I have the same bag, also in white but it stays attached to my EZGO so I rarely would ever use the handle. The cart is parked in the garage and has endured two record hot summers in the Phoenix area without any real problems. As for the warranty timeline, you may have two problems. One being that it is past the 12 months and the other being that you were not the original purchaser of the bag. It would be much easier if you could produce a receipt with your name and date of purchase. Titleist usually has the consumer go back through the store where it was bought and they handle the return. I had a warranty return for a bad zipper about 8 years ago and that’s how it worked. Golf Galaxy took it back and gave me an on the spot trade and then sent the bag to Titleist.