Battery Expansion

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Level 1

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Battery Expansion

Well I am upset with Apple at the moment. A month ago my graphics processor died (it turned out to be faulty and was covered) But in the process of 'testing' to see if everything was working they failed to noticed that there was a CD in the drive and broke that. Replacing it and charging me the $550 for it (even though I know for a fact that it was working fine when i sent it in) I tried fighting that but didn't win said whatever and cut my losses figuring there's no way to win.

Well the other day I noticed my Macbook pro was 'floating' on my desk and after investigating found out that the battery was expanded. I immediately took it out. This morning I had a appointment scheduled to talk to Apple. Well they called me and hung up on me, I called them and they hung up, and finally this afternoon I called again and finally getting an actual person to listen. It didn't take long for them to tell me it was a lost cause to get an exception for a free battery replacement. I even ended up talking to a "senior manger" who ...quite frankly was a real ***** to me. I was left with the option of buying a new one over the phone or go to the store. I ended up having to purchase one online but it seriously ****** me off that in 2 months I've been screwed over by them twice.

"Its normal with batteries at the end of their lifespan to expand, there is no danger." What kind of BS is that? batteries should never expand in normal use, and the sharp edges and possible leaking aren't considered dangerous?

MacBook Pro 17", Mac OS X (10.5)

Posted on Nov 29, 2010 2:11 PM

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Answer 1

S.U.

Level 6

9,595 points

Nov 29, 2010 8:21 PM in response to Ranko11

From what I have heard, people have had more luck getting a swollen battery replaced at the Apple Store than by calling Apple on the phone. The replacement is done at Apple's discretion if the battery is out of warranty, but frequently they will replace it at no charge on the theory that it should not have come apart.

There seems to be some debate on whether it is normal for batteries to expand and come apart like that at the end of their lives. In my opinion, it is not. These batteries do have noxious and caustic chemicals in them, and they can leak out and cause damage. There were some iBook batteries a few years ago that overheated and caught fire, and there is still a recall on these. Lithium ion batteries definitely do have the potential to be dangerous.

Probably not much you can do with your swollen battery unless you want to try taking it in to an Apple Store. If it's less than a year old or has less than 300 cycles on it, they should replace it. If over 300 cycles, they probably won't. But you never know--they replaced my 3 year old battery with 265 cycles on it.

You do have one avenue to express your unhappiness, and that is to call Apple and ask to speak to Apple Customer Relations. Aside from the issue of whether a swollen and leaking battery is dangerous, it sounds like they may have damaged your optical drive and then charged you to replace it. This doesn't sound right to me if that was in fact what happened.

Good luck!

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Answer 2

Ranko11 Author

Level 1

0 points

Nov 29, 2010 9:02 PM in response to S.U.

Yeah I did research as the best way to handle the situation and it sounded like it was to take it in to the Apple store. Unfortunately the closest one to me is over 2 hours away. Which pretty much defeats the purpose with the amount of money I'd spend in gas.

The battery is just slightly over 3 years old with I believe it was 264 cycles.

And yeah they busted my optical drive while doing their tests on it, even though I had multiple notes attached to the paperwork stating that my snow-leopard disc was in it. I don't think it will much help anymore being as the payment and everything as already gone threw on the that. The way things have gone with that repair and this battery...honestly the less I have to deal with these people the better.

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Answer 3

Dec 3, 2010 5:14 PM in response to Ranko11

today I had a similar issue. My battery that I purchased on line died after 8 month. I had an issue with the power charger and had to order a new one for my 15"power book g4. Since I was out of apple care I kept getting the run around no one wanted to help me and all kept saying I needed to buy a once incident case. I insisted that I bought my battery less than 8 month ago and was perfectly fine until after I plugged in the new charger and now is dead. At one point they had me take it to an authorized apple repair station and told me that would be a customer service issue and they would help me. Again all they did was try to sell me a new battery. I almost did it but felt outraged that I would have to buy a new batter so soon after only 50 cycles. So I called customer relations and ended up getting transferred time after time only to be told at the end this:
If you buy a battery online it is guaranteed for one year and now they are sending me a new battery. Apple stood behind their name here but it took persistence. I did not know where else to post this and hopefully this will help someone.

Message was edited by: Bernadette Walker

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Answer 4

S.U.

Level 6

9,595 points

Dec 3, 2010 7:19 PM in response to Bernadette Walker

Glad that persistence worked for you. Obviously the PowerBooks had battery issues too, as there are still some recalls in effect:

http://www.apple.com/support/exchange_repair/powerbook.html

I often wonder why the battery programs for iBooks and PowerBooks are still in effect, but not the Battery Update program for the MacBook Pro.

They told me at the Apple Store that the battery was good for 1 year or 300 cycles, whichever came first. That's probably a good rule of thumb.

Happy computing!

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Answer 5

Dec 4, 2010 11:28 PM in response to Ranko11

Just to add another voice to the "expanding battery" pile, mine has managed to break through the glue that was holding it together. Have emailed my local Apple service place (Magnum Mac, Wellington NZ) to see if they can be of any assistance....

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