MacBookPro 15" Late 2013 with a swollen battery. Options?

Question

Level 1

22 points

MacBookPro 15" Late 2013 with a swollen battery. Options?

Hello,

I noticed last year (around october) that the lid did not fully close and the trackpad was not doing the expected click when pressed. Also noticed a bulged bottom cover.

I was going to Canada so I took the change to go to an Apple Store and have it checked. The guys from the store told me what I expected: the battery was swollen. As the comptuer was bought late 2013 the AppleCare was already expired, so my only option was to pay for the replacement. I was not happy with this (I don't see how could it be justified that a swollen battery is NOT a manufacturing defect) but told them to proceed. As my keyboard is in spanish they had to specially order the part, and they will call me when they had it. They said it will cost me around 250 USD. I never got a call, and my trip finished.

Now, after some months, things have of course not fixed themselves. Last friday I made an appointment to my local authorized service to check for this, as I have been having strange things happening (unexpected reboots, freezes, and so on). The service shop here said there were no program to replace this and that I would have to pay for it. I already know that was probably the case so I was more or less ready for that answer. But then they tell me it will cost me around 17,000 MXN (some 900 USD) for it. I certainly don't think that's a fair price for this!

I told them that there was no way I would pay that amount.

When I returned I took the cover (the first screw came literally jumping out) and can see that the problem is in fact *very* serious. I took some pictures after "closing" the cover again (didn't even try to put the screws from the lower half):

Any ideas? I don't think this can be safe at all. I have a 11hr flight on a couple of weeks and I don't think they would let me carry this with me. I wouldn't.

Thanks

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Late 2013), OS X El Capitan (10.11.2)

Posted on May 6, 2018 12:33 PM

Reply

Answer 1

May 6, 2018 12:57 PM in response to rgomez

There is nothing we can do for you here; Options—take it in for servicing.

Obvious you got problems that are not going to fix themselves.

In or out of warranty you can get a free over the counter 'Apple Service Diagnostics' test, or take it to a AASP. Go from there.

Genius reservation http://www.apple.com/retail/geniusbar/

on-line https://getsupport.apple.com/

check warranty https://checkcoverage.apple.com/

Reply

Answer 2

y_p_w

Level 6

17,696 points

May 6, 2018 1:01 PM in response to rgomez

Honestly, your warranty/AppleCare is up and a battery swelling is a random event. It just happens and isn't necessarily a sign of a defective design or manufacturing. What Apple is offering is a "service replacement" that is made available for devices that are essentially unrepairable. It might be possible to repair that, but there's probably so much that's been damaged from the swelling battery that it's not worth it.

I've had a battery swell before. It was from a 2007 polycarbonate MacBook. However, that had a user-replaceable battery that was in its own case. When it swelled, it pushed out against the plate but didn't push into the computer. It was well out of warranty, but well under Apple's 300 cycle rating. At an Apple Store I was offered a "service replacement" battery in exchange for my swollen battery for $99. I could have also purchased a retail battery for $129 at the Apple Store, or bought one elsewhere from an authorized reseller.

I don't know that much about Mexican warranty laws. There might be something you can do but I would have a difficult time researching those options since I don't understand Spanish.

Reply

Answer 3

babowa

Level 9

78,435 points

May 6, 2018 2:06 PM in response to rgomez

You need to address this with Apple; you've waited too long already. I am guessing that the price quoted the first time was for a battery replacement; since some time expired since then, the damaged battery most likely caused damage to other parts (my guess is the pricey logic board), so the second time around, the quoted price probably included a logic board replacement. The lesson here is that you should never wait if there is a bulging battery. It needs to be replaced immediately.

As for mfr's defects, etc: Apple warrants their products for 3 years (with Applecare); no mfr can be expected to warrant their products for life. And, you did not have the problem taken care of, but waited until there was more damage.

I'd suggest you take it in and have it taken care of (or decide to get a new device) - make sure you get the hard drive or extract/make a backup of all your files quickly.

Reply

Answer 4

rgomez Author

Level 1

22 points

May 6, 2018 3:13 PM in response to y_p_w

Hello,

I see from some linked page that the cost for the "battery service" (which I don't know what is) is 199 USD. That sounds about right. I know that they probably have to change the whole top, but that's because they choose to glue the battery to it.

I forgot to add: the battery displays 130 cycles.

For what I could see when opening the laptop, there are no damages, at least not to the motherboard. Probably the trackpad is messed up (although it works fine) but that's included with the whole top cover, along with the keyboard. I know, I can't be sure if there are no other damages, but the computer works fine, and if the motherboard was cracked or something like that then it probably wouldn't even turn on.

Reply

Answer 5

rgomez Author

Level 1

22 points

May 6, 2018 3:25 PM in response to babowa

That's what I did when I went to the Apple Store! I am still expecting them to notify me that they got the replacement part... I never got that call. If not I would have done the replacement on that point. I did not wait until more damage was done: when I noticed this (October last year) I tried to fix it. There are no much options around here to service Apple products, so I took advantage I was going to Canada for a couple of weeks to try to fix this.

There (Apple Store in Canada) they did run diagnostics on the laptop. The guy from the AASP here just looked at it, not even turned it on, and went to give me the quote. It makes sense that 900 USD could be the battery + the motherboard, but I don't really think it's necessary. And the guy here definitely can't know. He just went on to see how much it can charge, and that's what ****** me off. Being that there are no other options (the nearest and only Apple Store in México is 5 hours from my city) I'm guessing they are used to ripping off customers. As a side note: my sister has a MBPr 15" from last year, and the A keycap went loose. The pins attaching it to the computer are broken. Well, that same guy told her that they would have to replace the whole top as there are no replacement keys (really!?) and that will cost her around 600 USD, if they deemed it was user damage. I am sure there is no damage (except maybe writing too much???) but it's not up to us to decide. We found a site on the internet that sells replacement keys for 5 USD and ordered it. The battery is different. iFixIt sells them and I would have ordered one already, but they can't send it to México. I don't have much problems in opening and replacing it (actually when I opened it was with the idea to remove the battery completely) but before I commit to that path I was looking for similar experiences here. I hate that they glue the battery to the computer, it feels it's just so you can't replace it when/if needed, but other than that, removing or replacing it is not outside what I would feel comfortable doing.

Reply

Answer 6

y_p_w

Level 6

17,696 points

May 6, 2018 3:41 PM in response to rgomez

rgomez wrote:

Hello,

I see from some linked page that the cost for the "battery service" (which I don't know what is) is 199 USD. That sounds about right. I know that they probably have to change the whole top, but that's because they choose to glue the battery to it.

Glue won't matter as long as the battery is located inside a device. In my case the battery was replaceable and not inside the case.

There are Unibody MacBook Pro models with swollen batteries. The battery is screwed in. However, when it swells it still pushes out against the trackpad and cover.

https://www.neogaf.com/threads/is-my-macbook-pro-going-to-explode.1140224/

Reply

Answer 7

rgomez Author

Level 1

22 points

May 6, 2018 3:28 PM in response to leroydouglas

Already did that. Was of no help, as explained originally.

Reply

MacBookPro 15" Late 2013 with a swollen battery. Options?

Similar questions