Well my AF-S DX 55-200 f/4.5-5.6 G ED VR II    Is giving my trouble. The auto focus is not working right and is making noise when used. It will stop out of focus. In manual it works fine but jumps around then stops out of focus on auto.

Has any one been through Nikon's service process?

I've done a couple of lens repairs through Nikon, it isn't too bad but it isn't cheap.

You do, basically, end up with a like-new lens at the end.

I've used Nikon's service a couple of times without any issues. I also found a local repair shop to look at my Sigma 70-200 which was about to fall apart. Unfortunately it still had to go back to Sigma for a firmware upgrade to work with my D7000. I think Sigma charged me $50 for the upgrade and the shop charged about $160 for the repair.

I've had 2 or 3 lenses repaired by Nikon, under warranty.....no charge. If it's out of warranty, it probably won't be cheap.

I've also used another highly respected repair center, called APS.  Their process is easy and quick (probably faster than Nikon), but it wasn't cheap either.

Both places will give you an estimate and ask permission before doing the repair.  If it's too expensive, just have them return it.

I bought the lens less than 2 months ago so the 5 year warranty should still be OK...  It just sucks because it is my only telephoto lens..

So how quick it the turn around time on a repair? The motor that controls the auto focus is out of wack so I have no clue how much work will be involved.

The auto focus will jump around like I stated before and then stop out of focus, I can then bump the focus button and sometimes it will fix the focus..

It's been a while (3 or 4 years) since I have done it, but Nikon has two service centers.  Where you send your lens for repair, depends on whether you live east or west of the Mississippi River.  I always sent mine to El Segundo (they have since moved to Los Angeles).  The east coast repairs go to Melville, NY.  

My experience was always pretty good, with turn around times being about 10 days.  Not sure about how things are today.

Sent in a lens at the beginning of this year. About 2 weeks door to door.

Can't tell you what the turn around for lenses is, but would assume it is close to that of the DSL timeline.

I have sent my refurbished 7100 back to them twice since May 20th (for the exact same issue) . First time, they had it about 4 business days, the second time they had 9 business days.  

Years ago I gambled and bought a highly used Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 from either B&H or Adorama (forgot).  When I spoke to someone at the shop I was told straight up that it looked like it had been to war, but the glass was pristine (upon delivery the description was accurate).  After a couple of years and thousands of pictures, the auto-focus started "squealing", although it would still focus.  I sent it to Nikon service and they ended up replacing the entire focus mechanism and the "bayonet" portion of the lens, which had a small chip in it (but did not affect the lens' ability to hook up to the camera body).  After all was said and done, I had my lens back in about 3 weeks or less, and spent about $550 ($475 service and parts, plus shipping both ways, and taxes).  In the final analyses I still ended up paying a couple hundred less than full retail value (or about the cost of good used lenses) and had a brand new focus system (includes the VR system).  As of today I estimate I've taken another 10,000 pictures with it and have had no issues

If the lens is not under warranty, they will send (email) a quote and require your concurrence to go forward with the repairs.  If you do not want to continue with repairs they'll send you your lens back (but you'll have to pay the return shipping).


Good luck to ya'

If it is a repair issue, I would probably just look to buying another one. I would get Nikon-factory refurbished one. They are an excellent deal.