Swift 5 SF514-54T-75X LCD lid crack problem persists for years? Does Acer have bad engineering unit?

Hello,
About a yer ago I bought a Swift 5 Laptop - SF514-54T-75X5

A month ago I discovered that the LCD lid has developed a crack which is 2" long and 1" above the left hinge. This happened exactly few weeks past 1yr warranty. A week ago I start seeing same kind of a problem near the right hinge. Since I discovered that crack I stopped closing the lid to avoid the crack progression. Yet, the **** plastic is so thin that the lid can develop cracks even under its own weight.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/z0/bl3x4bijyrrc.jpg

2nd crack at right hinge

I start googling about this problem and discover this thread which has been started .. in '2014
https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/296148/acer-laptop-left-side-screen-hinge-problem

SO, even 6 years later Acer engineering did not care to improve the **** lid design? Are you serious, Acer?? Did your engineers ever study the "resistance of materials" subject in university?

That forum thread has been locked. It looks like Acer does not want even to admit the problem. The answer of this dude (pls see below) is especially shameless.

I've placed a request. If you guys won't fix my laptop, I promise, I will take enough of my efforts to put all of this information into social media, forums, friends, etc in order to inform people of how bad your products and support are. Because it all looks quite outrageous on your part.

p.s. i.e. my friend's $1500 (Canada dollars) Macbook has slipped out of his motorcycle saddle bag at 30mph speed. Beside several external scuffs on aluminium case, that 6y.o Mac is still well functional! For this Swift 5 Laptop I paid $ CA 1,470.83 at your online store, and it starts collapsing only some 13-14 months later and no abuse.

- - - here is that outrageous answer of your employee (you better address this issue!) - - -

Manny0820 Posts: 4,453 Guru

January 2018

Hi all,

Sorry for inconveniences but we have previously inform this:

A lot of research, time and development go into the area around the hinges to minimize issues, but laptops have had these issues for 20+ years. The hinge is a common component that produces a lot of stress. Unfortunately, hardware failures can occur with any component on a computer, especially a moving part like a hinge. Several posts have been made to this thread with different products that have similar, but unrelated issues as the original post. We have followed up with each poster in this thread, so I am locking this thread from future posts. We encourage to create a new post so our community can assist if you still have questions or issues you need assistance with.

Thanks,

Acer-Manny

//Edited the content to add model name.

Accepted answers

All comments

JackE

>>>I start googling about this problem and discover this thread which has been started >>>

Try google searching lid, hinge & case etc issues the same way with any major consumer-oriented laptop brands including Apple, Dell, Asus, HP etc and see how many hits you get. You want ruggedized laptops, you get and pay for metal or composite cases. Otherwise you get molded plastic.

Easwar

Hi @SergeCa,

It looks like hardware issue. Contact acer tech support,

https://www.acer.com/ac/en/CA/content/service-contact

OR book the unit for repair service,

https://customerselfcare.acer.com/CS2/#/

SergeCa

Easwar said:

Hi @SergeCa,

It looks like hardware issue. Contact acer tech support,

https://www.acer.com/ac/en/CA/content/service-contact
OR book the unit for repair service,

https://customerselfcare.acer.com/CS2/#/

Hello,

this is what I've already done.

JackE said:

>>>I start googling about this problem and discover this thread which has been started >>>

Try google searching lid, hinge & case etc issues the same way with any major consumer-oriented laptop brands including Apple, Dell, Asus, HP etc and see how many hits you get. You want ruggedized laptops, you get and pay for metal or composite cases. Otherwise you get molded plastic.

Are you serious?.. I'm over 20 yrs in the IT, had at least half a dozen laptops in my home office and over a dozen of them at work. I've never seen such a problem in my life. Why should I look at some bad examples?
Why do I need a justification for Acer engineering negligence?

"You want ruggedized laptops, you get and pay for metal or composite cases. Otherwise you get molded plastic"

- are you serious?.. I do not buy this argument. I paid 1470$ CAD for this Acer! At this price in Canada you can buy a MacBook Pro - it has aluminium housing which never breaks. How is possible at all to make something which costs over 1K dollars then breaks so soon?! What a rip off by Acer! It is possible to design a molded plastic case which lasts. I do not care which material they use. I paid enough money and I just want a good product. Period. In 2009 I bough a $500 Gateway laptop which is all plastic and it still works, mechanically OK and no cracks. My mom still using it.

I did try to find a replacement lid, but there is nothing for this model.
They propose no solution for me except to pay $880 - I would say it is a price of another laptop.

WHY DO I NEED TO PAY ACER FOR THEIR BAD PRODUCT DESIGN ??

880CAD to repair $1470 laptop which is flawed by desing?? Are you kidding, Acer? What a rip off.

I will make sure to inform as many people about this incident as possible. I will compose and post a video containing all the information including that mail answer. Acer will lose tens of times more money.

It is totally unacceptable doing business this way.

JackE

Good luck with whatever makes you feel you can get your message out.

ttttt

@SergeCa

It is not uncommon to see this kind of cracks for laptop lids, and for Acer laptops in particular. Some Acer laptops are famous for broken hinges too.

I guess it is an engineering tradeoff between light weight, thin materials to durability.

While Apple's Macbook can be considered good quality product and rather expensive, but I have a Macbook even with multiple crakes at the lid with time.

Don't be too frustrated. For the mean time, go get a roll of black color Gorilla tape to mend it, hopefully that can prolong the life of the laptop for a few more years.

AWE64

Hello Everyone,

I agree 100% with SergeCa. I also bought exact same laptop and, it suffered the same issue as mentioned by SergeCa. Luckily I have 2nd year warranty from Costco and, they just replaced the LCD back cover as well as CPU fan that was making some funny noise at high usage (Occasionally the laptop shutdown automatically due to overheating). I am also in IT for last 20+ years and, never experience such a poor construction in my entire career at this price point.

Shame on you Acer!!!

As you can see this problem happened to more than one unit therefore I can safely say that it is a manufacture defect.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/6i/3m95lj4dlo2q.jpg

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/7b/cd2hmdxykkzl.jpg

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/fn/rdwvepr32v4d.jpg

SergeCa

AWE64 said:

Hello Everyone,

I agree 100% with SergeCa. I also bought exact same laptop and, it suffered the same issue as mentioned by SergeCa. Luckily I have 2nd year warranty from Costco and, they just replaced the LCD back cover as well as CPU fan that was making some funny noise at high usage (Occasionally the laptop shutdown automatically due to overheating). I am also in IT for last 20+ years and, never experience such a poor construction in my entire career at this price point.

Shame on you Acer!!!

As you can see this problem happened to more than one unit therefore I can safely say that it is a manufacture defect.

thanks for your support buddy.
Lucky you having bought your laptop through Costco. It was smart move.

If I was you, I would reinforce the newly replaced\installed lid with a plastic sheet by gluing it over the top surface which has that "ACER" gold writing. Otherwise one year later it will crack again. I doubt if Costco warranty will cover it for you once again.

I need to figure out a solution for me on my own to fix or replace this cracked lid. ...ohh, Acer screwed me up for $1450

AWE64

Hello Again,

SergeCa As you pointed out, my laptop has resurfaced with the same problem and I am no longer covered under Costco's warranty. Is there a permanent solution for this issue that anyone knows? Acer can you do anything ?

JackE

https://community.acer.com/en/profile/AWE64

Acer can you do anything ?>

Go to this link. Enter your machine's serial number id (SNID). If it's still covered by the Acer warranty, use the chatline or other contact methods provided to Acer customer service to find out. If the SNID can't be found, then the Acer warranty period has probably also expired.

SergeCa

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1232000#Comment_1232000

Hello,
I fixed it myself. Actually there are at least two solutions possible.

Solution #1. Replace it.

I saw a replacement lid on AliExpress, i.e. check this one

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005293351017.html

but this does not guarantee that the replacement lid won't crack again. It sucks by design.

So my solution was #2 - please keep reading below

Solution #2. Fix-reinforce your cracked lid.
I bought

this sheet of carbon - get the one which is 1mm thick (no need to get a thicker one, trust me). I think it is the cheapest carbon. It is good enough for our need. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002317433412.html
electronic repair tool kit https://www.amazon.ca/Precision-Screwdriver-RARTOP-Electronic-Portable/dp/B09ZNT56G1/ref%3Dsr_1_19?crid=GK94HUO21R91
two component epoxy resin. Take the one which is not fast curing. At least 15 min cure time.
C-clamp x4…6 pcs
two pieces of rigid plastic or 5..7 mm plywood
some fine grit sand paper. I do not remember which number, sorry. Just found it in my garage.
2-sided adhesive ribbon to attach your screen back to the lid. Watch some vids first then check Amazon, AliExpress, etc.

Open your laptop case, unscrew the screen, remove bezel. You need the lid to be free of everything else. There is a lot of vids on YouTube how to do it. Take your time, do not rush. It IS doable.

Cut the carbon sheet to match exactly the top surface of your lid. Remove the protective PVC film from one side only. Sand and smooth out the carbon edges, etc. Sand the surfaces to be glued: the carbon and the lid. The lid is made of aluminum. You don't need to sand it down to the metal, just remove the painting then you'll see the gray priming layer - no need to remove it. Also try to do not make a hole while sanding. It is just only a tiny bit thicker than beer can foil is. Cut the plywood (or plastic) to match the inner surface of your lid - the area where your LCD screen sits. You will need to squeeze the lid + glue + carbon sandwich in between the sheets of plywood using C-clamps. But it must not squeeze the framing edges of your lid. This is why the plywood must be able to get placed inside the lid. Prepare the epoxy resin, mix it up, apply very thin layer to both surfaces, to the lid and the carbon reinforcing sheet. Put them together. Check carefully the edges, remove the excess of epoxy. Finally, put the plywood to the top and bottom of your sandwich and clamp it together. Leave it to cure for some 24 hrs. Then you will need to re-assemble things back to enjoy your reinforced nice laptop.
I attach a couple of pics to give you better idea.
I think my result is well worth the effort. This laptop is good fast hardware in a badly engineered case. This is why I took time to fix it.
Good luck!

JackE

I think my result is well worth the effort.>This is why I took time to fix it.

Nice work! 🙂

billsey

Make sure you have good ventilation when cutting the carbon fiber, the dust is very bad for your long term health.

unknown

This content has been removed.

AWE64

Hi SergeCa,

Thanks for inside and great work!

How your laptop lid is holding up with your repair method #2 ? Before I plan to follow your way, I want to check and get recommendation ?

Also what tool you use to cut the carbon sheet and what type of glue ?

Thanks.

StevenGen

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/649782/swift-5-sf514-54t-75x-lcd-lid-crack-problem-persists-for-years-does-acer-have-bad-engineering-unit

Contact Acer in your country and tell them exactly what you have posted here on the community, as for a 12-month-old laptop this should NOT be happening these days as I'm sure that Acer are aware of this, and they will rectify the problem of this top case plastic failure. Btw, hinge bottom and top case failures are common on laptops so its nothing new,

I've had a bottom case hinge securing screw(s) point failure, but it was on a 8-year-old Aspire laptops and I changed the bottom case which was only about USD $35,00 a few years ago, which is acceptable and understandable for an old laptop but not what you are experiencing on a 12 month laptop. Good luck and hope this helps you out further.

Below is the oem parts for the LCD Cover Assembly for the Swift SF514-54T that you will need to replace which is not cheap if you google this part number as its around USD $413.09 from an Acer Canadian store which is a ridiculous price as it should only be max USD $70.00 that most top LCD cover is, this Swift LCD top cover must be made out of gold😀.

If you need to also change the Lower Case then this is the Acer part numbers

If this answers your question and solved your query please "Click on Yes" or "Click on Like" if you find my answer useful👍

SergeCa

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1292482#Comment_1292482

Hi,
it holds up well. No complaints. I was traveling a lot this year thus did open/close many times - no prob so far (…knocking on the wood… )) ) The glue is epoxy resin - like already said in my message above. It is important to get it glued properly.
To cut the carbon, I used a tool knife and a straight edge to draw a deep notch. After this slightly bend the carbon sheet and it breaks as drawn. Then put a sheet of sand paper over a perfect flat surface and smooth out the carbon edges. Be careful to do not breathe the carbon dust, put a mask on, etc or do it somewhere outside. You may find better way to cut carbon. I used whatever I had at hand.

StevenGen

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1292491#Comment_1292491

Yes, SergeCa you did a great job and I'm sure that your carbon panel fix will be 1000% more durable than what Acer has for the oem Swift SF514-54T top LCD cover, and the plastic that they use, but you should not have to do this as that top LCD cover should NOT break like your cover did on a 12-month-old laptop. Its good to know and have your guide of this fix for other community members that can experience this fault.

If this answers your question and solved your query please "Click on Yes" or "Click on Like" if you find my answer useful👍

SergeCa

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1292486#Comment_1292486

the lid is not plastic, it's made of thin magnesium sheet then painted. This is why this laptop was the lightest available on the market.
The lid is still available through AliExpress at $75 CAD - use search. No need to buy it in Canada at x5..6 times more expensive. Then like I already said, the replacement lid probably won't last longer than the original one. So I think the best bet is to fix/reinforce the original one like I did.

StevenGen

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1292495#Comment_1292495

Ok, now I understand, I gave you the Canadian Acer store as it came up on my search and to give an example of what Acer charges to replace this magnesium LCD top cover.

As and if its thin magnesium then its prone to breaking even more than plastic and that is why its so expensive from an Acer store as this Swift model laptop is a new product and they charge for the magnesium and its current new model, now I understand but it should not be happening, and Acer should change the lid even if the 12 months warranty has expired.

If this answers your question and solved your query please "Click on Yes" or "Click on Like" if you find my answer useful👍

SergeCa

Not only Acer uses magnesium. Check LG Gram - I bought one recently on a good discount for my girl who became university student this year. It has even bigger screen but feels somewhat sturdier.

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