HP Envy Broken Hinges Absurd Amount of Money for replacement parts to fix design flaw

[Huffer]

Yes very resourceful and illustrates what causes this issue. The hinges require excessive force to move so every time you open or close the laptop the torque pulls on the mounting points and gradually destroys the screw mounts. 

Often the screws will fall out, and people who think you can just put the screws back in need to see this to understand that it will do absolutely no good. This is a very destructive problem and when it reaches the point illustrated here, the only fix is 2 new hinges and a new lower chassis, the cost of which with labor is going to be too much to make sense. Even the cost of the parts is going to be pretty high. The cost can be mitigated somewhat by resourceful purchasing in the secondary market.

When HP takes over one of these threads, they are not offering to fix the hinges they are only going to offer a coupon or gesture of some kind toward a new laptop. 

[Adam32]

Thank you for the kind words, I try to be resourceful. If I would have realized the destruction that would ensue I would have torn the thing apart and relieved the pre-tension sooner. I figured that it was made to be like this and that everything was fine. And yes, they are offering money towards a new laptop but not the parts and the parts are what I need to fix my computer. This is not good stewardship in my opinion, it is profiting off of your design flaw that should not exist. I don't want or need a new computer, I just want mine working and I cannot afford to pay somebody to do it as you never know what the final bill is going to be, even if it is discounted once the computer is in their hands they can say pretty much what ever they want and make the bill pretty much what ever they want and you have no power over the situation. I do not like being in situations like this with repair facilities, send it in and then we will tell you what the problem / cost is, I already know what the problem is and I already know how much the parts are, there is no reason to send it in, but then again I fix everything I can myself and in this case it has greatly helped me because I am using the computer as we speak, instead of bringing it to the post office. It may last the rest of its useful life like this, you never know. 

[Huffer]

When you say "your" design understand the Experts here do not generally work for HP unless specifically stated on their badge. We are volunteers. Generally you can find a set of hinges for maybe $25 on eBay and the lower casing is where the expense is but as the laptop gets older opportunities arise to pick up a whole dead parts unit to use as a donor for a small price. 

[Adam32]

I apologize for my verbiage, I did not intent to place ownership of HP's persistent design flaw and business practices onto you. I appreciate the time you spent looking up the parts and for taking the time out of your day to help me and provide advice, I greatly appreciate that.

My issue is that my top and bottom cover are destroyed due to an engineering failure (or planned obsolescence depending on your perspective). The engineering failure is that the hinges are pre-tensioned too tight with inadequate lubrication, over time the hinges tighten up, this places forces on the cases halves that they were not engineered to withstand. At this point the cases self-destructs and I have read forums of this happening within 6 months of purchase.

  The top cover is part# 720570-001 and is $119.16 on HP's parts website. On ebay there are no reproduction units, only used ones that are price at or higher that HP's new part price due to in my opinion, the demand. The bottom cover is part# 720534-001 and is $56.00 on HP's parts website. On ebay reproduction units can be had for as low as around $40 and as high as around $75, it does no make economic sense to save $16 and open yourself up to the risk of purchasing a Chinese reproduction. The total price for both of the parts is $175.16 and this does not even include shipping. I think this price is absurd as every indication makes me believe that the issue is pervasive, well documented, and "swept under the rug" by HP.

[Huffer]

preachin' to the choir

[Adam32]

Yes, I am, I want to help others that are going through the same thing that I am and document my experiences with HP support, whose answer to their design flaw it to buy another computer from them, or pay them money of which they profit from to fix their defective product.

I was contacted again by their support team today, the gentlemen was again very polite and cordial, but again, of no help. who in their right mind would double down on HP's products when the first issue can't even be sorted out. My "case" was closed as I do not want to buy a new computer from HP to fix the defects of my current HP computer.

The only thing the representative offered is a coupon toward the company store this time, he claimed that their service department won't even work on it because it is "too old" and "beyond its service life." This is unacceptable. I will look at the Dell XPS as it looks like a comparable machine, it is more money but when the budget opens up I will probably buy one of them. I don't mind paying good money if you get what you pay for, in this case I do not fee like I have gotten what I have paid for.

I hope that other people reading this thread will gain knowledge in order to help them make better educated decisions regarding what brand of computer to buy and how to deal with a defective hinge situation with their laptop.

[Huffer]

Funny you should mention the Dell XPS...I will not elaborate but just google Dell XPS hinge issues. This is not a problem unique to HP laptops. Keep in mind most laptops are made in the same factories regardless of brand and the same designers participate for multiple manufacturers. That does not excuse the issue, just intended to clarify. Throwing shade on HP while justified in this case does not begin to tell the whole story. People tend to have this "my brand good, your brand bad" mindset that I guess Madison Avenue indoctrinated into us over the 20th Century but it's outmoded thinking. No Ford vs. Chevy here. 

[Adam32]

Yeah, I just started doing some research and they are having issues too, maybe I need to start looking at Apple you pay a premium but the stuff lasts, I don't understand why something as simple as hinges cannot be overcome, in my opinion they just don't seem to care, if they did this would not happen. It's all about making as much money as possible and making every product with a defined life span. When I was looking at the Dell forums the people didn't really get any help from Dell either. It was nice that HP offered to at least have a conversation, but in my opinion they just wanted to take more of my money without addressing the issue at hand. 

[Adam32]

Here is a video of how showing a repair that was very informative (This is a hot glue method:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHYP8Ms8edE  

[Adam32]

Here is a good video showing how to epoxy the knurled brass pieces:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyaZ-7rUFmQ