This may be a stupid question.
I recently have been sent a prepaid postage slip to dispatch my wii to the repairs centre.

My problem is the graphical overheating one, and was NOT caused by misuse but by a well-documented hardware fault. I left the wii well ventilated and its never been dropped etc.
I told the customer service operator about it, and asked if I would be charged she rather vaguely said, "Nintendo are generally quite relaxed about it..."
??
I bought the console OVER a year ago now so my warranty is officially void
But will I still have to pay for repairs despite it being entirely the manufacturer's fault for the hardware error?

Its kinda unfair if I have to fork out for an unprovoked error, warranty or not.

If the error was their fault, they fix it for free. However, I'm unsure about the fact that it is void. I think you might have to pay for it.

remember to backup your stuff! Sorry if you have to pay.

have you tried registering your wii console... registering it gives you an extended 3 month warranty, maybe that would solve your prob if its just a lil over 1 yr..

^^^^ Do what he said.

If it's near the end of the warranty period, they might let it slide if you're persistent. However, I wouldn't count on it. This is how warranties work. They can't warranty stuff forever, and electronics never last forever. The Wii was just built especially poorly.