Is it an early lens? I had an issue with my 25/2.8 that I bought in Japan right after the ZM lens line came out. It had this un-smooth, slightly squeaky focus ring. It still took incredible pictures though. I sent it to Zeiss in Germany this winter and it came back fantastic. It is extremely smooth and well damped now. The repair turn-around time was a few days, not including shipping, though shipping was quick. Looking at the emails, it was received January 25th, and returned on the 31st...got in on a Tuesday, left on a Monday. Repair was 145 euro (mine was out of warranty), not including shipping (can't seem to find that now, but it was reasonable and returned via DHL or Fedex). If you can stomach paying the repair cost, I think you will be very happy with the work they do.