Canon 17-55 f2.8 failure rate and quality issues

I've used this lens extensively for exactly a year now, having bought it 30th September last year to do my niece's wedding, and as on that day, it's never disappointed since. The only negative I can attest to is the light zoom mechanism, where the lens extends under its own (+ lens hood) weight quite easily. My own example seems to be a very bad one for this, and I'll probably send it to an authorised repair centre to get it fixed. Other than that, I'm extremely happy with the results it's given me.