Anyone else have this issue

[47of74]

A couple weeks ago some of the plastic on the top case of my early 2008 MacBook started cracking and peeling around the edges. It happened in a couple spots, namely by the trackpad and right above the headphone jack. I took it to one of the Apple Stores in St. Louis - figured as long as I was in town to visit my sister might as well see what they had to say about it. I got the feeling the genius at that store had been seeing that quite a bit lately and he took it in back to replace the top case and keyboard.

Has anyone else here had issues like that?

[RayOfHope]

1. Yes, and so have lots of others. A quick google will show how common this is. n/t

[Spritz57]

2. What he said,

Both of my daughters had their plastic cracked palm rests replaced, this is very common. My youngest, a student, has 4 friends at school with similar problems. The good news is they replaced the piece over night--it was a regular stocked part.

[47of74]

3. It took a couple tries

What happened later that night was the keyboard and trackpad stopped working. I took it back to that store the next morning, but as I needed to get home I decided that I'd take the MacBook to my "local" Apple Store up in Madison. So after getting home I was able to hook up a wireless keyboard and mouse to the MacBook and it worked well enough so that I could make an appointment at that store. The next day I made the two hour drive to Madison and the genius at that store quickly figured out that the top case and keyboard the St. Louis store put on was defective. He replaced it with a new one which works great. I only had to wait an hour to get my MacBook fixed, and I was happy enough to buy a game for my MacBook afterwards. Hopefully this top case and keyboard will still be on this MacBook 4 or so years from now when it comes time to replace this MacBook.

[Lost-in-FL]

4. AppleInsider: Apple addressing cracks on white MacBooks casings

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/04/08/apple_addressing_cracks_on_white_macbooks_casings.html

Apple is privately acknowledging an issue with the enclosure on some of its white 13-inch MacBooks, which in some cases have seen the formation of hairline cracks during normal usage patterns.

The Cupertino-based Mac maker is said to have issued a bulletin to its authorized service providers in March that essentially reverses its stance on replacing the bottom casing of notebooks that may be experiencing these symptoms.

It was reported in November that Apple was refusing to cover repairs for the bottom casing of the notebooks despite its willingness on occasion to address identical problems with the top portion of the casings containing the keyboard and palmrests.

The bulletin to providers reportedly identified four key areas of the case prone to hairline cracking, including the front portion of the case below the palmrests and trackpad, the areas around the I/O ports, the back rear corners, and the back rear ventilation area.

Apple added, however, that other portions of the case could be affected by the cracking issue. For all instances, providers were reportedly asked to inspect the MacBook carefully to determine whether the cracks could be the result of the notebook haven been dropped or other accidental damage caused by the owner.

In the event that providers are unable to identify signs that the user is at fault for the cracks, they're advise to escalate the notebook for coverage by Apple, regardless of whether its 1-year limited warranty has expired.