I've had the dreaded 01 Lens error on my 24-105 f/4L. The charge was about 2000 HKD from the Canon repair center in Hong Kong.

Best of luck to you. Maybe there's a third option: Is there smaller repair place nearby that might be less expensive?

Tom wrote at 2010-10-05 22:26

Hi Martin
Go for it buy the cable and try to fix it for the boys!
You my have to pick up a few tools to get it apart but it would be a good learning experience to show the boys.
And we are interested in how it goes also, so keep us posted it you do try it.
Thanks from Tom in Alberta Canada. I am really enjoying your stuff!!!!

Rense wrote at 2010-10-07 14:12

Hi Martin,

I am exactly at the same point facing the same choice. I had the Err 1 this week for the first time on my 40D + 17-85mm lens and I also only receive this error at the low range. I bought mine about three years ago.

I have not yet received a price form local repairmen, but I expect that I will try fixing it myself.

Good luck with yours, I will be following your experiences. Greetings from the Netherlands, Rense

Chris wrote at 2010-10-08 23:01

I have had this lens for over 4 years and it has now failed for the third time. Once was a shutter plate issue after err99, the other two (including current one) have been the USM failure.
The lens will focus on anything zoomed upto about 65mm but beyond that the motor jumos around like crazy. I am currently living in South Korea, dont have any tools and am forced to pay for the repair. Canon Korea will chatge me an extra 30% because I bought the camera/lens in the UK.
I am very unhappy with the lens and it would appear that this lens has many common faults. Maybe Nikon would be more reliable?

livelybrowsers wrote at 2010-10-20 12:13

Thanks for good stuff

Malcom Tent wrote at 2010-12-01 05:43

I've just developed the same error. Problems when in the 17-24mm range.

What did you decide to do on the end?

Malcom Tent wrote at 2010-12-01 05:55

@Martin:

Thanks. Really good article. I think attempting this repair myself would just be a very slow sequence of destruction. (I have no solder skills to speak of). So I'm going bite the bullet and pay for a repair.

When I win the lottery I will buy only L lenses. Hopefully they're more robust.

Lori St. Martin wrote at 2010-12-14 01:03

@Martin:

It really helped me. The cable is cheaper than I expected.
You should try to fix it by yourself and then If you can't you should send it to the centers that could fix it. I will try to fix it on my own.

Thanks!
Lori St. Martin

Amien wrote at 2010-12-23 05:28

I am having the same issue with my 24-105mm L :< I dont think i have the guts to replace the cable myself. anyone perhaps know the cost of repairing a 24-105 L?

Amien wrote at 2011-01-19 17:55

Cost confirmed today for anyone interested, $500 , insane.

Peter wrote at 2011-03-30 00:44

I am also in a predicament. The lens failed on me. I don't know what to do. =(

Dpax wrote at 2011-07-10 14:42

I just got this error yday with my 17-85 lens on 40D in my trip to NASA for the final shuttle. Luckily I was counting more on my telezoom. I am an electric engineer, but have to admit that I am not handy with any optical tools. I would be interested to see how the self fix goes. Thanks for the post - very helpful!!!

RubenH wrote at 2011-07-13 09:08

Would love to buy one of those defect 17-85 lenses. Not afraid of trying to repair one.

Peter Parnell wrote at 2011-07-19 00:07

I have fixed a few of the 17-85mm lenses very successfully. I am offering my services to repair the FFC failure in your lens with genuine Canon parts. I'm in Australia. Don't see why I can't do international transactions though.

Paul Groot wrote at 2011-08-01 10:58

Last week I repaired my own lens successfully. I'm leaving a link here for others who might be interested in a DIY fix: http://www.pfcgroot.nl/photography/68-canon-lens-aperture-flex-cable-replacement.html. Cheers...

Ricus van der Vyver wrote at 2011-08-08 15:33

Got the same error on my 350 w 17-85 lens.Failed on me while on my way to soussusvlei in Namibia Iwould allso like to try fixing it also electronicly and tecknicly minded+handy would like to know where you got that ribbon cable thanks

Christian wrote at 2011-08-29 05:18

Hi Peter Parnell,
I have a 17 -85mm IS lens that has an Err 1 on a Canon EOS 40D.
Are you still fixing the lenses and how much do you charge.
I live in Bowral and my contact is 0414767023
Cheers Christian

DannyBoy wrote at 2011-09-24 20:47

I bought a 17-85 kit lens with my Canon 20D. It worked extremely well since 2005. I've carried it around the world and used it in humid tropical climates and salt air for most of it's life. On my last trip to SE Asia, when in the Philippines, I did something I never did before. I set the auto exposure to the sports setting and took multiple photos of my wife riding a Zip line down a remote canyon. As she was flying down the cable, I kept my finger on the shutter. This was the first time ever that I filled my camera's buffer. Immediately after that, I got the dreaded ERR99.
It continually got worse until the lens was finally unusable. I did some research online since the lens was out of warranty, and figured out the problem was probably the diaphragm. I sent it to Precision Camera (precisioncamera.com) for repair. I was correct, it was the diaphragm. They repaired the lens for less than $100 including tax and shipping, and with a 90 day warranty. I just received the lens back today, and it works like new again. I consider this a cheap fix for a great lens.

Ray wrote at 2011-11-08 05:31

hi,

i have the same problem with canon EF 24-105mm F/4L. Who has a guide on how to dismantle this particular lens? I need to fix it myself since the repair shop offers a very high price when in fact the replacement flex cable is just around 15USD.

Norm the man wrote at 2011-11-16 05:45

Peter Parnell where are you I need same help I am in Sydney
Christian did you get your camera repaired if so where and $? please

Runa wrote at 2011-11-21 00:22

Thanks for sharing this post!!!

Peter Parnell wrote at 2011-11-23 06:20

Hi Norm, I'm in Brisbane. Flat rate, $95 plus postage. pedro dot parnell at gmail dot com

Raj wrote at 2011-11-29 04:25

Peter Parnell, you have done such a fab cable work on my Canon 17-85 lens, it works flawless now, and tack sharp. Thanks for that. I would recommend Peter's superb services to anyone who needs his expertise.

Norm wrote at 2012-01-09 21:24

Peter...how can i contact you for a delivery address

Greg wrote at 2012-01-16 03:58

I only got as far as the first set of screws under the rubber zoom ring which were so tight I couldn't even undo them. Any suggestions on how to loosen these?

Cindy wrote at 2012-01-28 04:26

I got this error on my 55-250 kit lens on a 550d. I've bought a Sigma 70-300 in the hopes that'll work, but I'm getting the same error - starting to think it's something to do with tele lenses, as opposed to one particular lens? My kit 18-55 works fine... any ideas? I'm a hobby soccer photographer and pre-season starts soon! eek!

Luciano DR wrote at 2012-08-14 13:41

Well, this issue with the Err 01 is flooded all over the internet, so it does nto seem to be just a coincidence. I have used Nikon equipment for several years and never had any issues of this type. Then I decided to switch to Canon and after some mild use of my 40D with the 17-85mm this issue showed up. For me it is a case of RECALL!!! As simple as that, but if you go to the Canon website you see no addressing to this common issue. I got a Canon Pixma printer, and after a year or two my LCD went black. Again, a very common issue caused by...guess what...a faulty cable. Again, Canon does not care. I am very very disappointed. The only solution I see is to stop buying Canon products!

mp wrote at 2012-08-25 02:36

Hi, yes another errcode, found that all works well on auto but not on Av using a d30 body, the lens was part of the kit ,about 7 years old tried it on the 5d mk2 and also a"err" I'll have to fimd out what the cost is ( NewZealand)for a cable
Thank you for the information, will follow up

mp wrote at 2012-08-26 16:28

Hi a Note I used modified bellows in between the efs lens and the nr5 mk2 body
The EFS lens does not fit the nr5mk2 and you mite damage the sensor if you tried to fit the Efs lens
Cindy ,I have several Sigma lenses from the film days When fitted to a digital Eos they will show a ERR message ,are your lenses dedicated digital?

Cameron N wrote at 2012-10-18 08:57

I had the same error message on the 17-85mm lens. I worked around it for some months avoiding opening it up beyond 25mm. Eventually I contacted Peter Parnell (see above discussion) and got him to replace the flex cable. Works like a treat now. He is a bit more expensive than last year at $120 but that included return postage. It took just under two weeks from send to return but its great to have it fixed and at a fraction of the cost of getting Canon to repair their own dodgy $2 flex cable. It's worth following him up if you don't feel comfortable yourself stripping down a lens. Really pleased with his work.

Tim G wrote at 2012-10-18 17:06

Agree with comments regarding Canons failure to recall the clearly faulty 17-85 . Can I suggest some sort of mass movement for you to all email cannon demanding a recall. I must have read hundreds of dissatisfied customer comments on many forums, surely canon can't ignore this for long?

Willem wrote at 2012-10-19 03:41

Thanks for your information! I had the same problem with a 40D and 17-85mm kitlens. It is a shame that so much customers of Canon experience this problem. The 40D + kitlens is a semi-pro camera and should be reliable. Even the 5d Mark II with the 24-105 kit lens suffers this poblem, I read here. Greetings from the Netherlands.

Renaud G wrote at 2012-11-15 02:36

Got the Err. 99 with the 17-85mm too. When I look through the lens, I can see the diaphragm is stuck partially closed. I am wondering if I should repair it or just buy the EF-S 18-135mm as a replacement lens. Any advice?

Rakesh wrote at 2012-11-21 21:47

I got the same error few days ago. Lens stopped working completely. Can Peter repair for me. I am in India and can ship to him. I need either contact number or email address.

Glenn wrote at 2012-11-30 03:56

I had the same problems with my Canon 17-85mm USM.

Error 01 - "communication between the camera and lens is faulty...."

Despite several attempts to clean the contacts, I eventually couldn't take pictures at wide angles. Then looking through the view finder became darker and darker which eventually didn't allow the camera to take anymore pictures.

The lens was the issue after using other lens to rule out if issues involved the camera body. Turns out the flex aperture cable was the issue.

I managed to successfully fix the lens. Pretty easy for someone that is tech savvy. Similar to Peter on this blog, I can offer my service too. I'm in Virginia Beach, VA, USA. Email: mail4go@yahoo.com

Jim Coates wrote at 2012-12-11 12:23

I got a quote from Anderson Camera repairs for $325 to fix my 17-85mm lens, Pete Parnell fixed it by replacing the ribbon cable for $120 inc return postage - excellent service!

howard smith wrote at 2012-12-28 20:31

I've experienced the dreaded error99 and it took some time before I found a definition. My lens failed to operate the iris in the 17-24mm range. I took the advice of fellow Canon users and contacted Peter Parnell.
I sent him my lens and had it back repaired in 7 days, and that was over the Christmas period. The man is fantastic.

Tom wrote at 2013-02-06 19:36

I'm glad I found this page, as the Canon error is pretty (very!) unhelpful. There's nothing wrong with the lens contacts! I had the same problem as many others above, with a 2009 model 17-85mm EF-S lens. I contacted Pete Parnell and had the lens back in a week. All seems to be working well.

Simon Worrall wrote at 2013-02-10 13:01

I had this issue. Sent it to Peter Parnell, and he not only fixed the ribbon cable issue, he fixed a crack in the lens frame, as a favour. In a week.
Thanks Peter. You are gold.

Peter Parnell wrote at 2013-03-05 06:16

Hi, I thought it might be time for an update. Thanks to those that have left feedback. I have now helped almost 40 people get full use of these great lenses again. Normally it is just the iris control cable that has failed. I now have a few iris units that I have pre-fitted with new flex cables. This means that I can fully test the iris as an assembly and this also expedites my lens repair turn around. I have never found a faulty iris, only the cable. I use non genuine flex cables and I have not had any of them fail. I have had some of them with manufacturing faults. I now test the cables and the finished assembly to ensure no faults. I have also replaced a few USM focus assemblies too as this fixes the 'hunting' focus issues. I normally only keep a couple of USMs on hand so turn around for these repair can be longer while I order Canon parts. Happy snapping. pedro dot parnell at gmail dot com

GJ wrote at 2013-03-05 07:36

I was having this error message spasmodically on my 450D body and 15 - 55mm 2.8 Canon lens. I decided to contact Peter Parnell. He was great to deal with!! As I lived in the same city as him, I took it around to him, he did a bunch of test and found that in my case, turning off image stabilisation stopped the error message from popping up. He didn't even charge me! Good luck guys and I would definitely recommend Peter Parnell.

Laurens wrote at 2013-03-22 21:40

My 17-85mm Canon lens recently also gave the dreaded error message and as recommended by the various forum members I contacted Pete Parnell, who repaired the lens within a week. Great job Pete!

Jamie Bristow-Stagg wrote at 2013-04-05 10:12

Hi,
I had the issue being discussed above on my new Canon EOS 60D and my new Canon Lens 17-85mm where i would get ERR 1 on my screen.
I would like to report that Pete Parnell has fixed my lens and after a vigorous road test last night it is performing perfectly.
I cannot recommend Pete highly enough, great communication and fast turnaround even with me living in Perth and Pete over east.
Thanks Pete, i really appreciate you fixing my camera mate. great job :-)
Regards Jamie.

Marilyn Treanor wrote at 2013-04-09 09:05

Thanks so much for this thread. Before I decide on a repair, can anyone recommend a different lense that may serve my purposes better. I take a lot of sporting photos, so often a small distance away. Canon 40D body. I've had my camera and lens since December 2007 so all in all I suppose I can't complain about it too much! Cheers :)

Colin Skipton wrote at 2013-05-04 19:00

Well guess what I had the same problem with my 17-85 whilst at Ayres Rock and it was unusable for the rest of the holiday, and still is. Pity I had not seen this blog then and I could have contacted Peter whilst I was in Aus. Back in the UK now - anyone know or a repairer in the Uk who may be as good as Peter appears to be?

Brendan M wrote at 2013-05-28 10:28

Just received my lens from Pete in time to take on holiday. He had to replace the USM as well as the iris cable and the repair was still far cheaper than I was quoted at other repair places to only replace the iris cable! Thanks Pete!

Patricia Kearney wrote at 2013-06-08 22:50

Hi, I'm wondering if someone could give me some advice. My Canon EFS 17-85mm lens will not work anymore. It says on the screen, 'Err 01' - Communications between the camera and the lens is faulty. Clean the lens contacts-
I have cleaned the lens contacts and nothing seems to be working. I have other lenses also and they are working fine. It did work perfectly before and is only 4 years old.
Any help would be greatly appreciated - Thank You.

Chad wrote at 2013-07-16 19:40

Great Blog Martin and thanks to everyone who has posted success stories. A big thanks to Peter Parnell who I will be getting in touch with shortly. I feel so much better knowing how to get this problem fixed at a fair price. Happy days and happy snaps ;-)

John Burt wrote at 2013-07-18 15:46

I had the same problem with my Canon EFS 17-85mm lens and it was the ribbon cable issue. I sent the lens to Pete Parnell like other here have done. He replaced the cable and now it works perfectly. The turnaround time was quick and the lens now appears to work as good as new.

Barry Moore wrote at 2013-07-25 20:13

I have updated my photos and information about the err99 err01 with the Efs 17-85mm IS lens with regards to the focus hunting problem. After fixing my lens some time ago and posting the photos of that fix my lens developed a focus hunting problem. This is now fixed as the USM motor position sensor (a clear plastic semi-circular sensor with tiny strips on it and an optical pickup) needed a good clean and also one end of it was loose and needed regluing to its holder. The USM position sensor feeds back the movement of the focus motor. If loose or dirty false reading will occur and a focus hunt happens. The fix is no where near as complicated as the aperture flex cable replacement as the lens only needs a partial strip down to remove the entire USM motor assembly as a single unit to then access the sensor behind a plastic ring at the bottom of the motor (the side towards the front of the lens is what I call the bottom of the motor). I have a photo and other links at my pbase site.

david Bland wrote at 2013-09-03 01:42

Hi i will repair any canon lens and body should anyone require repairs
i live in malta at very reasonable prices

Peter Sanders wrote at 2013-09-25 05:18

Hi. Just to add grist to the mill, my 17-85 IS failed on 400D (error 99) at 18 months old. Canon fixed it for UK £50. One year later it has failed again and Canon want UK £75 this time. No sympathy at all for this poor performance. As I was considering binning it anyway, I may try to repair it - nothing to lose. Still tempted to stick with Canon (mug?), possibly 15-85mm as mentioned in this thread hoping it's more reliable.

Amol wrote at 2013-11-01 22:47

really good thread, i am from india, got usm autofocus problem and got it repaired from canon authorised, they replaced usm for charge, since 2 yr old lens. Immediately after repair i started getting error 99 and err 01 asking me to restart camera and saying lens not compatible. This error started coming during my china trip and i mostly use high zoom. I mostly use all auto mode options only. I used sports auto mode also first time. When i come back to india and show this problem to canon they say it is diaphram problem which needs to be replaced. Also note when using IS on mode, the focus is shifting when i leave the shutter button. I mean i press shutter half way, it autofocuses, but when i leave the shutter button without taking photo the lense shift or moves? Canon say they must replace IS assembly also. Also note ever since 1st repair there is some shaking or vibration in the lense even when not taking photo. I mean if i carry it using the hand grip, i feel as if some movement is taking place around the zoom ring ?
Can anyone of u pls suggest me what should i do, i feel canon service is trying to cheat me ?

Maurice wrote at 2014-01-28 06:55

Err01 Canon EFS 17-85. I didn't relish the thought of pulling my lens apart so I sent my lens to Pete in Brisbane. He fixed it for $125 incl postage back (to Sydney Australia). Highly recommend him. Contact pedro.parnell (at) gmail.com

Sam Lee wrote at 2014-04-22 20:23

+1 for Pete in Brisbane...fixed the iris cable and the focusing mechanism. Canon wouldn't even quote on it unless I brought it in. Pete took delivery and said don't pay until he's got it fixed, and he delivered back within a few days. Forgot what an awesome lense this was! Thanks Pete.

Josh wrote at 2014-06-05 20:35

Hi Peter Parnell.

I have a disaster story. I've had my 17-85mm lens fixed twice and now I have Error 01. So I have spent about $450 in repairs.
I ended buying a new lens as I was sick of spending money on parts or repair.
I ended up attempting to repair the lens the other day, with a new aperture cable.
Two screws did not budge and the heads are stripped. To get one off I had no choice but to melt it off as it had gone too far. I also scratched a ribbon cable just above the connections also. I don't think it cut through anything. I even struggled putting it back together....I'll never do this again.

Can the lens work with 1 screw missing? I am guessing I have gone too far with this and might as well chuck the lens. I thought I had nothing to lose as I've had it repaired twice already and with the problems it wouldn't be worth much. Are you still doing repairs? Is it worth you having a look to see if it's salvageable? I'm in Victoria.

Thanks,
Josh

Phillip Cantwell wrote at 2014-06-10 06:58

Monday 9 June 2014 from Ireland
Hi Marty/Martin,
Many thanks for the encouragement to fix the Canon lens. I also have a dodgy Canon 17-85 lens. I genuinely only used this lens a maximum of 100 times and its dodgy. I am surprised Canon have not bit the bullet and either offered a free replacement or a free repair with a heartfull apology. This is obviously a bad/faulty design problem and a company like Canon with an expensive product built on good quality and design, they should bite the bullet and offer to replace or a free repair.
As a group of Canon customers, its time we used our worldwide customer power on the Canon sales bods, to either fix a "not fit for use expensive product/17-85mm lens" or we go elsewhere and forget our brand loyalty to Canon now and for the future.
What do you think, its time to act!
Anyone interested, email me phillipcantwell3@gmail.com or phone 00-353-46-9431515

Libby wrote at 2014-07-25 06:20

We have repaired our sons 17-85 Canon EFS lens on a Camon 40D not once but twice with the same code Error 01. The diaphragm was replaced in both instances with the cost each time being around 350-400. The first time this occurred the camera was only around the 2 year mark and the second time around 12 months later, why we paid to repair it? We were the ones actually using it at the time. We emailed Canon Australia in regard to this fault after we found that this particular lens is susceptible to breaking to the diaphragm malfunction approximately 2 years ago. We have not received a reply.

Steve wrote at 2014-08-09 18:50

Hi all,
I had Peter Parnell repair my 17-85 EFS, what a marvelous job, dropped it off on a Friday picked it up Monday.
His work is first class.
Very happy :-)

Gerrard wrote at 2014-11-21 12:00

Thanks for a really helpful article, after ages trying to pin down the cause of my Err99 this helped me finally diagnose a fault with the lens. Not being confident that I could replace the ribbon cable myself I'm having it done professionally. They even lent me a replacement lens while mine is away. Result! Thanks again for the help.

Dylan wrote at 2014-12-05 14:54

I have a Canon EFS 17-85 that is currently having this issue. Does anyone know if Peter is still providing repair services?

Peter wrote at 2015-04-11 07:06

Peter Parnell is still in business. He repaired my 17-85 EFS and it works like new again! It cost $125 plus the cost of postage to him in Brisbane ($20 from Melbourne).
I'm very happy with the job and the cost.

Ngaire wrote at 2015-06-03 09:49

Peter Parnell repaired my canon 17-85mm as well. He replaced the cable and it works perfectly now. $105 total and I was able to drop off and pick up in Brisbane. Thanks Peter! pedro.parnell@gmail.com

Dave L wrote at 2015-06-04 08:50

I was thrilled to find these threads and find that Peter could repair my Canon 17-85 too. He provided a great service with plenty of communication. The lens is back and works a treat. I have no hesitation in recommending him for this type of repair.

Bruce Dow wrote at 2015-08-11 03:22

My Canon 17-85 came up with error on my camera. I heard about Peter Parnell as a person who fixes the lens. Assuming he had moved on I e mailed him believing I wouldn't get a reply. A reply I did and the rest is history. I sent my lens to him, he acknowledged its arrival. He later advjsed me he had fixed it and that it was on its way back to New Zealand from his Australian address.It arrived in 3 days, tracked and traced. The lens is 100% fixed and at a very reasonable rate I hasten to add. I would have no hesitation in recommending Peter as trustworthy and more than capable of fixing lenses. If yu have a Canon lens issue, Peter is someone you should consider to fix it. I will be if I have another issue.

Ross L wrote at 2016-01-14 08:22

When my Canon 17-85 stopped working I did a search looking for an answer to the error that was appearing on my 40D Canon camera. I came across this blog and I learnt that Peter Parnell was the man to contact. Initially I asked him if those lenses were worth fixing at all. I answered my question in a very positive way given that when they work they are really good lenses. I then sent him the lenses and he fixed them. In fact I just got them back this morning (I am in Melbourne) and I already tested them. I am happy with them. The turn around was very good considering that we were in the middle of the Christmas and New Year holidays. The cost of fixing the lenses was very reasonable in my opinion. I have no hesitation in recommending Peter as someone you can trust and very able in fixing lenses.

Mike smith wrote at 2016-09-22 18:47

Hi, digging up an old post just wondering if Peter is still repairing this lens and I have 2 that are in need of repair

Mike

Mike smith wrote at 2016-09-28 10:55

That's good to know, have emailed a few times on the email above but no reply. Wasn't sure if it was still active.

Peter if you get notifications on this thread email me re lens repair allaboutthetunes@optusnet.com.au

Mike

Mike smith wrote at 2016-10-04 20:38

I am hopeing if anyone has had recent contact with Peter I am trying to contact him re fixing 2 lenses.

nikki romney wrote at 2016-12-26 13:20

Ii, I'm in New Zealand and have the same issue as many with the Canon EF-S 17 - 85 lens. Error - 'Communication between the camera and lens is faulty'.
It's just under three years old and i've been back to the store I purchased it rom - this lens has been deleted and upgraded to the 15 - 85. I was told that the lens I had - had issues. Out of the two year warranty unfortunately so would have to pay.
WHY!! If this lens had issues then what are Canon doing about it? Does anyone know or have they had any joy with Canon re this fault?

Gordon Bain wrote at 2017-07-25 03:07

Same problem with the 17-85mm. Got hit on second day of a two week infrared shoot in various US National Parks. I was ever so very slightly miffed as Canon is supposed to be a 'quality' company turning out 'quality' products just like my 'quality' Canon 70D that also failed on me big time a couple of years ago due to poor components (another known issue that Canon has failed to address with its multitude of customers I believe) ... and then there's also my G12 which is also behaving very erratically.

A local company in the south east of England, Protech Photographic, is repairing the lens for me for £85 which is just under $100.

Hugh Mungus wrote at 2017-09-13 21:27

I bought an EFS 17-85 a couple of years ago used but from a shop. The aperture cable failed within 3 or 4 months so it was repaired under warranty. Less than a year later it failed again.

I just got round to replacing the cable myself and it is a very fiddly job to reassemble. My advice would be to take pictures of each part as it comes off, make notes of moving parts and what they operate. Also it's worth marking the barrels and other cylindrical pieces so you can easily see how the line up with each other.

If you're methodical then it shouldn't cause too many problems, the soldering is the easy bit! If you're still not keen on soldering then I believe you can buy a complete ribbon/aperture motor assembly which is already soldered.

To any one saying that these lenses have no more issue than any other I say that's nonsense. And to make out that people perceive this to be the case because they have had issues and go looking is pretty condescending. These lenses are notorious for the aperture cable fault and anyone with any mechanical know-how will see why when they have one apart. It is shameful that Canon didn't address this design fault when the lens was current. When they're working however they are great.

Paul INGROUILLE wrote at 2019-09-17 05:18

I appear to have this very common issue with my 17 - 85mm lens which happened last week whilst on holiday in the South of France. I live in the Channel Islands and wonder if repairs are still possible or if I am binning the lens and looking for a replacement? Lens has not had a great deal of use and I am very disappointed to discover that this problem has been so common. Is Peter still offering his services in Australia?

Paul wrote at 2020-09-22 23:03

I have the same problem on my 17mm - 85mm lens - reading through the comments this is clearly a bad design issue, has anyone taken it up with Canon and if so what is their response?

If Canon were a car manufacturer they would have been encouraged by consumer groups and safety regulators to issue a recall if they had this many failures!

What a sorry state of affairs!

Lee Ang wrote at 2022-06-14 14:16

So many replies but when the 17-85 does not want to focus its the FLEX CABLE. If you can solder get the ribbon, if not get the ribbon attached to the aperture ring. Its not worth it to ask Canon to fi the lens which has been discontinued. Then you need to open the lens. Use videos for assistance but take your own pictures and make marks to help you remember. Especially re-fitting the 9 white plastic tubes, 3 will hold your aperture in place. Releasing the ribbon ends make sure you dont break the one holding the big ribbon. It is different from the rest. 2 ribbons slide out, 2 flip up but use a enlarger before removing the big ribbon end. It is possible but with great care. Close open ends before replacing the 3 screws under on the outside of the barrel. This prevents a screw falling into the assembled camera. Good luck. Work on clean table as the screw can fly anywhere.