MacBook Air Rev A Hinge Repair Surprise

tb2me said:

So I just got my MacBook Air (rev A) back from AppleCare after my hinge (like many others', apparently) decided to randomly bust itself. I was very pleased that when I took my MBA to the Apple Store, they didn't bat an eye about replacing the hinge (I'd heard horror stories about Apple denying the part was defective and calling the damage a user error, even with computers covered under warranty). But I was shocked when my package arrived today and the letter inside detailed the parts replaced. Keep in mind, the only thing wrong with my computer (as far as I could tell) was a broken hinge. Here's what they replaced:

Antenna window
Video Display Panel
Camera
Bottom Case
Display Housing
Clutch
Clutch (two different part numbers)
Bezel
Top Case
Logic Board

!!!

Seems like just about the only thing left intact was my hard drive! My computer is rather shiny and new (it had just had it's one year birthday, and I take good care of it but of course it showed a little wear) so that's pretty exciting, and the design of the hinge does seem a bit different. I was pretty shocked they replaced my logic board (the symptom was "camera issue"). Has anybody else sent their computer in for what they thought was a pretty minor adjustment and received basically a whole new computer back?

Incidentally, this is the first computer on which I've bought Applecare, and the hinge broke literally DAYS after I hit the one year mark. Phwew!

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DarioK said:

Actually yes, you may see from my other posts my hinge broke completely... although I did have Apple blaming me until I sent pictures of a dent free MBA I waited for a week only to be told that the logic board also needed replacing. It seems like the MBA display isn't separate and they have to replace the complete top part of the computer and the cable that connects the display to the logic board seems to damage it when there is an issue hence the need to fix that also. It's apparent that the display, antenna or camera can be fixed solely. It's the whole top half of the system.

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