Bent X201T chassis - may I ask for assistance from Lenovo? [ Edited ]

[kvirtanen]

Hi Lenovo gurus,

I have a general question concerning Lenovo's warranty policy. I have a X201T Lenovo laptop under warranty and I would like to ask about a very strange thing that got me concerned.

The chassis of the laptop is slightly bent.

I know it sounds strange, but if I place a ruler across the front side of the laptop (the wrist rest), the ruler hangs about 1mm (EDIT: make that 2mm, see the photo) in the air in the middle. The ruler is straight, German, quality metal ruler. Is this kind of thing covered by warranty? The laptop sits properly, doesn't rock or anything, but I'm sure the chassis is not supposed to be this way - I mean, what's going to happen to the components inside the laptop? I didn't spot this until recently, I'm hoping it could be covered by warranty.

I'll add a photo in a minute.

Thanks,

K

[kvirtanen]

Here's the "ruler test" picture I promised:

UPDATE: ADDED 2 NEW PHOTOS 

Link: A picture showing a Lenovo X201T with a bent chassis

Link: A picture showing the left hand side bend up (??)

Link: Measuring from the bottom (right side)

Link: Measuring from the bottom (left side)

 The chassis is stiff nevertheless, it can't be bent on purpose. This makes me doubt if the laptop was like this since day one. The laptop is one year old, purchased in November 2010. All I've used it in is graphic design, nothing abusive or intensive. Weren't the X series laptops supposed to have a reinforced chassis of sorts?

Opinions and advice are highly appreciated.

Cheers,

K

[lead_org Microsoft MVP Contributor]

it could be palmrest that is causing the problem. You can Lenovo warranty service and ask them whether they can have a look at it.

[kvirtanen]

Hi,

And thanks for the reply. I definitely made an electronic support portal call to IBM for this. I'm just afraid the palmrest isn't the culprit here: I did the "ruler test" to the underside of the front and the laptop is all curved from there too. But the situation is even worse there. The ends of the ruler can't touch both corners at the same time (which is expected). If i touch one corner, the other corner is 5-6mm (about 1/4 of an inch) away from the ruler (this is worse than I thought). Wouldn't this indicate a bent chassis?

EDIT: The second photo on the second post shows this 5-6mm bend very well. This laptop seems to be the shape of a banana

Kind regards,

K

[lead_org Microsoft MVP Contributor]

when i had mine X201 i don't remember it is curved like that. This should be addressed with a simple case swap. i don't think you bent it, it is probably due to some fault in the casting process.

[kvirtanen]

OK, thanks for the encouraging words. : ) I'll have to see what Lenovo thinks about it. I sent the warranty service (Netherlands) a link to this thread. I'll keep this thread updated.

.k

[kvirtanen]

I received a reply from the warranty service, and I now have a question about Lenovo's global warranty.

Basically, according to them the matter needs to be discussed with the reseller. The reseller must handle the repairs/recalls through Lenovo. If I would go directly to the warranty service, I would need to pay the repairs myself. By going through the reseller I would avoid this.

Now to the question: The laptop was bought in a different country. If I settle something with the original reseller, can they arrange a warranty repair that is in my current country of residence (or near)? Is this how Lenovo's international warranty works?

[lead_org Microsoft MVP Contributor]

Lenovo Thinkpads depending on the model have different level of international coverage (i.e. number of countries covered). As long as your ThinkPad model is listed in the list of country in relation to the model number, then you would get the back to base warranty coverage as the minimum service commitment.

Check here:


http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/product-service/iws.page?

[kvirtanen]

Hi,

and thank you for the link. Both countries are listed, so does that mean that what I suggested above could work? Settle the repair with the seller, but send the unit to the warranty service of my current country of residence?

[lead_org Microsoft MVP Contributor]

you don't need to settle the unit with the seller, as the warranty is honoured by Lenovo and not by the seller. I am not sure why the Lenovo customer support is asking you to go to the seller.

Try calling them again and see what they say this time.