New MBP Overheating

Alright I'm a first time MBP owner so I don't really know how how these things can get. I bought one of the new 15" SR Macbook pros about a week ago and have been having some issues.

Once in a while, this thing will get HOT. It's usually while doing non-stressful things such as surfing the internet or even just chatting using adium. However, last night I put it to sleep, closed the screen, and when I woke up it had gotten to be this hot WHILE SLEEPING. That kinda clued me in to something. And when I say hot, I mean hot enough to burn you if contact is made for more then a second.

It gets this hot above the keyboard area, right around the f10/f11/f12 buttons. Now normally I wouldn't be worried, but when it does get this hot it unexpectedly restarts and when it boots again gives an error message saying "the system has shut down unexpectedly." I have heard a very loud fan kick in ONCE out of the 3-4 times it's overheated, none of the other times.

My question is: Is this something I should be warrantying, and will they even do anything if I take it in? Obviously it's not good when the computer heats up enough to fail, especially when it's a week old, but I'm not even convinced they would see anything wrong.

Thanks

That's definitely not normal, I would take it to your local Apple store and see what they say.

Sounds as though something my be running while it's sleeping causing it to heat up.

id take it in, and if your inside youre 14day return time, demand a new one.

not fair to make you repair a <14 day old mbp

hey, mine gets really hot too! It is in the exact same spot as were you described it. Though, mine has never shut down or crashed due to the heat.
I get worried though when it gets hot enough to burn your finger if held there for a few seconds. Is there anything I can do do help it cool? I tried to elivate the back of the laptop with a book, to give it some space between the table to breathe but still not any noticable difference. please help

yea, take it to apple and like kgeier said if it is within the 14 days, DEMAND a new model..

Install Temperature Monitor and give us a rundown of the temperatures the next time this happens.

Unfortunately, the words "it gets hot" don't really give us enough context to let you know if it's a problem or not. Also, another option is to install smcFanControl to cool your laptop a bit, but if there's a serious heat issue, you should take it in.

There is a known problem with some MacBook and MacBook Pro models where an excessive amount of heatsink compound is applied between the heatsink and the processor. This can be easily corrected by removing the heatsink and reapplying. This should be performed under warranty, free of charge by an Apple dealer (or Apple themselves).

Thermal compound is supposed to fill the gap between microscopic surface imperfections and the heat mitigation device. If it's applied in a huge gob (it should just be a light skim coat), the heatsink can't efficiently wick the heat from the CPU.

With that in mind, be aware that modern notebooks can and do get very warm. Sometimes uncomfortably so. Faster and faster processors generate more heat. With manufacturers constantly trying to make the smallest, thinnest designs, they are more reliant on the case to act as a heatsink. This is why manufacturers no longer refer to notebooks as "laptops" - as they are NOT designed to be used on a soft surface like your lap where the air can't circulate under the unit. Even still, I don't believe it's normal to get that hot under light usage.