Swollen battery

[wiggoney]

The trackpad on my mid-2012 MacBook Pro doesn't click. A quick Google suggested that the culprit is a swollen battery. I removed it and, sure enough, it is swollen. Moreover, while it was removed, the trackpad clicked normally. I took it to the Apple Store at Flatiron Crossing where Justin told me that this was normal and I would have to pay $135 for a new battery. WHAT? NORMAL? How can an obvious manufacturing defect be normal? Is this Apple's official response to this issue? If so, it is FRAUD and calls for immediate legal action. I'm thinking class action.

 

[Slydude]

I doubt you'll get very far with that. The 2012 series of machines is either 3 years old or about to be depending upon exactly when it was made. How is three years of use fraud?

If you have AppleCare you may be able to talk them into a replacement if you ask nicely.

BTW How many charge/recharge cycles do you have on the battery?

 

[bobtomay]

Yeah, I bought a new flashlight about a year ago. When I took it back to the dealer because it wouldn't work any more they told me the battery died and I would have to buy a new one every time one died. That's normal... WHAT? NORMAL? I paid for a working flashlight. There wasn't anything that said I would have to pay for new batteries from now on as soon as the one they gave me died. That's FRAUD. I think we need a class action lawsuit against all flashlight manufacturers.

 

[bobtomay]

My car began a problem of not wanting to start. It finally did after awhile and I took it in to the dealer to have it checked out. They said the battery is swollen and has died. That happens with batteries and it's normal and I would have to pay $150 for a new battery plus $100 to put it in because it's located under the fender and hard to get to. WHAT? NORMAL? I paid $35k for that car. I wasn't the one who designed the car with the battery under the fender, why do I need to pay for that? That's FRAUD. It's time for a lawsuit. I think a class action would be the way to go.

 

[chscag]

LOL Tom! I'm on my third battery for my 1998 Mustang. It just ain't fair! Confounded auto makers, they're all alike.

 

[dtravis7]

The swelling issue is not really normal though but after 3 years I doubt unless you find a very understanding person at Apple, that you will get a free replacement.

 

[MacDude121]

I understand your frustration when it comes to the battery, and you are correct that it is a manufacturing defect on Apple's (or whoever actually made the battery's) part. However, after three years of service, you can't expect Apple to do much in terms of replacing it for free. Apple loves money, and that $135 price tag they'll slap on a new battery is exactly their tune.

Don't pay it, especially for an aging machine. Here's a couple I found after a quick search on Amazon for half that:

You weren't very specific on your model, but

15": Amazon.com: Key Power® Laptop Battery for Apple A1382 A1286 (For Core i7 Early 2011 Late 2011 Mid 2012) Unibody Macbook Pro 15", also fit 661-5844 MC721LL/A with 18 Month Warranty [Li-Polymer 6-cell 7200mAh/78Wh]: Computers & Accessories
13": Amazon.com: Anker® New Laptop Battery for Apple A1322 A1278 (2009 2010 2011 2012 Version) Unibody MacBook Pro 13'', fits 661-5557 661-5229 MB990LL/A MB991LL/A+Two Free Screwdrivers - 18 Months Warranty [Li-Polymer 6-cell 5800mAh/64Wh]: Comput

There ya go.

 

[Slydude]

Not sure I would consider three years an aging machine though. As you can see from my description at the left my machine is more than twice that age.

@OP I understand not wanting to pay full price for a battery. If you decide to go with a third-party battery find out the company's replacement policy. I bought a third-party battery about two years ago. It barely gets just over an hour where I used to get 4-5 hours on an Apple battery IIRC.

 

[vansmith]

How can an obvious manufacturing defect be normal? Is this Apple's official response to this issue? If so, it is FRAUD and calls for immediate legal action. I'm thinking class action.

You implicitly agreed to a one-year warranty when you bought the machine and therefore you implicitly agreed that the machine was only guaranteed to work for one year. Apple even has a specific page about battery usage and states that it is covered by a one year warranty (see here). Unless you live somewhere where suits can be filed on the basis of dissatisfaction, I wouldn't count on having any legal footing here.

 

[rabbitjetta]

Three years out of a computer battery is not bad at all. I have seen more and less out of my macs and have never seen more than 2 years out of a PC battery. Shop around and change the battery yourself if you are looking to save a few $$.

 

[MacDude121]

Not sure I would consider three years an aging machine though. As you can see from my description at the left my machine is more than twice that age.

@OP I understand not wanting to pay full price for a battery. If you decide to go with a third-party battery find out the company's replacement policy. I bought a third-party battery about two years ago. It barely gets just over an hour where I used to get 4-5 hours on an Apple battery IIRC.

I would say 3 years is "getting up there", especially for a portable with a battery issue. Overall no, Macs do tend to last for years, decades even, but batteries don't. If the battery wasn't swollen, it still wouldn't have much life left anyway.

I purchased a new off-brand battery for my Black Macbook about 2-3 years ago for $15 and never had a problem with it, up until the computer kicked the bucket due to an unrelated issue.

 

[Slydude]

I purchased a new off-brand battery for my Black Macbook about 2-3 years ago for $15 and never had a problem with it, up until the computer kicked the bucket due to an unrelated issue.

Mind if I ask which brand you bought? The one I purchased does not seem to last more than an hour. Even though my MacBook Pro is not having significant problems I don't use it on battery enough to justify Apple's price.

 

[techiesteve]

An interesting thread. Is the OP still about, no comments since the original rant.

Apple staff do not usually make comments that show them in a bad way. It certainly isn't normal that all 3 year old batteries swell and fail. If an Apple rep said it's 'normal' it was more likely to mean that it's normal for a swollen battery to push up onto to trackpad causing issues. All batteries will eventually fail, they are a consumable item. Out of those that do fail only a small percentage swell. When there is a known widespread problem Apple normally address it with a repair extension program, as they did with a range of early MacBook Pro batteries from around 2006/7. These old ejectable batteries are no way representative of the unibody batteries.

Some people are always looking for a free lunch.

 

[MacDude121]

Mind if I ask which brand you bought? The one I purchased does not seem to last more than an hour. Even though my MacBook Pro is not having significant problems I don't use it on battery enough to justify Apple's price.

Not entirely sure what brand it is, a google search of the model number returns a company called "Golden Power", but not much else.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002UHADYY/?tag=macforums0e4-20

 

[chas_m]

I am wary of cheap Chinese knock-off batteries due to the high number of explosions/fires that seem to be associated with them (nearly EVERY report of such problems have been traced back to using third-party batteries, including a few that resulted in the user's death). The reason they are cheap is because they lack the safety precautions engineered into "proper" batteries.

That said, some trustworthy companies do sell batteries that aren't super-cheap but cost less than an Apple original. Anker I would trust, as I would Newer Technologies. You won't save a lot of money, but you will be able to sleep at night.

As for the Apple battery that became swollen, you may wish to (politely) press the issue with them further, but of course they will say well this is what AppleCare is for, and may have a point. I would expect a battery (particularly in recent models) not to need replacing for at least five years with normal use (slightly less with extremely heavy use). That's been my experience with laptop batteries over the last decade.

 

[Slydude]

Thanks for the link. I'm going to check tomorrow when I am a bit more awake but it looks like they battery is the wrong size for me. None of the other pages for them cover my model either. Too bad that was great price.

Edit: Thanks Chas_m looks like our posts crossed. I first became aware of problems with cheap batteries bwcause some of the lithium batteries used in electronic cigarettes were having problems. She has followed that closely since she used the e-cigs to quit smoking. I had followed that issue with Mac batteries as well.

I have one of the Newer Technologies batteries. It's the one that is giving me about 1.5 hours use. Bought it because my Apple battery swelled after about four years. I haven't spent much time troubleshooting the Newer Technologies battery. Don't use the machine on battery much. Thanks for the recommendation of Anker. I think I bought some iPhone cables from them recently. Pretty good quality.