Poor stuctural integrity of A8Jm series

I have been experiencing very poor structural integrity from my A8Jm:

1) Cracking on the lid at the hinges
2) Loose hinge (will swing 1-2 inches in open position).
3) Seam on the side of the lid is expanded about 2 mm

I have noticed these problems 4 months after purchasing the laptop

I have already sent my A8Jm in for repair once already. But after another 4 months, it is once again having the same problems. I don't want this to keep happening, especially after my 1 year warranty expires. What do I do then?

This is NOT supposed to happen. My 6 year old Toshiba laptop has not had any structural problems ever.

EDIT: According to some people on this forum, the poor build quality seems to be only isolated with the A8Jm models, and not the other A8Jx models. So please vote ONLY if you have an A8Jm

Anyone else having this problem with their A8Jm laptop?

 

asus laptops are awesome and are ussally very structualy sound

 

I don't disagree with you but the this model is not build well.

 

The A8Js has great specs/value but it does feel cheap to me, but i didn't have any cracking or loose hinges for the 4 months I owned it.

Build quality is my #1 concern in notebooks.

 

It looks like you've reported the first case of breaking hinges, I'd get it repaired, it could be an isolated case. As mentioned, the A8 is the value low end notebook, so this isn't really that surprising.

 

Nope lol. I mentioned sending mine in for

2nd repair: cracked hinge
3rd repair: loose hinges

Its where the pieces connect the laptop is the weakest.

 

My bad there haha. Well, if its not an isolated case, I haven't heard much about it. Or maybe I don't read the A8 owner's lounge...

 

Yea, definately not an isolated case. Lot's of ppl having problems with it. And I hardly consider the A8Jm a "low-end" laptop. I paid $1900 CAD for it after tax when it first came out. Even for low-end laptops, a consumer shouldn't be expected to send it in 2-3x within a year to get repairs. That's a bit ridiculous.

 

And I paid 20 bucks for of $2000. the laptop is a great laptop, minus the build quality.

 

Yeah, this is the general consensus and hype surrounding ASUS notebooks. Understand that ASUS is just like every other company. They *will* cut corners to sell.

It is inexcusable for ASUS to think that the A8 series can be built cheaply just because it is in the $1000 range.

 

You're complaining now... but the popularity of the A8JS caused the W3J to be discontinued. So people obviously prefer lower build quality with better internal components rather than the other way around in order to save a few bucks.

 

thus far it has not been an issue with the a8js. seems to be fairly isolated to the jm.

 

Is that right? Only the A8Jm's are affected by the poor build quality? Don't they use the same casing?

 

the case and hinges are not the problem. the way the hinges are secured to the case is.

 

yep...also have loose hinges and some of #3 on my a8jm...gonna warranty it soon

 

Of course it has structural problems. It is made of plastic.

 

My A8Jm is going back for the 3rd time this week too, first time was a cracked back casing, just behind the hinges. Posted pics of it around somewhere, hinges got really loose as well ( with the crack and all where the screws go in )

2nd time, the hinges were quiet loose and the backlight stopped working ( turned out to be the inverter those fail sometimes so it happens... )

This time it's the hinges again, very loose, then a bunch of plastic junk fell outta it last week! yikes from what i can seen from inside it ( the bottom is kinda opened up a bit from being so loose ) it looks like the screws that hold the hinges are secured into a little piece of metal that is encased in plastic.. looks like that plastic has given way.

I'm kinda dissappointed with the A8Jm from a build perspective, I based my purchase decision on the quality of the W3V.. I should have bought the W3J, awe well.. live and learn

 

My A8Jm went in twice. The first time hinges were loose i wanted them tightened to avoid them breaking.
Next time like someone said above, the place where the hinges attach that was actually broken. Got it repaired.
When i got it back it seemed to me the parts were not the same as that of the A8Jm maybe the A8Js but i really hve no idea and could be totally wrong.

Regardless, like gusto5 i shelled out about $2000 on the laptop, however other than the hinge problem i have no issues with it and i hope i can use it for the next 3yrs. I guess im also babying it a lil more, got a monitor, keyboard, mouse so the laptop is just sitting on the side while at home, so wear and tear is at a minimum. Its basically become a desktop replacement (its powerful enough) which i take to uni with me atleast twice - thrice a week. Since the last hinge repair i have no complaints

 

Just want to bump this up. It seems that the poor build quality is isolated to the A8Jm model and not other A8Jx models.

How do I change the poll title?

 

WEll Im not sure of that tall shorty.

But a lot of the a8jm owners have had their machines almost a year now so they are all older. I mean, 4-5 months older at least.

So the problems might go to a8js owners too in 4-5 months.

The thing is though, there are more a8js owners and not many of them came here to complain about the same thing. And a lot of them have no problem with coming here to complain about things.

 

well mine is about 8 months old...and its going to need a helluva lot of servicing.

 

This is so rediculous...My warranty expires in May. What am I going to do after that if the hinge goes again?! I didn't spend $2000 to get it serviced 3x a year.

There is absolutely no excuse for this. I'm quite upset.

 

Im mildly where he is. My LCD is getting loose AGAIN =D

from what ive seen, other laptops dont have this till post TWO-YEAR owning the laptop... I havent even hit the full year yet =(

 

This is why I stick with Metal case laptops like the ASUS V2JE. They might cost more, but they last longer.

 

Just sent mine to fix..still waiting my lid close to the hinges there crack and a piece of the plastic fell off very weird. I'm very disappointed with Asus, their QC sucks, customer service in Australia very very sucks!!

 

when i saw structual integrity it made me think of a ship lol.

Anyway, I think most people are happy with their A8 and yours is probably the statistical lemon. Yea it sux i know. I hope you get it fixed properly this time.

 

I think you already figured it out but all the number 1 2 and 3 stem from the same problem. Loose hinges/ failing locktite. Take the inside of the frame out and tighten the screws. I seem to remember also one screw is missing

 

Be ever so careful when tightening the screws, mines at asus now again, it was loose, and cracking a bit.. anyways the backing pieces of the screws is a small metal bit of threads held into the crappiest plastic known to man .. plastic which escaped from the bottom of my laptop 2-3 days later

I'm hoping this time they fix the lemon factor of the lid.. concidering this is the 3rd go of it.

my verdict of the a8 series is it's decent, for home users which it was intended, don't do business travel with it it won't survive

 

Asus know about their A8 series notebook poor quality issues? if yes they should recall all the notebooks and at least change the lid (better quality) for all of the A8 series user... what do you think?

 

well my touchpad button has broken.

It still works but i want to replace it. The part isnt expensive but im not sure how hard its going to be to change it

 

That's gonna cost Asus a fortune...

 

Brilliant!! Recall a8jm becuase the hinge design sucks. They only sold a few hundred at most in the states. How exactly do they go about recalling this? Make a commercial on their site saying "people please send back your a8jm". You dont think the people that have this problem already know that they have it?

 

I think that is EXACTLY what should be done! They screwed up with this model and they have a responsibility to their customers who paid up to $2000 for their product to correct this problem. Either find a permenant fix or replace with a different model regardless of how much it would cost Asus. No customer should have to send any product in 3-4x a year for repair. That is absolutely rediculous. So what happens after the 1 year warranty expires??

 

They're no worse than any other laptop out there really. We use dells @ work when I was using my company issued latitude I was having the hinges replaced a couple times a year.

It seems most laptops out there have crappy hinges, some people are able to live with them, others not so much ( i'm in the not so much catagory really makes me angry ).

The W3 series laptop seems to have a good design, also the IBM's one of the guys in my office has a T42 and travels as much as me if not more and he's never had to have his hinges replaced ( just a motherboard, LCD and HD )

 

Another a8jm user with loose hinges here. Looks like the black plastic posts on the top of the main case is cracking. Purchased laptop approx 10 months ago.

So anyone know if asus has a reinforced part as a replacement? I'm assuming the item from the asus e-store is which is listed under A8jm parts is:
A8J-1A TOP CASE ASSY Item # 13GNF51AP053-1 $30.00

Under the A8js parts they list a different part number for this which is also slightly cheaper. Is the part number different because it is slightly different - ie. possible reinforced at the posts to prevent cracking?
A8J/S-1A TOP CASE ASSY Item # 13GNF51AP055-1 $27.00

Anyone know if this is the case and whether the a8js top cover is compatible with the a8jm? Mines still under warranty but would prefer to replace it myself rather than go to the hassle of sending it in if they are just going to replace it with an identically weak part.

 

ok top case assembly is the part that is surrounding the keyboard.

The part you want based on your description is called lcd lid and possibly lcd bezel.

Ok but thats just replacing the plastic the real problem must be some play that is torquing the lid when you open and close it.

 

No, not the LCD lid or bezel. It's the part surrounding the keyboard which is cracking - the black plastic strip above the keyboard with two posts to which the lid hinges screw to to be exact.

See the second pic in this thread:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=86297&highlight=loose+hinges

So.. Anyone know if the a8js parts are different or stronger? Clearly, from the poll there is a major problem with the top case on the a8jm. And i'm sure the problem exists on EVERY a8jm. My hinges are really not too loose, but I took the plastic cover off the hinges just to check them and found MAJOR cracking. I'm sure those owners who think that their hinges are fine will find similar cracking if they took the time to simply pop the small plastic covers off to take a look.

And.. Yes, I do think a recall or fix should be in place. My laptop is never taken off my study table or used outside my apartment. I also don't travel with it. The lid is literally closed maybe once a week at the most, and still there is major cracking. It's my only major complaint about the laptop, I otherwise love everything else about the model.

 

ok well as to your question I have no idea then.
but i wouldnt buy the a8js part unless i was certain it fit because it easily could not the motherboard is actually different and it might even be screwed in different places

there is actually someone at school with an a8jm. although we got tired of putting our computers together and comparing them a while ago but possibly i can look.

theres something actually entirely different about the hinges and I think thats the difference. I think where the part attaches to the body is different and its not even facing the same way

 

It would be great if you could pop the plastic covers off yours and take some photos to post. You never know, you might even find cracking of the plastic posts on yours

 

K I will do that.

 

I am happy with the build, except the material on the outside, which scratches very easily.

Now that I read this thread, my hinge is loose... it does move a about an inch and a half on the top. But it hasnt bothered me on my 4 months of ownership and my laptop is now too essential for me during grad school to stay some days without it due to this.

 

I hope this is the fix. I heard of other ppl getting their A8Jm parts switched to A8Js and no longer having the hinge issue. Can anyone verify this info?

 

That would be great if someone can email Asus and explain to them all the problems of A8Jx so that Asus actually could do something, otherwise i'm sure many of the users will not buy Asus notebook in the future. I'm 100% sure will not buy Asus notebook and i'm not gonna to advice my friends to buy Asus products as well

 

Dam, so many incidents of crappy Asus build

 

I think this may be isolated to A8Jm models though. I haven't heard of complaints from other A8Jx models.

 

as soon as i get the right carbon fiber vinyl im going to take apart my lcd lid.

Im trying to do it all at once but what im going to do is epoxy a peice of metal on both sides of the lid
this would keep the lid opening and closing perfectly straight preventing torque.
unfortunately it has to be outside the lid so quite ugly until i cover it with vinyl.

Also the carbon fiber will make it look cool. I had considered buying the w3j lcd lid and transplanting it ( difficult)

I will try to post pictures I think it might help a8jm owners.
This project is based on my friends 5 year old sony laptop that developed the same thing

I have been putting this project off for a while

Im feeling the frustration of people who are not really engineering inclined and might need a picture.

 

It's not the lid thats the major problem but the posts on the top case where the hinge screws on to. Want to post those photos of the hinges on your ajs stamar?

Who wants to send a link to this page to asus? The poll currently stands at 52% of people with issues. I think that shows that a fix is required.

 

I own an A8jp as well... never buying an Asus again. Good god, they don't even take their servers seriously... nearly impossible to get a decent download speed or even access their support servers.

 

Ill take a picture but not soon.

If there were a problem youre describing on my machine i would epoxy it. Whatever it is I mean Im going to carbon fiber the lid and make it so it will last years.


the other pictures of the a8jm in the earlier thread shows the lcd lid cracking.


I think the lid would be the cause of the hinge breaking from the post as well. I could be wrong

But there are two connections for the hinge. There is the lcd lid in the 1 inch between the hinge cover and the end of the lcd lid and then there is under the hinge cover to the chassis.

Ok well if the lid is not opening perfectly up and down it twists the hinge meaning one side is going up more than the other side like you open it with one hand from the right or left it will flex and let you twist it.

I think it could give in either place. I knew this something like 8 months ago when my machine was brand new and i looked at the a8jm pictures and i thought about doing this but this thread finally convinced me to get started.

I think they did reinforce the a8js where the hinge connects probably in both places. But I think it has the same design because i can feel it flex.

 

I have already done so but the more ppl who complain about this the more serious they will take it. I'm going to send in my A8Jm for repair next week before my Warranty expires in May. I'm not too sure what to do after my warranty expires and the problems repeats. I'm not happy about this.