Reports of GT70 series notebook top-lid hinge seizing....

Mine has just experienced the same thing. I have contacted GentechPC to start the RMA process, but I am scratching my head trying to figure out if the whole will go flying to bits when I attempt to fully close. I will have to at some point so I can ship it. Any hints as to how minimize further damage or successfully close so I can ship out?

 

I'd contact Gentech and raise those concerns and what they'd like you to do to minimize any problems that might occur.

 

Don't stuff it in a printer retail box with bubble wrap only protecting the backing, and the lid against the cardboard. We got one in like that that and it was hurting by the time it got to us.

GenTech should be able to advise you on it though as Derek mentioned. It shouldn't "fly to bits".

 

I think he means the screen is open and closing it would cause further damage, you may be able to pack bubble wrap between the screen and case to support it.

 

I can share that I also had that problem. For work related travel reason I haven't used the laptop for few months and when I tried to used it it broke when I closed the lid. LCD cover broke. Laptop is not on warranty anymore, so I dismantled LCD and noticed that hinge where very tight, hard to move by hand. Now looking to purchase spare to fix it myself...

 

Id contact your reseller as it was a manufacturing defect.

 

Interesting... does this problem affect only retail or also barebones?

 

According to MSI it was a limited production issue that affected a small batch of production due to a bad batch of lubricant used in the hinge itself. The problem was caught shortly after and the rest of that batch of lubricant was tossed. Unfortunately some machines did slip out in the meantime and MSI has been pretty helpful in fixing these issues. It's best as previously advised to contact your reseller or MSI directly and get an RMA done and work out the situation with them. Very few users will be affected by this though and if you aren't having troubles there isn't anything to worry about as there really isn't a way to test if you got the bad batch or good lubricant.

 

I agree with Meaker: contact your reseller and/or MSI since there is a known problem. It may not be covered in full but they may be willing to work with you.

 

This is definitely a manufacturer's defect. I have the exact same laptop and it's hinge also broke last week.


Derek@XoticPC - that's good to know ,., was that quote posted officially on the MSI website or in an email from them? I'm waiting on my laptop to get repaired.


Otherwise this laptop is amazing! Very well designed. It is my main work computer and I am using it constantly every day of the week doing high end 3D modeling & animation (3dsmax & Maya) and Game Development (UDK & Unity).

One of the best cooling systems I've seen in a laptop.

 

Same situation was in gt780 . Free from issue is smaller gt60. All gt70 later or sooner will have such a problem .

 

It very well might have been in a post or press release, but I got my information from the MSI folks when they came to visit us a while back.It's a pretty isolated issue, hard to believe when you're the one being affected, but out of the many thousands of machines produced only a few were affected. Good to see MSI helping you out with it!

 

I have the same problem but MSI Spain tells me that this issue is not covered by the warranty
I bought the laptop from a spanish website, and they have the laptop right now given me a repair budget of 500€ (680 US$).
What should I do?

 

Tell them it's a manufacturing defect and as such what else could a warranty cover?

 

Yes, even adding this blog and using the pictures of laptops with the same problem.
I'm going to complaint to the consumer office, although it will take a month.

 

You could try contacting the US office and maybe getting them to reference the issues they have had over.

 

I don't find the e-mail of the US office, does anyone have it?

 

Hurray, same situation here! Doubt I can RMA this thing (according to LCD warranty), cause it was bought just under 2 years ago. And being the geek that I am, I opened the case to add RAM before...

Currently, it doesn't need to be fixed, but does anyone know of any good Vancouver laptop repair sites that can tackle this?

 

Check your local rights as some countries would class this as a manufacturing defect that would be due a repair regardless of the current warranty.

 

Whew, sounds like a legal tackle I would avoid. I'll try contacting MSI later, then computer repair sites next.

 

I had my hinge repaired through NCIX in Van. I got the extended insurance package when I got the laptop. So the insurance company found some place locally that repaired/replaced the hinge. Quite sure it was repaired in Richmond.

So it might be worth a try to ask someone at NCIX as to who the insurance company goes to for repairs. Or maybe find these guys in Richmond. They did a great job of fixing my laptop.

 

Yes, the two-year limited warranty still covers mine! Funny it's being repaired at Richmond as well.

 

Historically these hinge problems have been fixed for free even out of warranty, I'd go through your reseller first.

 

Just got my notebook back, fast since it was local and they had the parts. Said something about broken screw of the lid instead of broken hinge, but they fixed it for free. Now I'm back to power computing!

 

It may have been the screw into the hinge not being correct, that can cause the same issue.

 

i want to buy msi gt70 i7-4810 gtx880m in Poland, where it cos 6100zł when i get monthly schoolarschip 684zł xD from politechnique. It will be mainly for Inventor, Ansys, Femap, CADs, Pythons etc - engineering purposes. I do not need serwer or pc now so i choose msi. But now, with this hinges im lil affraid.

So afther reading this hindegs problem i would ask to every one who had this problem, was this hinge problem appearing afther work (when laptop was hot) and was it hard work, medium, low? or before work (when was cold)? there could be issue with heat stress in metal parts or plastic, beacouse for polimers heat could not be so big to make it in stress. And were you using cooling plates?

I was using Aristo prestige 1600v fev years ago and it was dusted for long time, so it even turnoff from overheating many times, but everything back to normal when i celan it fro dust, but its polimer parts had deformed - groved in normal direction near left corner of keyboard. But what get mine attention is that, Airsto insides looks similar to thats of MSI. Cooling system and even hinges looks similar to thats of MSI. So from there i gues its heat problem - ventilators are in left and in back side of gt70, so the heat from back one is affecting hinges and monitor.

What do you think of that? Did MSI get any solution, what you know about?

 

Hinge problems would be a manufacturing issue and could occur at any time if you are unlucky to get one.

 

I think I read online a while ago that it might be caused due to a poor substance in the hinge like an oil or lubricant that goes bad and freezes in the hinge.
The left hinge is over the exhaust vent but I've also seen pictures of the right hinge seized too so maybe not a heat issue. Certainly a manufacturing error either way so would be covered if it happens.
Since my lid/hinge replacement I have not had a problem. Still I am now careful when closing the lid. It happened to me when just closing the lid normally. However it was after gaming for a while. The second hinge problem seemed to worsen over time. Both hinge problems were on the left side but since others had the right hinge seize its hard to say its a heat problem. I think the lubricant theory makes sense. Whatever substance they were using in the hinges was not working properly which isn't difficult to correct for future laptops.

 

The lubricant theory isn't actually a theory, it's fact. Somewhere in these I went into it and explained what an MSI rep had informed us when visiting our facility. It was just a production issue and even today if you have an affected model and contact MSI on it they're happy to offer a replacement hinge. The problem itself was caught pretty quickly but there were still some that made it past MSI and into distribution by that time. They're standing behind their products though and offering fixes.

 

I have a MSI GT783R that just experienced this same problem, this laptops warranty is expired by about 2 months. I emailed MSI tech support about the issue and should have a response within 48 hours. My laptop gave no cracking noise indicating anything had gone wrong, as i am very careful opening and closing the LCD panel. i just noticed the left side was not looking right, upon closer inspection the more i closed it the worse the gap in the A panel and the cover bezel got worse when trying to close it. i work at a laptop repair shop in town, since the laptop was already out of warranty i took apart the LCD assembly so as not to do anymore damage to it. I found the left hinge stuck in the up position, after removing the hinge, it was stuck so bad that i had to use pliers to get it to move open or closed. On inspecting the A panel the brass inserts had all been pulled out from the plastic and broken the plastic reinforcing webs, on the right hinge in the same place the plastic reinforcing webs were also broken and the brass inserts were loose and came out easily. when i moved the hinges open and closed several times the left one got really warm from friction, the hinges have a nut on them to tighten them if they become loose, definitely not a problem on mine lol. i found if you hold the hinge with pliers and tighten the nut all the way down, then back it off as far as it will go you can then open and close the hinge by hand. I will know more when i get a reply back from MSI and ill post a follow up.

follow up from msi

MSI Tech. 06/16/2014 Hi Tom, If you're looking into repairing the unit yourself you may try ordering the particular parts (if available) through our parts rep, contact to 626-271-1004 Ext:216 or email directly to our rep Tom to email tomh@msi.com, please be aware the notebook is already outside it's warranty time frame so you'll require to buy the individual parts.

i will be contacting MSI by phone now since they do not seem to be very helpful this way.

 

Well there you go. Thanks for De-mystifying the issue Derek. I was unfortunate to get 2 gt70's with this problem but I hope its a closed issue for new buyers. Something they will not have to worry about.

I hope this helps in your decision robgrzel.

 

Yup, that luckily happened before I started work in this custom laptop world. Would've been a headache for sure while getting sorted out initially. Been doing this for a while now and haven't heard any further reports from seized hinges.

 

reply msi said its ds not a MANUFACTURER DEFECT lmao they want me to pay them to fix it so i would not recommend msi to anyone unless you want to buy a laptop for $2499 that they will NOT stand behnid they cannot even speak english so i do not thing they even understood the problem... i will not recomment anyone to buy a laptop from them... especially for the price.. mine has BSOD< and many more issues , im not done they could not even refer me to anyone at msi to talk to... ill be emailing whoever i can find and posting the defect on SUE EASY maybe that will get a actual response. i would not reccomend msi for anything. i used to i buy sell and refurb laptops. but i will be referring customers to dell (alienware from now on, goodluck. marty ps the light up keyboard is junk also. crashes everytime windows updates and will not type said letters when you push keys.

 

I'm not sure you're referring to the seized hinge solely or at all. That is the topic of this thread. MSI is honoring all affected machines from this one time issue. It sounds like your issue goes deeper than this, if you are referring about the seized hinge, and they may be right that it's not a manufacturer issue. If you feel the person you talked to did not understand you accurately feel free to call back and speak with another associate. We deal with them every day and have never had any issue with them understanding us.

 

The hinge as a recognised manufacturing defect is repaired even out of warranty. Other issues will not be covered if your warranty is expired, that's just the way warranties work regardless of manufacturer.

 

I spoke with 5 people at msi including Tom from parts and service...and if no one here understood what i meant the seized hinge made the laptop - unable to close without damage just like all the pics here to do with the left hinge in this post. last thing from msi said it WAS NOT MANUFACTURER DEFECT. the evidently know about the problem and are not willing to help due to the laptop out of warranty, even though it is a result of a seized hinge. the brass inserts of the A panel pulled completely i had to disassemble the screen to get it off so no more damage would occur. i ordered a brand new A panel from another vendor way cheaper than msi. as far as fixing the hinges its just a matter of tightening them all the way down then turn the nut back out and re-lube them with a quality lube then you can open and close the left hinge without pliers. it was seized that bad the right one was real stiff but nowhere as bad. do not get me wrong msi has a great warranty but if your computer has an issue after warranty they will not fix it. (my warranty was 2 months past) not a real big deal for me to repair, but for a laptop that cost $2499,99 new i would think they would like the customer to be satisfied, the said price for the A panel is $86.00 right and left hinge set is about $28.00 they are sold separately. I would advise EVERYONE to check out their laptop fully before their warranty expires.

 

Which region are you in? You may have been best going through your reseller and linking to the various posts on this forum.

 

MSI US office does not fix anything when the laptop is out of warranty.
Warranty covers anything pretty much except physical damages.

 

im in the usa region, and no they do not fix it even if its a manufacturer defect, in warranty they will if you pay shipping and insurance, even then it only cost me 85.00$ to repair it- for parts. i do my own repairs. i think that they should repair it, i would repair it even out of warranty if it was a defective part. but not if it was misused. this issue does not give any real warning. some people heard a crack in the plastic, but by then its too late,it would have been more profitable for them to repair it, considering the amount of people i used to recommend to purchase msi products. the part will be here thursday and it will be ok then, it did kinda me off having this problem with a $2499.00 laptop and unable to use it for a couple of weeks... the labor only takes about 30 minutes tops. i have a msi gt 70 also and ill check it thoroughly before the warranty expires.

 

The hinge was probably too tight so the hinge broke when the force landed and focused on one side which caused the plastic to break.
You are right to check the hinges before warranty expires but it's not common to see the GT series with broken hinges compared to other inferior models.
Other brands also have this kind of issues too, seen it on DELL, Toshiba, Acer, ASUS and others.

 

Kevin, yes it had pulled the brass inserts out on the left side and the right side was working on it. it had also broken out the plastic reinforcing webs also, its all good now, got the new A panel in thursday and had it replaced in about an hour, i reused the same hinges when i removed them you could not close the left one without using pliers, (i think the left side goes first as it gets warmer by the fan exhaust port). i cleaned the old lube out, re-lubed them and they work great. it opens-closes a lot easier, and stays up just as good as my new GT-70. i also redid the GT-70 hinges before it becomes a problem, that one is still under warranty but i dont want to pay shipping when the issue can be prevented. i saw one for sale on ebay that someone epoxied the hinges might as well have been a desktop. yes i think the plastic cover the hinges mount to are the weak point on most any laptop. its all good now.

 

The left side brass inserts pulled out and the plastic of the top lid that holds them in broke on my 2.5 year old GT780DX.

I used a lot of hard setting epoxy to glue the brass inserts back in place.

So far so good but I'm opening and closing the lid far less now.

Here's a new MSI lid for $65

LCD Cover Assembly for MSI 1761-in Other Computer Products from Computer & Networking on Aliexpress.com

 

Mine just started doing this! I noticed the MSi logo wasn't going off after shutting the lid. The left side of the LCD panel by the hinge on my GT70 is beginning to separate everytime I close the lid. Doing exactly the same as pictured!

 

Sorry to hear that.
Hope it's still under warranty, and get it repaired as soon as possible.

Tip: Try to open the lid from the center to avoid overstress on one side of hinges, and make sure to do it slowly but not quickly.

 

New link for top cover

Laptop Shell A Top Cover for MSI GT60 MS1761 1761 1762 176K GT70 GX70 GT780DX Top Housing Back Cover E2P-761AXXX-Y31

Laptop Shell A Top Cover for MSI GT60 MS1761 1761 1762 176K GT70 GX70 GT780DX Top Housing Back Cover E2P 761AXXX Y31-in Other Computer Products from Computer & Networking on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group

http://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale...n&similar_style=n&similar_style_id=&CatId=717

 

I think my gt70 0nd is starting to show this sign. I have to say im quite disappointed with msi. It's my first gaming laptop and the gpu broke right after the warranty ends, and now the hinges. Sigh

 

Been doing this from day one yet it still happens! I purchased back in November 2012 from Xotic so I'm sure the warranty has expired.
First was a minor issue with a decal left on the back of the lid. Next was a major issue with the Delta brick going up in smoke, now this!

 

Msi retail units have a 2 year warranty.

 

Go ahead and contact our service team. Can't try to help out until we're reached out to. We'll see what we can arrange for you.

 

Contacted MSI Online Technical Support.