Hewlett Packard
Laptop Overheats Repeatedly, Repair Refused as Liquid Damage

So, I buy this nice HP Pavilion Laptop in October/ November. $1500. It's a newer thing in laptops, the tv tuner, the dedicated memory video card, etc etc.

From the minute I start using it, I notice it gets extremely hot. I go out and spend some more money on one of those chill pads with 2 fans in it to cool the laptop.

One day, I'm surfing the web and the laptop overheats and shuts itself off. I wait (this has become normal practice for me by now) a bit and try to turn it on. It has no operating system. I call their customer service line and speak to someone who has as much trouble understanding me as I do her. Though communication was the hardest part of the process, we figure out how to do a system recovery. Apparently, the heat had wiped my hard drive clean, so fresh start here I come.

After learning this little F12 system recovery trick, I learn not to save anything important on the most expensive machine I've ever purchased. Until one day, the thing overheats, wait like normal for it to naturally cool off, and try to run through the F12 recovery process again. Something is different this time, the keyboard is not responding. Uh oh!
I call the HP number again and explain the issue.

The guy on the other end sounds astonished at what he's hearing and says that they noted the last time I called in to be a software issue and that the report notes nothing of over heating. So, I go through the story with the guy, list off the numerous issues and he proceeds to tell me that it will be fixed under warranty within 5-7 business days. I am extremely pleased. "A box will be mailed to you to ship your laptop out to us and we'll get it fixed". Finally!

So, 2 days later, no box for me. I call HP to see what's going on. They can't spell. So, I go to the local warehouse of the shipper and send the laptop off myself.
I get a phone call a few days later saying the repair will cost me $700! They claim to have found a liquid residue that fried the motherboard, keyboard, lcd pixel (s), and usb ports.

This is an outrage. I have never spilt anything on it nor has there ever been liquid around it. I believe this to be their big business way of avoiding costly repairs for a product that never worked correctly in the first place.

HP does not stand by their warranties and will find ways to throw the cost to the consumer for their cheaply designed, overpriced products.
You have been warned.

Company: Hewlett Packard
Country: USA
State: California
City: Palo Alto
Site: hp.com

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