M14x Left Hinge Defect

I spoke with Dell today and they confirmed that a repair will cost $430, which replaces the entire LCD portion of the laptop.

dc78,

The Dell policy has not changed. I was mistaken in my understanding of the Dell policy. The Dell team has notified me that the policy has always had hinges under the Dell Wear and Tear restrictions.

Chris, I can understand your confusion.  If someone's laptop broke in this manner after two months, would the policy be the same?  In other words, the tech dept would say, sorry your broken hinge is considered normal wear and tear you are not covered under warranty.  A rather strange policy it seems.  If one is covered at two months, at what point are hinges no longer covered, 6, 9, 11 months? A second question is, what about the complete care coverage?  Does that cover hinge problems?
Thank you.

DC

My guess is the frontline technician would have to ask their manager how to proceed on the 1st question.

No. The Complete Care Coverage warranty does not cover wear and tear.
Covered =
* Liquid spilled on or in unit
* Drops, falls, and other collisions
* Electrical surge

Not covered =
* Intentional acts of damage done by you or anyone else
* Fire
* Theft or loss
* Normal wear and tear (hinges, bent AC adapter cabling, keyboard keys)
* Consumables (batteries, LEDs)

Chris M,

My son is a student at Western State University in Gunnison Colorado.  He chose an Alienware 14x for his computer, maybe because over 15 years I have exclusivly purchased Dell computers.  He paid for it himself and he is also is paying for his own school and his own car.  He works hard and studies hard.  He maintains a 3.3 GPA.

Last week the left hinge broke on his laptop. He did nothing but open it.  He uses it all day and night for classes and homework (never abuses it!).  We are concerned it will fail even further now and he will have no computer at all for his schoolwork.

I have read all the comments here and on other sites, and understand customers view it as a defect and Dell calls it wear and tear.  Either way my son cannot afford the cost of repair or an extended downtime, and classes resume on March 25th.  I have never joined a forum before but thought ...maybe... just maybe... I could reach someone at Dell that can help my son get his Alienware repaired, without the cost or downtime he just cannot afford.

Please, can someone at Dell help?

cbcolorado

Well it was a pleasure to have been a Dell customer, customer service is not what it once was.  A computer company could distinguish itself by honoring their warranty to cover poor materials and workmanship, which a broken hinge in the course of two years or less, clearly is. If customers realized how little their warranty protects them, they would hesitate to buy a laptop.

CBColorado,

My son just bought a nice Samsung series 7 at best buy, 900 plus tax, to replace the M14x, looks more durable than the Alienware, I am getting the equivalent of the complete care warranty, just in case.  Sorry about your son's computer, hopefully Dell will do more for you than they have for me.

DC

With this issue I think it is actually more true to say that the plastic LCD backing failed, (or the glue/fastening between the backing and hinge)  rather than the hinge as our hinge is stiff but still works.  Maybe then it is covered by warranty?

I bought M14x approx 20 months ago and the left hinge is broken. I noticed that lot of people in this forum have the same problem of left hinge broken.  If the laptop starts falling apart by itself, that is definitely not considered normal wear and tear.  Dell needs to fix this problem even for customers outside the warranty.  Very disappointed on Alienware!

Sorry to hear about another dissatisfied Dell customer.  There is not really much we can do.  I will no longer buy any Dell products.

DC

My son bought this computer with his own money. It's only 9 months old. It doesn't have any scratches and is well-cared for. He uses it to play video games. Many gamers recline in gaming chairs and thus have the computer open to an angle that works for viewing in this position. Now I'm told it's only to be opened at certain angles. The left hinge has popped out. I'm told it's $430 to repair and i should count myself lucky that I don't have to pay the full price of the LCD --- which he has not broken ---- it's that their design requires replacement of lcd when this part fails.

The answer I got from dell support was that I would have to send it off to Dell (I'm also covered by next business day support warranty, albeit not accidental damage) - it is frustrating that I need to send it off to them, especially with finals coming up, but there is not much that can be done. I'm planning to send mines off once this hectic semester is over.

I purchased an Alienware M14x laptop earlier this year, 2013, in February.  Within one week of using this laptop, the left hinge broke from regular use.  I had not in that week, and still have not after two months of use, dropped, damaged, or abused this laptop in any way. I called Alienware three days after the left hinge broke, told them when and how it broke, and the Alienware technician with whom I was speaking told me that such is not covered under the warranty, and that my best option was to ship the computer to Dell and pay about $400 for a repair, which includes a new LCD screen for the laptop.  The LCD screen that is currently on my laptop is not damaged, however, and functions perfectly. The left hinge on my Alienware M14x laptop broke due to regular use.  After reading numerous cases similar to mine on the Internet, on and off Dell forums, I cannot be convinced that there is not a design flaw about the left hinge for the M14x model.  Fortunately, for me, I can still use my $1500+ Alienware M14x laptop as a computer, but I am deeply worried about transporting it off my desk in my dorm room.  I am a college student, and I move around constantly between classes and work.  I deem my Alienware M14x laptop as such to be too fragile to transport, and now functions essentially as a desktop in my dorm room because I'm too worried to risk aggravating the damage in transporting it elsewhere.  I do not have the money or the time to spend on shipping my Alienware M14x laptop to Dell, so I am typing now from the library of my university on a Google Chromebook that I just purchased last week for about $250; this Chromebook will be my regular laptop now, as I can no longer rely on my Alienware M14x laptop for mobility anymore.  I could barely afford my Chromebook, despite how cheap it was relative to the cost for repairing my Alienware M14x laptop, but it was the most convenient and fiscal option for me to purchase this Chromebook and use it as my regular laptop now. I will not pay Dell to fix its own mistake.  And until Dell compensates for this mistake and the inconvenience it has caused me and its other customers who have experienced this same left hinge malfunction, I will no longer be purchasing from Dell, and will tell other potential customers who inquire me about my experience with my Alienware M14x laptop to beware. I'm not even angry anymore, I'm just sad that I feel I can no longer trust Dell with my money anymore.  My Dell Inspiron 1501 laptop lasted me seven years, since I was barely a teenager running Windows XP, before I required a new laptop this year.  Dell has a negative stereotype in my local community--I loved my Dell Inspiron 1501 being the exception to the rule.  Perhaps that's all it was.

Sorry to hear about your problems. The best we can do is document the problems on the Web.

I have also had good luck with Dell products in the past.  I had  similar problem as you have had with an Alienware M14x.  I will no longer purchase Dell products.

One would think that Dell would not want to aggravate their customers to the point that they will no longer be a customer. 

DC

Right. It's wasteful and expensive to replace the (working perfectly) LCD panel. I requested that Dell put together some "self repair kits" with just the hinges, screws, and case covers (so it would be affordable) for the different models. They said the inexpensive hinges and case covers were not available as separate parts. I challenged their logic, but they were un-accommodating. It's a simple request and obviously possible (since the complete LCD assemblies aren't magically created as complete units). It was a frustrating exchange.