Because of the great supporters of this website, HP has now issued a limited repair authorization for some models of notebooks with hinge cracks. This is a huge step, but it doesn’t help everyone.

Here is the link from HP’s site:

************************************
URGENT SUPPORT NOTIFICATION FROM HP
************************************
HP Pavilion dv9000 Notebook PC Limited Service Enhancement Program
HP is offering a Limited Service Enhancement Program through May 31, 2009 for the left display hinge on the HP Pavilion dv9000 notebook PC serial number that you registered.
If you experience a broken left display hinge before May 31, 2009 or previously paid for a left display hinge repair, please refer to the HP website at: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&docname=c01611512
If you have not experienced a broken left display hinge, no action is required on your part.
Sincerely,
Hewlett-Packard Company

Unfortunately, this only covers the dv9000 line and only if you have a left hinge crack. For others, we are still working for you!

Please note that if you paid for a repair, HP might be willing to reimburse you, so go to that link and get in touch with HP ASAP.

Thanks again for those who helped make this site a success. We are still working over an hour every day, chopping spam, working with individuals with problems, and trying to move forward with HP to cover ALL hinge cracks on ALL notebooks, in or out of warranty.

If you haven’t supported this site with your small contribution (even a few dollars helps!), please consider making a Paypal contribution today. It’s fast and cheap and it helps me overcome the many hours a week I spend approving your comments and pushing HP for more consistency in customer service.

And if you’re bored and don’t have a hinge crack problem, go read what I had to say about the Chicago Tribune Bankruptcy ploy.

Please reply to this post with when you bought your notebook, how long it took to crack, and any specific details about the damage. If you’ve contacted HP, post those details here, but only if you’re using the dv2000 model.

Please reply to this post with when you bought your notebook, how long it took to crack, and any specific details about the damage. If you’ve contacted HP, post those details here, but only if you’re using the dv5000 model.

Please reply to this post with when you bought your notebook, how long it took to crack, and any specific details about the damage. If you’ve contacted HP, post those details here, but only if you’re using the dv8000 model.

We’ve now had almost 150,000 visitors to this site from December 2007 through December 2008! I’ve personally emailed over 2,500 people to help them deal with HP. This thread is for those of you have had success in getting HP to repair your notebook hinge crack problem, for free or at a reduced price.

Please post the details of your repair, such as your model number, the country you had it repaired from, if your laptop was in or out of warranty, how long the total repair took, and any deficiencies you experienced (reformatted hard drive, etc).

Also, if you received a satisfactory repair due to this website, please consider sending me a few dollars to replace my own defective HP that they won’t repair. This site occupies nearly 10 hours a week of my time in erasing spam and personally replying to questions for hundreds of users. You can paypal me at proofs@vipministry.com.

Class action lawsuits are not consumer friendly. In fact, every class actionlawsuit I have investigated has ended up giving the lawyers HUGE compensation, and the consumers close to nothing. In the hinge cracking case, HP would settle the lawsuit to the tune of many millions, paying the lawyers 30-50% of that amount, and giving each consumer around $25-$50. HP would not admit to any responsibility, and future problems would be covered under the lawsuit settlement terms, which means no money for future problems.

Thankfully, filing a lawsuit locally in your county courthouse is an EASY process, and in most districts doesn’t cost much. I will investigate writing a step-by-step process in how to do it, and how to handle the case yourself (called Pro Se). I have done so myself in the past against spammers and fraudulent credit collection companies, and have often-times settled those cases out with a nice compensation (as much as $1000 for about 2 hours of my time!).

If there are thousands of us out there who have had the problem with the manufacturer-defective hinge on these notebooks, filing yourself in your district’s court would be the best way to get resolution. I do not recommend EVER threatening a lawsuit in order to get a free repair. Instead, the proper process is to WRITE DOWN EVERYTHING in terms of who you talk to (name, badge number, phone number and extension), what they said specifically, and what the results were. Only if you do not get resolution do you file a lawsuit. You don’t tell HP you’re going to do it, you just do it. Because the total cost of the laptop replacement or repair is so small, a small-claims suit in your local court is cheap, quick and not very scary. The cost to you would be little, but HP would have to send a lawyer (or hire a local one), and spend literally hundreds or thousands for each case submitted.

At this point, HP has NEVER contacted me regarding this issue. I am open to handling discussions with HP and forming a reasonable response standard for users with this problem — in or out of warranty. I personally do NOT want a lawsuit to happen, I just want a working laptop. Since my hinge cracked last year, my laptop is now close to worthless. I use the laptop for a not-for-profit company I manage, and having it out of commission has cost me close to $2000 to replace that model with a similar model from another manufacturer. Because some of the software I purchased for that laptop is not licensable to a new machine, I had to repurchase software. I also had to spend dozens of hours reinstalling software and finding drivers to work with my hardware.

HP has a simple solution to this problem: negotiate a repair process, set up a single case manager with email and phone contact for any user who has this problem, and give me the details to post here. If HP wishes to do this, this website would turn into a simple “Here is what you need to do to get fixed.” Instead, HP is costing themselves tens of thousands of dollars of tech support pay, frustrating thousands of users, and setting this site up with traffic forever. I guarantee this website will still be on the web in 10 years, and HP is making a huge mistake trying to deny a manufacturing flaw.

For every comment you visitors leave, I get 10+ emails from others with the same problem. We have literally HUNDREDS of comments now, and I’ve received thousands of emails. I spend as much as 2 hours per day (with no financial compensation!), 7 days a week, communicating with people who have this problem. Why am I doing HP’s job, for no compensation, when they could fix the problem overnight. It is irresponsible, and I will go through every end to make sure that users know that HP is not there for them in the long run.

For now, please refrain from starting a class-action lawsuit. If I don’t hear anything from HP by the end of January, I will post a detailed step-by-step process to file a Pro Se lawsuit in your county court, and tell you exactly what you need to know to get results. I believe that HP would settle individual lawsuits with a new laptop or a free repair, rather than settling one big class action lawsuit where you’ll get a few dollars, and get no results.

For those who are finding some positive gain from this site and wish to send a gift to me personally, I do appreciate the few paypal’s I’ve received over the months. I’ve put in over 250 hours on this site already just communicating with all the various people, and have received in total about $30 of compensation from gifts and sponsors of this site. If you wish to send a paypal of $1 or $5, please send it to this email address:proofs@vipministry.com.

Thanks for your support!

It seems many people are finding out about this site a few days or weeks out of warranty. While I have no direct proof, a few people have been able to convince HP to fix the problem even though the warranty has expired. I would highly recommend pointing the customer service agent to this website. If that doesn’t work, ask for a supervisor or a level 2 technician. This is NOT abuse, this is due to a flaw in the HP design.

A reader, who shall remain anonymous, sent me their dv9000 last week. I took it apart, and it is definitely a design flaw, not an abuse issue. The processor fan has no easy filter replacement, so it gets gunked up with MINOR dirt and dust. There is no easy way to clean the filter. Over time, a tiny (tiny!) amount of dust causes the processor to heat up significantly. This heat destroys a tiny sliver of plastic near the security hole, which causes the problem. As that sliver breaks off into tiny pieces (from heat), the hinge has nothing to sit in, basically causing the terrible popping sound, the left edge of the screen pushing out, and the need to hold the screen bevel tight as you slowly close the notebook.

It seems as if this problem still exists in recent dv9000 models, so I would be cautious in purchasing another one. I absolutely love my dv9000, though, because it is a great notebook. I used compressed air to try to blow out my processor dust, and it did make a slight difference. In the past, the notebook would get extremely warm within 10 minutes of use, now it takes over an hour. This means that you CAN slow down the effect of the design flaw, but you can not fix it. The heat level generated by the faulty “filter” and air flow will always cause your hinge to fail. I believe in the next 3-4 weeks we will see hundreds of people finding this site, as more and more people exhibit the same problem.

Please keep up the comments, and kindly follow up what HP did to resolve your situation. If they charged you, how much? If they warrantied the repair, for how long? If you sent it in, who did you do it through (HP, Best Buy, Frye’s, etc)? If you sent it in, how long did it take to get back? What was the process?

There are probably thousands of people out there who are going to spend $300-$400 needlessly fixing this design flaw. This means millions of dollars for HP that should be covered by a warranty.

I am currently discussing the options with a legal advisor, who currently says that design flaws such as these should trump warranty periods, if it is an obvious problem that rears its head before the normal warranty runs out. If he tells me we have a case, and HP refuses to fix anyone’s notebook, we will move forward to promote the website heavier and find resolution for all of us. At this point, I am refusing to send my notebook in. I have spent over 150 hours of my own time tracking people down, finding solutions, working on dead notebooks, and talking with various tech support reps. I am no longer going to be without my notebook for 3-4 weeks, since I am the head figure in getting things going.

If anyone is interested in supporting a move for more resolution, I’ll post details of a small fundraiser to pay for a lawyer to review all the cases. The lawyer I have dealt with in the past charges a fair $1000 to get everything together, and then a flat fee (instead of a percentage). I hate class action lawsuits, the lawyers win, and we lose. I want resolution for everyone, not a $37 check from HP that does nothing. We need to tell others about this problem, so please link to this site on blogs and forums if someone else complains about this very problem. The more people that discover that this is a design flaw, the better the result of communications with HP about fixing it.

Again, this is a design flaw, not an abuse issue. It is a flaw in the entire dv9000 line that up to now still does not look to be fixed in design. My recommendation to HP is an easy fix, but I won’t give it to them without a significant payment up front — this is something that designers should be prepared for, not end users.

My recommendation if you have’t had the hinge crack: blow out your processor air flow holes with compressed air with the notebook off, and wait 10 minutes to turn it back on. Compressed air is EXPENSIVE, around $5 per bottle, but doing it twice a day (once before booting up, once after powering down) should push the problem out of your hair for a little while.

FWIW, I use over 12 notebooks on a regular basis, and this is the only one with this dastardly error.

Here are some quotes from people who commented on the blog directly. If you e-mailed me, I will not post your quotes since they were private e-mails; please consider writing your experience on a comment here.

Pinky said: I have a dv9035nr with a hinge that’s cracking too. I’ve included a link to a pic of the crack. I purchased the laptop in Nov 2006. I thought it was just my bad luck with laptop hinges, as I had a Toshiba a25-s279 prior to the HP, whose hinges cracked as well - Best Buy’s service plan did cover replacement of those hinges.

Andy said: i have a hp dv9035nr that my girlfriend purchased for me last xmas - dec2006. mine has the crack as well on the left hand side. it started when the black plastic casing around the monitor came unglued at the seams due to the hinge separating in the back. i did not abuse it all. Sent to HP and they said it would cost me $1200 they refuse to repair under the warranty. Best Buy is not covering under the warranty my girlfriend bought - they say they would only fix it under the accidental damage warranty. Very dissapointing when something this costly falls apart after only 9 months.

Slavins said: I also have had the same problem. with dv9000 series laptop. Hinge broke on left side near security hole after about 5 months. HP said is is covered under the 1 year warranty. I am requesting to speak to a case manager about getting a dv9500 as a replacement because they have addressed this issue in the newer models. I am all for providing information needed to get this issue recalled.

Peter said: I have a DV9095US and it cracked on the bottom left about 11 months after I purchased it. I think my screen lasted longer because I used a cooling deck when I am at home and the Thermaltake cooling pad when I travel. I chatted with HP and they offered to replace it for free under the manufacturers warranty. For those of you who have been turned away you can still try again.

Jasminko: Same here. I bought dv 9035nr in December 2006 at Best Buy. In June the crack started at left hinge, plastic warped at the back and gap spread along the left side. I could still use the computer since I was in the Balkans (Bulgaria, Macedonia, Serbia). I contacted HP via Skype and personally in all these countries just to learn that HP does not support American-made laptop in Europe. Had shipped it back to my daughter against $300 payment to DHL. HP sent a box and replaced the plastics after some 10 days. Too late for me, since I had to buy a new laptop to complete my work abroad. Toshiba this time, believe me! $1500 expense - unnecessary.

George: Purchased in April 2007. Hinge is popping on right hand side.

Tony: I have purchased my laptop about 3 months ago and about a week ago i hear a squeaking noise in the left hinge and i feel that this may break like a friend of mine. I have a hp dv2535ea, i also had hp dv9000 series that decided to break on the left hinge just after warranty ran out. My go to Comet tomorrow and ask them if they can do anything as thats where i got it from (which i doubt as they would allow me to return it with a dead pixel xD). Next step i will contact hp and see if there is anything that they can do.

Todd: I had a similar crack with my dv9000. Just cracked right along the seam of the screen on the side with the lock hole. I have been speaking to this guy on AIM who also had the same problem with his dv9000. I should note that the guy on AIM i speak to used his laptop for travel, and used it a lot. I, on the other hand, used the machine as a desktop replacement and rarely had it leave my room. I should also note that HP repaired it free of charge, since I was still under warranty, but tech support ended up causing more problems which they apparently failed to repair in subsequent send-ins. They ended up replacing the machine entirely :P.

Holden: I have a dv9000. It’s about a year old, and the left hinge just cracked. Same issue as everyone else. So far, no help.

Fish: i have the same issue with the hinge. i bought the dv9000 in january 2007. this is really depressing. i can’t treat this machine like some million-dollar piece of medical equipment and they are saying this is because of abuse?

Jennifer: I have an HP dv9000 and about 6 months after I bought it I had the left hinge problem start to appear. I started to notice the popping noise when I opened and closed it, and the top and bottom of the lcd case started to separate on the left side. Then the popping turned into cracking, and the split got gradually bigger and little bits of black plastic started to fall out. My screen hasn’t cracked yet, and I’m beyond my year warranty by several months, I just try to be careful and hold that left side when I open or close it. My boyfriend’s laptop (A Toshiba) is also cracked on the left side, and I knew that hinges could be a problem, the same with phones, but that I found so many Google results on my model laptop, and that there is a blog devoted to the problem, makes our particular problem so conspicuous that it makes me laugh. I’m not sure what to expect from HP though.

Tian said: I purchased a HP dv9000 from BestBuy end of dec 2006 and the hinge on the left hand side by the security lock cracked a few weeks ago. I am not in the States at the moment and will not be there before the 1 year warranty expires
spoke to local HP support and the guy on the phone was clueless about everything…what the hell is HP doing!!!

Here are the results:
Pinky: Best Buy service plan covered replacement.
Andy: HP would not warranty repair, $1200 estimate.
slavins: No resolution yet, waiting for HP response.
Peter: HP offered replacement under warranty.
Jasminko: No warranty in Europe, but received free repair by shipping to America for $300 fee.
George: No resolution yet.
Tony: Cracked after warranty ran out.
Todd: HP repaired for free under warranty.
Holden: Cracked after 1 year, no resolution yet.
fish: No resolution yet.
Jennifer: Outside of warranty period, probably no resolution available.
Tian: Outside of U.S., unable to find resolution.

It is very important for others to reply to any of my posts with their experiences, so that HP, and others, can see the extend of this problem! Remember, this blog is barely 1 month old, and we’re getting dozens of new visitors every day. If you’re visiting for the first time and have this problem, PLEASE post your details (when did you buy it, where, did you send it in, what was the cost to repair, did they repair it?)

I wanted to post the comments I received on my first post. I had this mini-blog up just a few weeks and we’re already getting a TON of traffic from Google. I really need you to post your situation in the comment thread so we can see how widespread the issue is.

Comments from previous thread:

Dennis Crofts Says:
September 21st, 2007 at 7:40 pm e

I just Fed Exed my HP dv9000 to be repaired. The left hinge began to separate on the backside. Eventually this was followed by a popping noise when opening and closing the laptop. The other day the computer cracked in the bottom of the screen and the hinge had separated even more. A split ran up the left side of the screen.

I talked to HP who sent me a box and label to ship it back. The laptop was purchase in March , 2007.

No follow-up from Dennis, yet, but he’s expecting his laptop soon, maybe already. I e-mailed him today for a status check.

Osmo Says:
September 24th, 2007 at 5:47 pm e

i have the same problem on a dv9013ca… hoping to find a new casing for the lcd as i don’t have a replacement plan for this laptop…. only one i found so far has been terribly expesive… at this point i may just go buy a new one….

I did a follow up here and the hinge/cases are CRAZY expensive. Someone quoted me $650 for a new piece of plastic for a $1200 laptop. Unbelievable!

Santi Says:
October 9th, 2007 at 9:36 am e

I have a dv9000 that made a popping sound. I took a look at it, and there is a large crack up the left side. My HP warranty expired about 2 weeks ago. But I did purchase an extended warranty through Staples. As soon as I back up, it is going to get fixed. How long did it take you to get it fixed?

I will follow up with Santi in a few weeks to see if they charged him.

ryan Says:
October 10th, 2007 at 7:46 pm e

hp dv9035nr
screen split open at security hole… something to do with the hinge. this happened after 4 or 5 months. To open the screen i had to hold the pieces together tightly and move the screen very slowly.

took it back to BestBuy, it was indeed covered but i did have to wait 4 weeks to get it back. Ive only had it back a month or two but i havent had any issues.

That’s what they told me — 4 weeks. I had the exact same thing here, split at security hold, 5 months after buying it. The only way to open or close is to hold the pieces together and move the screen slowly or it pops the screen case out.

Mccall Says:
October 10th, 2007 at 7:49 pm e

hp dv9207us

I had the same problem as Ryan did (he suggested the dv9000 series to me before he had issues with his) and also had to hold the screen together to open and close it without splitting the case open. I’ve had this laptop for maybe 4 months.

I purchased CompUSA’s warranty that covers the screen if damaged, but apparently does not cover the hinges or problems related to the hinges. They refuse to fix my computer because they say it was caused by abuse which it wasn’t.

WHY hasn’t HP issued a recall?

Send them a link to this site. If there’s enough interest, we can start a phone and e-mail campaign to HP and any warranty company that refuses to fix it.

This is why I started this site!

Robin Says:
October 12th, 2007 at 8:02 am e

Had a hinge crack on the left side that started splitting the screen. cant open or close it. sent it to HP and they said it was not covered even though I am within my year period. They also told me that it would be cheaper for me to buy a new computer. Grrrr
9. Robin Says:
October 12th, 2007 at 8:04 am e

P.S. the model number is dv9000, Actual Model: dv9035nr

That’s my model as well. I will be sending mine to HP soon, but I need more people to post their experiences so we have something backing it up!

If you had a notebook hinge crack, HP or not, please post your laptop, model number, purchase date, and current results here. Let’s get the numbers together!