Battery Swelling

TheCybermonkey · 14 Jun 2010 at 11:58

I have a 2.5yr old macbook pro from just before the uni-bodys came out.

2 weeks ago the machine turning off when the battery reached 60%. Could turn it on and it would carry on till 20% then turn off rinse and repeat untill flat.

Move forward to yesterday when I noticed the track pad button didnt feel right, no click.

Turned over the machine and the battery has swollen and the casing is falling apart.

Called apple as the machine is covered and they have said to take it to be looked at by an Apple Store. He did say though that when they get old they swell up.

Do you think its likley it will be replaced or do you think due to its age they will tell me to buy a new one?

Nearest store is a fare distance and would be a hassle.
If it turns out I need to buy a new one, the travel etc would just add to the cost.

TheCybermonkey · 14 Jun 2010 at 14:04

Its classed as a consumable....which I understand and if it was just a case of its capacity decreasing then that would be fine and Id buy a new one.

In this case, the battery has swollen and is bursting out of the case.
Looking online there was a replacment programme as the batterys had a known fault, but that has since ended.

So basically he said if I take it to a store they 'might' swap it under my applecare agreement but Id have to take it in and see....then he tried to tell me that the batterys swell when they get old which Im not sure I believe as surly they wouldnt have been replacing them as faulty in the past.

Im just wondering if anyone here has had this and if they were given a new battery or told they had to replace it themselves.

TheCybermonkey · 14 Jun 2010 at 15:41

Had a look at my cycles etc when machine started switching off at 60% (couple of weeks or so ago).
Think it was along the lines of 81% and 320+ cycles. Check when I get home.

Sounds like it would be unreasonable to expect a replacment at that sort of use, so Id best just order a new one.

Thanks for the replies.

TheCybermonkey · 15 Jun 2010 at 11:18

Ended up ordering a new battery and next time I can get to an Apple store ill swing by and see if they will replace my swollen one.

I tend to use the laptop plugged in a lot as playing WoW or watching movies/tv shows etc rinses the battery pretty quick.

Wouldnt have been fussed about the battery loosing charge too much as it only needs to be able to run for a little while on battery while web surfing on the couch etc....but the battery swelling is dodgy and is stopping the trackpad button working so not comfortable leaving it in.

Dont like having battery out either as dont like the bottom being exposed plus as great a feature as the magsafe is...I know ill end up catching it and pulling it out.

Reading links about the battery, sounds like I need to use it off charge a bit more with the new batt to help it last longer.

Does make me wonder how its got over 300 cycles when its plugged in a lot.
Isnt 1 cycle 1 FULL charge?