No not really, they function fine.
However on high power the ones I have are darker and a bit grainy compared to all my 6X20's.
I was once told by a Leupold tech that due to the higher magnification in a 40MM objective there was a crossoverpoint issue that kept them from collecting light as well as they should over about 18 power. Not very noticable on a bright sunny day or with the power down a bit, but on an overcast or cloudy day on 25 power it's there (at least to me and a few others). I ordered mine the first year they came out and having a number of the 6X20X40 VariX III's it bothered me, especially since they cost more.
As the power goes down they are clear as a bell, but lower power isn't why I bought the scope. I shoot a lot of small caliber long range stuff and I like a lot of magnification.

You aren't the only guy out there who likes yours and to my knowledge there's nothing whatsoever wrong with the mechanics of em. My advise would be if your happy with it keep on shooting it and forget you read this. It'll probably last forever and if it ever does have a problem Leupold will fix it.
I sure don't want to knock something someone else is fond of, ya gotta remember us old farts get real picky in our old age.

Montdog: I've had a Leupold 8.5-25X on a Swift for years. Don't shoot it much, but can't say I've ever experienced any problems with it. Am I missing something? Is there something inherently wrong with the design of all of these scopes?

I have seen leupold do things I thought were beyond what I would expect on 2 occasions 5-6 years ago 2 different friends sent binoculars back to be cleaned and rebuilt and they did both with no charge.w/regards

Corporate policies can cycle, i.e., if margins are lean, the bean counters issue an edict of "do everything possible to up the bottom line". Not saying it's smart, but it happens.
Maybe Doug's original headache occured during one of those periods. I have never had a problem with their customer service, and have witnessed others who were very pleased (a friend recently sent in a `60's vintage 2x7 with locked up elevation knob...repaired w/o question).
Is everybody satisfied? Obviously not, but the vast majority must be.