Filed under: Hardware, MacBook
MacBook Car-nage: Surviving a drive-over
Yesterday, I had a distraught customer come into the store and lay the remains of a black MacBook (13-inch Early 2008) on the front counter. My immediate thought was that the machine had been trashed and was just at the shop to be recycled. I asked the customer what happened and he explained that it had been run over by a car. At this point I thought to myself, "Yikes, there's gotta be a story behind this one." As it turns out, it was just an unfortunate accident of forgetfulness. He just returned home from a road trip and set the machine down to bring in a load from the car. After being inside for a bit, he came out and decided to check his mailbox, which was just down the road. He stepped into the car, backed up and... CAR-NAGE!
What's most amazing here isn't the accident, but what he discovered when he tried to power up the MacBook. Even after having a car completely crush it, it still worked. When the customer told me this, I couldn't believe it. I opened the display -- which you can see is absolutely smashed in the picture -- and pressed the power button. To my excited surprise, the machine turned on and booted into Leopard.
After running a full suite of diagnostics on the machine, I found it needed a display assembly, optical drive, and optical drive bezel (the part of the inner frame that the discs go through). All of that was cheaper than getting a new machine, so I went to work. It took me a couple hours and some frame bending here and there, but after all was said and done, I gave the customer back a machine that would pass any warranty inspection at the Genius Bar. See the gallery for more pictures!
Disclaimer: The Unofficial Apple Weblog cannot and will not be held responsible for any damage done to your computer by cars. Just because we think it's cool that it may survive doesn't mean you should go out and crush your MacBook.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Zack said 12:40PM on 9-13-2009
I had a friend with an aluminum PowerBook G4 and it was the almost same circumstance with the same result. She was unpacking her car after a work trip, had set it down on the ground and subsequently ran over it.
The long and short of it is... it still worked. She didn't have the money to replace it right away but it was actually still in good enough shape to still be used for another 3 weeks or so.
The force of the car running over it actually bent it like a taco... but even all the keys still worked and the only damage was a vertical line down the display.
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n00b13 said 12:55PM on 9-13-2009
On the other hand, the white macbooks can't handle being transported to and from work in a proper carrying case without cracking and generally looking terrible, not to mention their random shutdowns, random freezes, and random overheating. I love my MBP (well, love is waning but that's because it's old and getting cranky) but I've got too many friends who hate their plastic Macbooks.
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Marcus Heller said 10:05AM on 9-14-2009
I beg to differ. My Macbook has survived a good two years of transporting between home and work in little more than a sleeve and my giant Chrome courier bag. Whether on bike, foot, running, walking, and taking public transportation. The Macbook looks good as new, minus a few small scratches. I haven't experienced the cracks in the case (though my white iPhone is a different story) and it looks glossy as ever, and that's NOT from the plastic eroding from sweaty palms and greasy fingers!
I will also say that I much prefer aluminum. RIP, my sweet Powerbook 12".. I'm really surprised this Macbook has stood up, regardless!
waiownsyou said 1:02PM on 9-13-2009
brb, gotta run over a Mac Pro
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Ben said 1:05PM on 9-13-2009
Anyone else wondering why people put their macbooks *on the ground outside* ? I keep my MacBook Pro in a hard shell and I don't even like putting it on the floor in my house in case I step on it or spill a drink.
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Ryan Trevisol said 2:02PM on 9-13-2009
That's because they're imbeciles.
Further perpetuating the stereotype that mac users are dumber than PC users.
Seriously? If you EVER set a laptop anywhere outside, you deserve to have it stolen/run over/rained on.
Me, I always set my laptop on the edge of a well for safekeeping.
Jon Cotton said 5:36AM on 9-14-2009
The biggest question for me is why did he need to get into his car to go the mailbox? Surely it can't be that far away, if the reason is simply laziness then this man deserves everything he gets!
orangeguy81 said 5:39PM on 9-17-2009
some people have to get a PO box.
Relen said 1:20PM on 9-13-2009
I hope he got the harddrive replaced too after something like that. If the harddrive is readable after an incident like that it may not be for much longer. I had a black MacBook suffer similar damage from a fall shortly before leopard was released and the harddrive failed while I was trying to back it up. I lost a lot of data because of that.
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LAGal said 1:18PM on 9-13-2009
oh i've got one of those.
last spring friend of mine left his Powerbook g4 on top of his car and drove off. it slid right off and hit the ground. one side of the hinge was broken off. the screen was gone and half the keys popped off. plus the optical drive was all bent up.
but sure enough the dang thing started up. he couldn't really use it but it worked long enough for him to transfer his stuff to the new one he bought to replace it (thank you to the IRS, renter's insurance and generous grandparents)
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Yuri said 1:21PM on 9-13-2009
Yes Ben, I too am quite anal about where I put my 13" unibody. I do bring it everywhere I go, but never put it in harms way.
About the repairjob: Awesome work! *tips hat*
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kev said 1:21PM on 9-13-2009
My MBP is going on 3 years old and last year, survived a motorcycle accident that totaled my bike. As I was thrown from the bike and rolled across the blacktop, I felt the rectangular form press against my back from inside my backpack. The only damage sustained was a dent on the bottom... I thought for sure the screen was gonna be cracked!
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Cycomachead said 1:26PM on 9-13-2009
Wait, why won't apple replace only the Optical Drive Bezel???
Mine was bent from about 2 and a half years of use. And in Feb, when I had the actual drive replaced, the Genius bent it back, and in July, it was time for a replacement part (still under warranty). There was a tiny crack on the bottom case so I convinced the Genius to put in a repair for that-I do pay attention to Apple Service advisories. Luckily, he did that, but the machine needed to be sent out to Tennessee. They replaced EVERY outside case piece-including the top case, and display bezel (which did have a tiny crack).
I'm really glad my 38 month old MacBook is in mint condition (except the battery), but why won't Apple replace individual parts like that? Also note that it's been sent out to the repair center 3 times, and the only original part is the airport card.
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Josh Carr said 1:49PM on 9-13-2009
Simple answer: they don't have access to that part at the Genius Bar. I work for an independent repair shop. We have extra parts in stock all the time. I couldn't order the drive bezel from Apple if I wanted to, but that doesn't mean I can't replace it.
Same goes for MacBook Pros... At this point, the Genius Bar can only replace the display assembly if it's damaged. Independent repair services can replace the glass, LCD, or any other internal component in the display if there's been damage. There are some pretty hefty advantages to using the local guys.
Cycomachead said 2:32PM on 9-13-2009
But, they can order parts and/or send it out for repair. For one piece, this really wasn't listed as an option.
I understand Apple not giving every tiny part to the Genius Bar, because that would increase repair times considerably for some-though it would be cheaper. Yet, I had the rubber bumpers for the hard drive replaced in my MacBook for $9, when I accidentally ruined one by not screwing in the drive screw all the way...
Cycomachead said 2:42PM on 9-13-2009
Hey, I've got a question about the new MacBook Pro's.
If the glass cracks, but the display is fine, could you use a grey bezel instead of buying a new piece of glass? (This wouldn't work for the 13" of course.) Also, does it reduce the weight of the machine by not having a large piece of glass? Would you know by how much? I'm really curious because my next Mac will be a MacBook pro.
SteveINtheUKok said 2:24PM on 9-13-2009
Yeah that's all well and good by why, just sittin on my desk, do my Apple laptops disintegrate before my eyes. Last three have done it.
Bezels crack and fall to bits, things discolour, even the letters on the keys wear off.
They have terrible build quality for such a high priced product.
I love my mac, don't get me wrong. But really Apple, you can't manufacture a plastic keyboard by now, really!
I have not gone to Aluminum since my old one dented every time I even thought about the machine far less picked it up. Awful. I know the new ones are better but are the plastics?
Thats one thing I am sad to say a windows machine can do, stay in one piece for a couple of years. Even with their bad looks and hideous software they don't always fall to bits.
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Cycomachead said 2:37PM on 9-13-2009
I wouldn't call it terrible build quality, but the MacBook keyboards are definitely not on the top of any lists.
It's the magnets that cause problems. However, since Apple knows about both these problems, it should really only be a 15 min, under warranty repair. I've seen just as many problems with PC laptops. I have had the keyboard replaced 3 times, and my sisters once-though she doesn't care about the crack.
Aluminum does dent, but the unibody's seem much more sturdy than before. They also solve most of the issues with the the plastic.
Dex said 2:25PM on 9-13-2009
I had a first generation 17" MBP that fell down a flight of stairs. It was closed and asleep at the time. The frame was bent a bit, making it a little difficult to get my finger to poke far enough into the latch mechanism to open it, but otherwise it was unharmed. I continued to use that MBP as my main machine for another year and a half, and have since handed it down to a friend when I got a new MBP Unibody.
Amazingly tough machines, these Macs....
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sam said 2:54PM on 9-13-2009
I was literally running out the door to drive over my macbook pro when I read the last sentence - you're warning not to try running over your own computer. Phew! Thanks TUAW!
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