Inspiron 5547 right hinge damage

Question

I just got off the phone after a very frustrating 45 min conversation with customer support so I apologize for my tone. My Inspiron 5547 has a badly broken right hinge that is damaging the body of the computer. I know this is a manufacturing issue because there are about 100 other complaints about this EXACT issue on this support forum. Dell has not listed this issue as a manufacturing error and, as far as I know, no 5547 owners received any notice that this would be a problem. My guess is Dell did the math and figured that it would be less expensive to ignore the problem than it would be to order a recall. My issue started about 6 months after I purchased my computer. I admit, I'm way past warranty now, but this is so obviously Dell's fault that I find it hard to care. Ordinarily I wouldn't make a stink but I don't think it's fair to offload a defective product in the hopes that your customers won't notice. The representatives I spoke to said that the repairs would cost $430 (including shipping, handling, parts etc.), which is infuriating. I can't imagine how many people have paid that fee thinking that THEY were the problem. I hope Dell is happy with that stolen cash. So here's the deal: If someone from Dell helps me then I'll continue buying Dell products. If not, I won't buy one ever again. And by the way, I'm 25 and a new customer, this is my first Dell computer (what's that old saying? 'You only get one chance to make a first impression'?) so let's do some math: I'll probably spend about $20k - $30k on computers over the rest of my life. The repair cost for this is $430. So, Dell, what's it going to be? $20k later or $430 now? It's a trick question, if you choose '$430 now' I'll just buy a new computer from a company that cares about its customers. Oh, and I'll make sure all my friends know about this experience when they're looking for a new computer. P.S. To the user DELL-Terry B: you dealt with the people on the other forum threads about this issue but you haven't responded to my friend request from over a month ago. If you're reading this, please help me out.

dwwebb · Accepted Answer

I just spent $60 for a new upper and lower 5547 case which I will install myself; being that the laptop is out of warranty and I'm sort of adept at such things. The problem is that of poor case design. The hinge on the left side of the screen has a "leg" extending towards the front of the laptop that helps absorb the torque of the lid opening and closing. The right side hinge has no such "leg" so that the friction nuts that are embedded into the plastic case work loose over time and cause the hinge to detach from the body of the laptop. The "popping" that people have reported occurs once the first of the friction nuts break away from the plastic case. Once all of the nuts are detached, the right hinge acts as a pry-bar to open up the right side of the case just behind the ethernet port. The hinges take quite a bit of force to move. In preparation for the new case, I have loosened the nut at the ends of the hinge axles and cleaned and lubricated the hinges to allow for easier action while opening and closing the LCD lid. This may be an ongoing maintenance issue with these hinges, as the mechanism is open to dust contamination causing increased torque over time in opening and closing the lid. We'll see how this goes.

Here are some photos which illustrate the problem.

Left Hinge with "leg"

Right hinge

Left upper case - hinge attachment nuts embedded into plastic case

Right upper case - nuts missing, attachment points broken

Left Lower Case - Hinge screw hole intact

Right Lower Case - plastic in screw hole "pulled through"

Tara Prasad Adh · Answer

This answer gave some relief to me.. I am wondering that I havent done these type of works before and now i m tring to do it .. I have same model with the same problem. Is it easy to do? can u suggest me some links for this work as hint or reference? plz

dwwebb · Answer

Disassembly videos exist on Youtube, and the parts may be obtained on Amazon.com.

Locked Topics – Laptops General

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