New rMBP died: loose thunderbolt ports

My rMBP-15 was exactly a month old this week, when I found out that the thunderbolt ports were not working properly.

I tested the ports using both the ethernet adapter and the VGA adapter (for overhead projection).

The port closer to the Magsafe port would work occasionally, but the other thunderbolt port was not working at all - no ethernet and no video output. Took it to the Apple Store and they confirmed the problem. Since the repair would require replacing the main logic board, they graciously replaced the machine (even though it was past the 14 day return period).

My bigger concern is that on the rMBP, the thunderbolt ports are machined incorrectly, and a rather loose fit results. The adapters in the rMBP do not fit as tightly and snugly as the VGA adapter fit in the display port of my old cMBP-13 (mid-2009).

With my rMBP that failed, I was plugging in the thunderbolt ethernet adapter every day. Now, with the new replacement machine, I will try to avoid that. The fit is so loose that I am afraid this problem will happen again.

Both my adapters -- ethernet and video -- are Apple products.

I had Applecare on the previous (1 month old) rMBP-15, as I do on the replacement rMBP. So, yes, that gives me some peace of mind, but I am not looking forward to my thunderbolt ports failing 2 years from now, and then facing the downtime as the logic board is replaced under Applecare.

And I just compared again with my old mid-2009 cMBP-13 (which has the older display port). The Apple-made adapters are just that much more tight and snug on the older machine.

I love the rMBP, and hope this failure is rare and bites nobody else, but a few others have also commented previously about loose thunderbolt ports:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1421043/