Manufacturing fault - T400 - Lid unbalanced

I have almost exactly the same problem as bob13bob -http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=257131. The lid not only sits too high, and is clearly unbalanced when locked down (left side as demonstrated in bob13bob's youtube video), but i also noticed the left side actually juts out a few millititers further than on the right side.

Just bought it last week and im wondering what i should do about this issue.

 

Have you talked to the Customer Service? It is new and you should be able to return it or have it repaired in normal circumstances.

 

Im on the phone now. They don't have my machine type or serial number on the system yet.
But they did say the left side should not be sitting out further than the right. They also excused the space between the screen and base as to "allow for flexibilty", although i mentioned that the right side seemed perfect compared to the left.

Send photos, get confirmation its under warranty then send it in. We'll see what happens.

I was just curious as to whether the unbalanced and uneven closed screen was at all common. Stupid question considering its a thinkpad but eh.

 

Hey guys. Ibm repair said they can't confirm whether it will be covered or not. He did metion asking for a DOA replacement since i literally got it 7 days ago.









Im not happy with the screen at all.

 

You may want to try to the DOA return option if it bothers you. The only problem is that may take a while for you to get a replacement. I got one recently, and while it did not have any such problem, I was not all that happy with the flex in the keyboard.

 

Based on your pics, it's hard to tell what's wrong with it. Are you saying the plastic cutting is not perfect? That cant be changed but the lid should be aligned. But not like the old Infiniti commercials where the spokesperson rolls a ball bearing down the space where the hood meets the fender part of the vehicle. I dont think you should expect that. Even my T61 has some play side to side and that can be fixed if you wnat to tinker with the latch. If you tighten it too much the outcome when it drops is will shatter.

 

The ibm service guy told me, "it shouldn't be like that". Whether it happened between Lenovo Hong Kong and delivery or not, it shouldn't be off centre like that.

So judging by this view, and other people who said the same thing, it should be covered i think.

 

Only your first pic shows what you've been unhappy about.
Regardless, go get what you deserved to get.

 

Well it took a bit of time. IBM repair said call Lenovo. Called lenovo last monday and they "forgot" to contact me for the whole week. Called them this morning and demanded a repair/replace answer and they called me at 5 to confirm a replacement T400 in approx. 10 days.

Well thanks to all the advice, it was clearly a big enough problem and, despite their clear attempt to avoid me, everything is working out fine now.

 

You accepted a refurbed?

 

Hmm, you know im pretty sure its a new laptop. They told me it would take 7 days to build it and ship it over.

I remember reading about this issue prior to purchasing though. I said it was DOA, in reference to the problems in the pics, and they have written it off as such i think.

 

Dead on Arrival (DoA) Policy
If a product suffers a warrantable failure within 14 days of delivery that product is considered DoA and Lenovo will, at its discretion, repair or replace that product. Lenovo will arrange and pay for a courier to collect the original product from you. You must contact the Lenovo Customer Care within 14 days of delivery and need to provide the proof of purchase as well as the model and serial numbers of the product.

Please contact Lenovo on 1300 557 073 - Option 2


---------
I think this is the policy my account was handled under so i assume it is a brand new replacement T400. I received it in the same condition that the photos show and once i told them i wasn't going to give up they confirmed a replacement pretty quickly. Im going to check tomorrow anyway. Cheers for that extra paranoia.

 

Well i got my replacement laptop and you guys were right.

The right side of the screen now sits almost perfect along the base. The left side still comes out a little at the front, but not as much, and i guess that is just the typical design.

 

yeah i got it too in my T400, T500 and W500... i came to accept this as part of the design.

 

Hmm, yea it is really strange isn't it.

 

Same here on my 2 month old T400 and a co-workers...not too noticeable unless I really look closely.

 

My T61 has a more flush finish on the right than the left. Visible too with play. I think if the lid is too tight on a drop then you are more likely to get a crack. Anyway never pursued the problem as with thees things if you get it fixed they could give you a new LCD screen with cover but dead pixels etc not even mentioning it could be a refurbed. Think twice about it.

 

Im 100% sure it was a DOA claim. So its brand new and, apart from the screen being more centered now, i also noticed there is no noise from the lid opening and closing (before there was, like a creaking) but even more interestingly the actual metal bracket on the original, on the left side, was slightly angled too.

None of this stuff i mentioned before but after comparring both, before i returned the original, in noticed these slight issues.