Resolved Coffee spilled through back of my MacBook Pro retina.

[lionkin]

Coffee spilled through back vents. I don't have any coffee spill on my keyboards,trackpad,ports and side vents. I took It to Genius Bar today and they said coffee all over inside through back vents. The cost to repair is $1475 according to Genius Bar. My computer is macbook pro retina 15inch mid-2014. So far everything is working and computer is functioning well. Do you think this is minor spill and could be repair cheaper cost? I am very frustrated.

 

[New_Mac_Smell]

Water damage is water damage, it really doesn't matter if it was a pint of bitter or a thimble of coke.

If it does have water damage then they need to replace entire effected components, as they need to be able to guarantee any repair. The slightest bit of corrosion will get worse and fail at some point, you don't want to pay $500 to scrape a small area only to require a whole board replacement months later.

Sometimes the computer is absolutely fine to use, but it is always a gamble. It will likely fail at some unknown point. So you're best either getting it repaired to the high cost, or simple saving away for a new computer and hoping for the best. Personally as it's a 2014, that's already 4 years old, it's not worth spending $1500 on when you could get a brand new one for that. I would pocket the money and wait for it to fail, which could be 1 month or 6 years, then when you need a computer go buy a new one.

 

[Natzoo]

If its all working, i say keep it until it stops working. Save the money and as New_Mac_Smell said, its a 4 yr old laptop it is not worth paying 50% of its price for a repair. I would back up the laptop and when or if it dies, get a new one.

 

[NoBoMac]

To add to New_Mac_Smell, in the short term, make sure you are using TimeMachine and regularly, for when the machine does go belly-up, not losing important files.

 

[44267547]

Coffee spilled through back vents. I don't have any coffee spill on my keyboards,trackpad,ports and side vents. I took It to Genius Bar today and they said coffee all over inside through back vents. The cost to repair is $1475 according to Genius Bar. My computer is macbook pro retina 15inch mid-2014. So far everything is working and computer is functioning well. Do you think this is minor spill and could be repair cheaper cost? I am very frustrated.

If it's functioning, I would continue to use it as you normally would, unless you start to notice abnormal behavior. I would just mentally prepare yourself at any point it could malfunction. I would personally plan for the future of what you feel would be best IF it does fail and what works best for your financial situation.

 

[Sterkenburg]

As others have said, bummer but absolutely not worth the repair price. Keep it, clean the inside yourself if you are able to, use it normally and do your backups regularly and often to be prepared in case it suddenly dies. When/if it fails, use the money you saved to buy a new one.

 

[Idefix]

take it to a private repair shop for an estimate. I took my 2012 mbp pro with a minor spill to genius bar, got an $800 estimate. Took it to private repair shop, repaired for $120. Typing on it now.

 

[xanderx007]

Did they open it up and show you the extent of the damage? The spill might just be external and did not seep in deep enough and would probably require cleaning. For that amount, I suggest you just get a new one, and use the old one for minor tasks, after having it cleaned.

 

[joefoong79]

Coffee spilled through back vents. I don't have any coffee spill on my keyboards,trackpad,ports and side vents. I took It to Genius Bar today and they said coffee all over inside through back vents. The cost to repair is $1475 according to Genius Bar. My computer is macbook pro retina 15inch mid-2014. So far everything is working and computer is functioning well. Do you think this is minor spill and could be repair cheaper cost? I am very frustrated.

I don’t get you??? If your mbp is working so far, why you wasted your time bring it to Apple store??? Also they want to charge you $1475 for fix. Fix what??? If your mbp still working. Clean up all the coffee stain for $1475.

 

[xanderx007]

I don’t get you??? If your mbp is working so far, why you waste your time bring it to Apple store??? Also they want to charge you $1475 for fix. Fix what??? If your mbp still working. Clean up all the coffee stain for $1475.

There, there. He's just making sure that the spill didn't do any adverse, unseen damage, and anyone in his right mind would. A spill is a spill, no matter how minor it is. Small things can lead to huge problems later on.

 

[joefoong79]

There, there. He's just making sure that the spill didn't do any adverse, unseen damage, and anyone in his right mind would. A spill is a spill, no matter how minor it is. Small things can lead to huge problems later on.

LoL......funny people..........The basic instinct told me if any electronic contacted with water, the most 1 hour will be dead. If your mbp no problem for a day and also without a fail symptoms. THAT MEAN YOU ARE LUCKY. More funny is the Apple genius offer him $1475 for a fix........and he worried......you make my day.......what a joke !

 

[lionkin]

I took care of my macbook pro for almost four years. My younger sibling barrow my laptop for a day and spill a coffee. I never let some people like him barrow my laptop because of this incident. As for right now I force him to pay $1475 cost or small claims. He knew what he was doing and his grown man with a job. I can't afford his dumb mistakes and he won't get away with It. I am frustrated with adult person not being responsible. Sorry for the rant.

 

[xanderx007]

LoL......funny people..........The basic instinct told me if any electronic contacted with water, the most 1 hour will be dead. If your mbp no problem for a day and also without a fail symptoms. THAT MEAN YOU ARE LUCKY. More funny is the Apple genius offer him $1475 for a fix........and he worried......you make my day.......what a joke !

There are equipment that get spilled on that seem to work fine. The damage only becomes apparent after a while. So, your point that it works just fine should be considered "lucky" isn't luck at all. Caution and making sure is ALWAYS a better option. Neglecting to take care of equipment, just because it still works, is NOT good practice.

Apple charging him $1475 is besides the point.

 

[ZapNZs]

I took care of my macbook pro for almost four years. My younger sibling barrow my laptop for a day and spill a coffee. I never let some people like him barrow my laptop because of this incident. As for right now I force him to pay $1475 cost or small claims. He knew what he was doing and his grown man with a job. I can't afford his dumb mistakes and he won't get away with It. I am frustrated with adult person not being responsible. Sorry for the rant.

I say buy a fully-specced 2017 and send him the bill!

 

[duervo]

Coffee spilled through back vents. I don't have any coffee spill on my keyboards,trackpad,ports and side vents. I took It to Genius Bar today and they said coffee all over inside through back vents. The cost to repair is $1475 according to Genius Bar. My computer is macbook pro retina 15inch mid-2014. So far everything is working and computer is functioning well. Do you think this is minor spill and could be repair cheaper cost? I am very frustrated.

The back vents on the retina models are for exhaust. The side vents are for intake.

I’m quite sceptical about the Apple Genius’ statement about there being coffee all over the inside of the product. Unless, of course, we’re talking about a significant amount of coffee, and it splashed in the direction of those vents. 125ml? 50ml? Was it full cup, or an almost empty one? More? Less?

Take the bottom off and inspect it yourself. Keep in mind that you’re only going to see one side of the innards, but if the Genius was truthful, “all over the inside” would probably mean that you’ll see some corrosion or dried coffee even on the bottom half of the inside.

Personally, I suspect the Genius, at best, only took the bottom off and spent a few seconds giving the bottom side a cursory glance. At worst, they didn’t even take the bottom off, and just gave you a canned response. To accurately state that there was coffee “all over the inside” (meaning on both sides of the internal components,) they’d have to take the logic board out, and that takes a while to do.

Can’t really speak much to family issue though, aside from what i would do if it were my own. All I can say is that if it were me and my family, I’d know that my sibling would probably feel absolutely horrible, but they definitely wouldn’t be able to afford such an expense (assuming the Genius wasn’t giving a standard line response, which I highly suspect they were.) Knowing that, and the risk/impact of a liquid spill happening under their watch, I’d probably never let them borrow my system to begin with.

 

[lionkin]

The back vents on the retina models are for exhaust. The side vents are for intake.

I’m quite sceptical about the Apple Genius’ statement about there being coffee all over the inside of the product. Unless, of course, we’re talking about a significant amount of coffee, and it splashed in the direction of those vents. 125ml? 50ml? Was it full cup, or an almost empty one? More? Less?

Take the bottom off and inspect it yourself. Keep in mind that you’re only going to see one side of the innards, but if the Genius was truthful, “all over the inside” would probably mean that you’ll see some corrosion or dried coffee even on the bottom half of the inside.

Personally, I suspect the Genius, at best, only took the bottom off and spent a few seconds giving the bottom side a cursory glance. At worst, they didn’t even take the bottom off, and just gave you a canned response. To accurately state that there was coffee “all over the inside” (meaning on both sides of the internal components,) they’d have to take the logic board out, and that takes a while to do.

Can’t really speak much to family issue though, aside from what i would do if it were my own. All I can say is that if it were me and my family, I’d know that my sibling would probably feel absolutely horrible, but they definitely wouldn’t be able to afford such an expense (assuming the Genius wasn’t giving a standard line response, which I highly suspect they were.) Knowing that, and the risk/impact of a liquid spill happening under their watch, I’d probably never let them borrow my system to begin with.

Your absolutely right, I went to Apple certified repair shop. My laptop does not have big coffee damage all over internally otherwise my laptop would not work. The repair guy said coffee touch fan tip of It like little but still needs to replace. He said I don't have to replace but I am replacing because I am selling my laptop. He said genius bar guy did not even look at my laptop or open It. Even If I have spill all over internally the price $1475 is way too much. The repair said he sends to apple and only charges $385 flat replacing everything including battery. I am pretty sure repair shop is certified Apple place. Genius bar person is a liar, and I freak out about that price. Well my brother ain't paying $1475 but he will pay $385 only.

 

[New_Mac_Smell]

Your absolutely right, I went to Apple certified repair shop. My laptop does not have big coffee damage all over internally otherwise my laptop would not work. The repair guy said coffee touch fan tip of It like little but still needs to replace. He said I don't have to replace but I am replacing because I am selling my laptop. He said genius bar guy did not even look at my laptop or open It. Even If I have spill all over internally the price $1475 is way too much. The repair said he sends to apple and only charges $385 flat replacing everything including battery. I am pretty sure repair shop is certified Apple place. Genius bar person is a liar, and I freak out about that price. Well my brother ain't paying $1475 but he will pay $385 only.

Are you sure that cost of repair you were quoted wasn't an estimate? Sounds about right if there's significant damage inside, and personally I'd rather they quoted worst case and billed less. Rather than tell you it's $400, then find out it's more damage and actually $1400.

 

[lionkin]

Are you sure that cost of repair you were quoted wasn't an estimate? Sounds about right if there's significant damage inside, and personally I'd rather they quoted worst case and billed less. Rather than tell you it's $400, then find out it's more damage and actually $1400.

I used to own 15inch 2011 early macbook pro, gpu failure was a big issue. Before apple started program for free repair, apple charge me $380 to replace everything including batteries, sometimes even whole screen for light bleeding. I am not sure why apple wanna charge me for $1475, flat rate of $380 was great deal. Apple certified repair shop said flat rate $380 no bull.