Cuisinart DGB-700BC Grind and Brew not working after 3 weeks.

We bought the Cuisine Art DGB-700bc after some research as one of 5 "Christmas gifts for us bought together". I read the directions and understood what cleaning had to be done daily.

It is cleaned daily (grinder is wiped down and brushed out, filter cleaned, cover over filter cleaned, etc) and the coffee produced from fresh grinding as well as its programmable function meant that for the past 3 weeks, we have THOROUGHLY enjoyed this product. We are up at 5am and leaving for work by 6am, so this item has really come in handy and saved us time for our to-go cups, plus brewed spectacular freshly ground coffee. 

And then today...I noticed as I poured the coffee into our to-go cups that the coffee was weak. After my second pot attempt, I got NO coffee grinds into the filter-and realized the problem was not the settings but something deeper.

Looks like one of two things:  grinder is clogged or the grinder burnt out. It sounds much weaker than it should-the grinder. 

I have called Cuisinart already and gotten a promise from them that a new one will be sent out to us today for a $10 replacement fee...I feel this should not have cost anything given its less than 1 month after purchase.  Plus...if it burnt out after less than 30 days...how long will the new coffee machine work before the grinder burns out on that too?  Also, we CAN choose to use pre-ground coffee..but we bought beans and have only beans currently in the house. I COULD choose to grind my own beans as we do have a separate coffee grinder...but that was the point in buying this coffee machine-it ground it for you and stored the beans (in a small amount) on the machine itself. Saved us a step in the morning.

I'm not sure what we will decide to do in the long run. I imagine once he gets home and we think it over, we will give this one more shot and wait for the new coffee machine to get here. But I have noticed quite a few reviews regarding the grinder mechanism failing multiple times...so I imagine that my husband will want to start looking for a potential replacement just in case.

Update: 14 January 09
I received a phone call on my cell (which I had provided the Cuisinart customer service representative) late in the afternoon on the same day the machine broke and I placed a call to Cuisinart.  The representative informed me the $10.00 fee was waived by them (the shipping cost), my card was not charged as intended, and they also were arranging for my machine to be picked up by a shipping agent at my house. I dont have to take the machine to the mailing store myself.  Their customer service is very good from what I have seen, though the representative was VERY aware of that specific model having a frequently defective grinder. 

My husband and I have decided to still try out the second machine and see how long it lasts, but we are also looking into buying a new coffee machine. He started looking at products online last night.  We are avid coffee lovers/drinkers, so the coffee products and machines we buy are something we take a bit on the serious side. Returning the old machine to the vendor IS an option-though only on the weekend, and will depend on whether the shipping agent does actually pick up our coffee machine before then. If not, we will go ahead and drive back to the store (1.5 hours away) and return it while visiting some friends this weekend.