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MacBook 5,1 A1278 Clutch Cover Fractures.

east85

east85

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 24, 2010
1,343
495
Hello, I was wondering if anyone here knew of any existing protocol at Apple that might help aid me in replacing a clutch cover with multiple fractures. I understand Apple has implemented similar policies for topcase cracking on their polycarbonate MacBook models. The clutch cover is similar to the non-retina MacBook Pro models.

After doing some googling I noticed quite a bit of complaints by people who experienced this issue both early on and later in the life of their MacBook 5,1 models. As was the case with my MacBook, these fractures had not developed due to a drop of any kind.

I am willing to do the work (as ifixit has a very handy guide here that would easily help with replacement) but I figured I would ask some more knowledgeable people here first. Also, any recommendations in regards to purchasing the part on Ebay would be appreciated. The part itself seems to be inexpensive, ranging from $18 to $25 USD.

Thanks so much for your help.
 
C

Charade

macrumors newbie
Apr 1, 2014
3
0
MBP Retina Clutch Cover

Hi,
Can you please describe how that happens with the damaged clutch cover?
I have a new Mbp Retina and my Cover is damaged only from opening the book.
Thats really unbelievable I know but I can not remember hitting any kind of things with the notebook.
Can you help me please?
Kind regards
Matt

east85 said:
Hello, I was wondering if anyone here knew of any existing protocol at Apple that might help aid me in replacing a clutch cover with multiple fractures. I understand Apple has implemented similar policies for topcase cracking on their polycarbonate MacBook models. The clutch cover is similar to the non-retina MacBook Pro models.

After doing some googling I noticed quite a bit of complaints by people who experienced this issue both early on and later in the life of their MacBook 5,1 models. As was the case with my MacBook, these fractures had not developed due to a drop of any kind.

I am willing to do the work (as ifixit has a very handy guide here that would easily help with replacement) but I figured I would ask some more knowledgeable people here first. Also, any recommendations in regards to purchasing the part on Ebay would be appreciated. The part itself seems to be inexpensive, ranging from $18 to $25 USD.

Thanks so much for your help.
Click to expand...
 
east85

east85

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 24, 2010
1,343
495
Charade said:
Hi,
Can you please describe how that happens with the damaged clutch cover?
I have a new Mbp Retina and my Cover is damaged only from opening the book.
Thats really unbelievable I know but I can not remember hitting any kind of things with the notebook.
Can you help me please?
Kind regards
Matt
Click to expand...

Unfortunately I can't, I just paid to have it repaired. The cover itself will just start splintering cracks and look pretty unsightly but I don't think it will ruin your hinge as it actually covers the hinge. I think it just comes down to some bad luck on the run of plastic used for our clutch covers, the way the heat just pushes into it from the fan doesn't help. If you want you could try bringing it to the Apple store and see if they'll call it a manufacturing defect. I, like you, did not drop my MacBook ever.
 
rendyr

rendyr

macrumors member
Aug 26, 2010
59
11
]Mine starting to show this problem 2 years ago. Start with few small crack, overtime it is cracking all over the black plastic. Surprisingly, the plastic didn't break apart, it stay intact, just crack.

I read on ifixit, it seems it is not a simple repair for me to do it. So, last year i cover it with black duct tape to hide the aesthetic issue. It seems it only cover the hinge, so it is not a big problem. Just ugly to see it like that.

Mine macbook already 4 years old. Waiting for perfect upgrade either retina 13" macbook pro or new retina macbook air. The SSD really helps to stop the urge to upgrade since everything is so fast now.

So, If you got this kind of problem and think that repair is not worth it since it is an old device and will not perform for next few years, I suggest you to just cover it with any sticker, preferably thick one to hide the crack perfectly.
 
C

Charade

macrumors newbie
Apr 1, 2014
3
0
MBP Retina clutch cover

oh I already did that...bringing it to a store but they rejected a warranty repair.
They said that it was me who cracked the cover and not the hinge or a srew from the hinge. Bad luck...but cant be helped.
Now they want 60€ for the quotation and 30€ for shipping and warranty check.
And how much was it for you to get it repaired? Very expensive?
Regards
Matt

east85 said:
Unfortunately I can't, I just paid to have it repaired. The cover itself will just start splintering cracks and look pretty unsightly but I don't think it will ruin your hinge as it actually covers the hinge. I think it just comes down to some bad luck on the run of plastic used for our clutch covers, the way the heat just pushes into it from the fan doesn't help. If you want you could try bringing it to the Apple store and see if they'll call it a manufacturing defect. I, like you, did not drop my MacBook ever.
Click to expand...
 
east85

east85

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 24, 2010
1,343
495
Charade said:
oh I already did that...bringing it to a store but they rejected a warranty repair.
They said that it was me who cracked the cover and not the hinge or a srew from the hinge. Bad luck...but cant be helped.
Now they want 60€ for the quotation and 30€ for shipping and warranty check.
And how much was it for you to get it repaired? Very expensive?
Regards
Matt
Click to expand...

In my opinion the repair was not expensive, The OEM part ran me $40 USD on ebay and a local shop did it for $75 USD. The guide on iFixit is actually pretty good, I just didn't want to get into it on my own so instead paid for convenience. I'd say I got lucky but of course price of repairs are pretty hit or miss depending on who you go to.

In all I paid $115 to have it done, if you paid 90€ total that's only $123.84 so it seems reasonable enough if you don't like getting your hands dirty.
 
C

Charade

macrumors newbie
Apr 1, 2014
3
0
Thats right. 115$ ist not that much. My 124.84$ and then nothing is fixed. I will have to decide then if apple should repair it or not. Problem is that my macbook is a 4 weeks old retina one...if I dont want to loose warranty then i will have to give it to apple for the repair. I bet they will put me additional with more than 250€ into charge.


east85 said:
In my opinion the repair was not expensive, The OEM part ran me $40 USD on ebay and a local shop did it for $75 USD. The guide on iFixit is actually pretty good, I just didn't want to get into it on my own so instead paid for convenience. I'd say I got lucky but of course price of repairs are pretty hit or miss depending on who you go to.

In all I paid $115 to have it done, if you paid 90€ total that's only $123.84 so it seems reasonable enough if you don't like getting your hands dirty.
Click to expand...
 
east85

east85

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 24, 2010
1,343
495
Charade said:
Thats right. 115$ ist not that much. My 124.84$ and then nothing is fixed. I will have to decide then if apple should repair it or not. Problem is that my macbook is a 4 weeks old retina one...if I dont want to loose warranty then i will have to give it to apple for the repair. I bet they will put me additional with more than 250€ into charge.
Click to expand...

If I were in your shoes I would try your luck calling Apple's support line. They have a decent setup online where you can log in with your Apple ID, select your device and have them call you. Usually they get back to you in 5 minutes or so, but the benefit is that they have all the information they need. Be firm about what you've experienced and explain carefully what happened and why you think it's unacceptable that the Apple Store you had look at it reacted in the way they did. There's no reason why they shouldn't cover this sort of thing happening on a 4 week old laptop.

If the first person doesn't get you anywhere, go ahead and ask for their supervisor, work your way up to a senior tech if you need to get it fixed and feel you aren't being treated fairly. There's really no excuse for that cracking on a 4 week old laptop. It should definitely fall under manufacturer defect.
 
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