Battery with only 197 cycles is already dead?!

[sawtooth420]

Hi
i have macbook pro that is a 15' mid 2010 i5 2.4ghz, the battery has only 197 cycles and never had a problem, always lasting at least 4 hours or more for normal use.
A few days ago i got a message saying "service battery" and doing a test i realized that it could last no more than 15 minutes!
I tryed to reset pram and smc, no luck, i downloaded coconut and discovered that that current capacity is just 281 mah...4% of maximum charge!!!
How can this be possible?
It's clear that the battery is damaged because i still have a very old macbook and the battery arrives at least at 2 hours and is still around 90%.
Anyone experienced something similar?
The mbp is out of warranty but do you think apple would replace the battery?
It's clear that the problem is not caused by use as 197 cycles is not enough to make the battery unusable!
Thanks for any feedback

 

[Moshe1010]

It's a lesson for you to buy AppleCare next time. Apple would not service you out of warranty.

 

[T5BRICK]

How can this be possible?
It's clear that the battery is damaged because i still have a very old macbook and the battery arrives at least at 2 hours and is still around 90%.

Sometime parts fail prematurely. It happens.

Anyone experienced something similar?
The mbp is out of warranty but do you think apple would replace the battery?

I've had batteries die before and apple can sometimes replace them. Just call AppleCare and ask.

It's clear that the problem is not caused by use as 197 cycles is not enough to make the battery unusable!
Thanks for any feedback

That's not true. A battery can be adversely effected if it isn't regularly drained and recharged. Probably about once a month.

http://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html

 

[Spink10]

Hi
i have macbook pro that is a 15' mid 2010 i5 2.4ghz, the battery has only 197 cycles and never had a problem, always lasting at least 4 hours or more for normal use.
A few days ago i got a message saying "service battery" and doing a test i realized that it could last no more than 15 minutes!
I tryed to reset pram and smc, no luck, i downloaded coconut and discovered that that current capacity is just 281 mah...4% of maximum charge!!!
How can this be possible?
It's clear that the battery is damaged because i still have a very old macbook and the battery arrives at least at 2 hours and is still around 90%.
Anyone experienced something similar?
The mbp is out of warranty but do you think apple would replace the battery?
It's clear that the problem is not caused by use as 197 cycles is not enough to make the battery unusable!
Thanks for any feedback

Call AppleCare - ask to speak with a Customer Relations Rep. Explain your situation and how "new" your MBP is and see if they could have Apple check out the battery and possibly replace it.

 

[hawon]

2 years and only 197 cycles?? And seriously, you used it for 2 years, it is very possible and natural for battery to die about that time.