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Apple Refuses to Replace Swollen Battery

J

jon31rm

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 15, 2007
94
0
My mom noticed the other day that the battery on her MacBook (purchased May 2008) was swollen (pics below). Due to this, the battery will no longer lock in place. The trackpad button will also no longer click, as the battery is pushing it up from the inside.

The one year warranty expired 4 months ago, but I was fairly certain that Apple replaced/fixed things that were widespread issues (I know, I know, I told my dad to buy the AppleCare but he never did). Swollen batteries in MacBooks were recently recalled, but apparently this MacBook was not one of the ones recalled.

The folks at Apple told me that it was an old battery issue, meaning the battery was at the end of its life. Normal. That it was simply time to buy a new battery. Now, I don't know much about laptop batteries, but I know for a fact that the swelling isn't due to a dying battery. My mom keeps the laptop plugged into an external monitor nearly all the time, and rarely takes it anywhere. The battery has had 31 total load cycles, standing at 98% of original capacity.

They refused to replace it because the computer is out of warranty.

They recommended buying a new battery before it swells more and causes any more damage. I expressed my concern over the possibility that the battery might explode (an issue common with other swollen batteries). I was told "it is a possibility".

Here's my question. If products produced between months C-D warrant a recall due to a certain issue, and a product produced in month E has the exact same issue, shouldn't it be replaced as well?

I guess I expected more from Apple.
 

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I say you get on the phone with customer service and raise a bit of a stink. That is bullsh*t! < 100 cycles and 17 months is not NORMAL.
 
Time for you to find a "genius" whose not on a cost-saving powertrip...:rolleyes:

1-800-APL-CARE will take care of you properly for sure. After the massive recall issues, they don't f-around with bulging batteries.
 
That's not normal, but I had to buy a warped battery for my Powerbook after fourteen months. On my MacBook Pro they replaced it after 13 months, and that was with a whole lot more cycles, but still pretty good health. jessica. suggested the right idea.
 
NewMacbookPlz said:
Time for you to find a "genius" whose not on a cost-saving powertrip...:rolleyes:

1-800-APL-CARE will take care of you properly for sure. After the massive recall issues, they don't f-around with bulging batteries.
Click to expand...

That's what I expected from Apple, warranty or not. The customer service rep I talked with had to put me on hold for a good 10 minutes while he talked to someone in tech support, who told him that it was a dead battery issue. The cs rep then told me that my two options were either buy a new battery or be transferred to someone else (I forget what dept.) to see if an exception could be made. The lady I talked to took the advice from tech support guy and simply refused to replace an out of warranty battery because "it isn't causing any real problems", but also threatened that it could cause more problems/catch on fire.

My dad then spoke with her for a while, and ended up telling her that he's never buying another Apple product again (we've got 4 Apple computers in our house). Apparently, she could care less.

I'll give it another shot after the weekend.
 
jon31rm said:
That's what I expected from Apple, warranty or not. The customer service rep I talked with had to put me on hold for a good 10 minutes while he talked to someone in tech support, who told him that it was a dead battery issue. The cs rep then told me that my two options were either buy a new battery or be transferred to someone else (I forget what dept.) to see if an exception could be made. The lady I talked to took the advice from tech support guy and simply refused to replace an out of warranty battery because "it isn't causing any real problems", but also threatened that it could cause more problems/catch on fire.

My dad then spoke with her for a while, and ended up telling her that he's never buying another Apple product again (we've got 4 Apple computers in our house). Apparently, she could care less.

I'll give it another shot after the weekend.
Click to expand...
Sounds like they've got the ignorant/2nd string team working for the holiday weekend :mad::mad:

These people ***** suck. Every other post on here that has a swollen battery results in a replacement regardless of age. You need to drive the point home that the battery is swollen beyond its original dimensions and poses an explosion hazard.

Keep escalating to the next manager if needed, don't take no for an answer yet stay polite.
 
Go right to the top. Send an email to sjobs@mac.com. Explain the situation, send the pics, and give your number. Steve probably won't respond personally, but his staff will. These are the people who have the power to bend the rules of AppleCare and/or give you a new computer. I've dealt with them before, and while I ended up being out of luck b/c of the age of the computer, they were extremely helpful.
 
The same thing happened with my wife's MBP. She took it to the Apple Store and they fixed it without asking any questions... It's weird how that works...
 
Cougarcat said:
Go right to the top. Send an email to sjobs@mac.com. Explain the situation, send the pics, and give your number. Steve probably won't respond personally, but his staff will. These are the people who have the power to bend the rules of AppleCare and/or give you a new computer. I've dealt with them before, and while I ended up being out of luck b/c of the age of the computer, they were extremely helpful.
Click to expand...

Email has been sent. I'll let you guys know if/when I get a response. All I'm asking for is that the battery (which obviously suffers from the same problems as those recalled) be replaced at no charge.

My dad is a man of his word. If it isn't replaced, our family isn't buying any more Apple products. :(
 
bad luck op

when that happened to me, my mb was out of applecare and the batt was bulging which would cause it to randomly shut off when using it

i took it to an apple store and they replaced it on the spot for free at the same time they replaced my father's mbp logic board for free (it too was out of applecare)

maybe try another store or go back and try and get another genious
 
Just wait for it to explode and then sue Apple you will be able to buy a collection of macbook pro's then ;)
 
Seriously I would definitely call apple care phone number again and again, until they finally accept the fact that your battery does need replacement.

Like what jessica said, If they can't do anything with it, put a little anger in it, demand it over the phone!
tell them that this could be dangerous around your house, if the battery explode, lots of bad things happen trust me :p
but then you can sue apple, because they sold you a faulty machine. and you'll still win that battle because YOU DO have proof of pictures, and I'm pretty sure they give you the case ID when you call applecare.

Raise your voice if you're young, let your dad or mom talk to them, and tell them that it's unacceptable what they're doing to their customers.

(release a video saying apple care sucks)

but in my case those are just tips.

I do like apple care since they did help me out in my problems with my whitebook. I didn't have a hardware problem, it's sort of software/operating system problem.
 
Second call.

The computer is not under warranty.
The battery isn't one that was recalled.

Even though the battery is at 98% original capacity, "some batteries just fail, and Apple can't guarantee satisfaction to every out-of-warranty customer."

I guess a replacement battery will be the last Apple product purchased by my parents.

Edit: I get where you've got to draw the line, but I was under the impression that Apple was quick to make exceptions in cases like this (potentially exploding batteries). I'm sure they would have replaced it had my dad taken my advice and purchased the extended warranty.
 
Wow rotten luck, hopefully you can get that worked out for her. Maybe take it in? My mom had the HDD replaced in her MBP that was a month out of the 3 year AppleCare when she took it to the genius bar.
 
xbuddycorex said:
Everyone saying that they should call Apple Care are absolutely correct, they are definitely more helpful than the Genius Bar in my experience.
Click to expand...

Just to clarify (if there was confusion), I called AppleCare twice. I have not been to a Genius Bar. However, I assume I would get the same answer from them.
 
You know, maybe I'm just old fashioned, but I have ZERO sympathy for people who decide not to buy an extended warranty and then complain that something breaks and it won't be replaced.

That said, I'd get a new battery since that one looks unsafe.

-d
 
Tharian said:
You know, maybe I'm just old fashioned, but I have ZERO sympathy for people who decide not to buy an extended warranty and then complain that something breaks and it won't be replaced.

That said, I'd get a new battery since that one looks unsafe.

-d
Click to expand...

It isn't broken, it's swollen; batteries aren't supposed to swell, this is a manufacturing defect rather than an issue possibly caused by the consumer.
 
Tharian said:
You know, maybe I'm just old fashioned, but I have ZERO sympathy for people who decide not to buy an extended warranty and then complain that something breaks and it won't be replaced.
Click to expand...


And I have zero sympathy for tweebs that support brainlessly companies of not replacing obviously faulty,misenginered and potentially lethal products.

Worst part is that it would practically cost zilch to apple as they could pin the battery manufacturer for the defect,but instead they choose to train their robotic personel with a standardized "tough luck" answer.
 
A battery dying is one thing, but a bulging battery like this is dangerous - I'm surprised they're so resistant to fixing it.

We had two MBPs with bulging batteries (in both cases though, bulging a lot more than in those pictures), and they were replaced as part of the battery recall.
 
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