Help! Toshiba DC in/adapter socket broken

mommavi1181 · 10-23-2009, 01:58 PM

So I went to plug in my laptop (Toshiba Satellite L355-S7905) one day to charge the battery and I could not plug the adapter into the computer. There was just a hole there and it looks like the piece had fallen back into the laptop. It is under warranty so I sent it to the Toshiba repair depot. They just left me a message saying that it is not covered under the standard warranty because it is physical damage. Grrrrrr, obviously the part was loose for it to just fall back into the laptop...I had only had the laptop 2 months when this happened. So anyway they proceed to say it will cost 425.00 to fix! Are you kidding me, that is just about what I paid for the laptop itself! I will buy a new one before I pay that much for a repair.

Does anyone know if is would normally cost that much to replace the DC in port (or whatever it is called)? Would this be something I could replace myself easily? Maybe I could try some local repair shops and see what they would charge. I just hate that my practically brand new laptop is now useless.

Any help/advice would be appreciated!

IT-Tech · 10-23-2009, 04:07 PM

Hi and welcome.

What Toshiba is probably quoting you is a replacement motherboard for your laptop. Call them back and ask them exactly what they are charging you for on the quote. Of course, they might just be charging a lot for the labor also.

They are "kind of correct" that the broken pin is not covered by the standard warranty. This would normally fall under “accidental damage” coverage.

However, I would strongly suggest that you contact their customer service department and ask to escalate your issue. It's worth a try to get them to fix it for free. If the connector and housing are pushed inside the laptop; then it is not a NORMAL user break. Most normal user instigated breaks like that are broken pins & cracked housings, but the housing remains intact and does not fall inside the laptop.

If they won’t agree to the repair, you could check with a local repair facility to see if they will fix it for you. IF the connector itself can be repaired it would probably run about $200.00 to $300.00; just an estimation. I have never disassembled your model before, but I can tell you that the disassembly and reassembly takes about an hour each way. So, you can figure about 2.5 hours in labor.

Thanks and sorry to hear about your laptop.

mommavi1181 · 10-23-2009, 07:14 PM

Thanks so much for your response. I haven't talked to Toshiba yet so will definitely call and try to escalate the issue. I really feel that it should be covered under warranty as the entire thing just fell back into the computer.

Hopefully they will cover it, I will also question them about what they are charging in the $425.00.

IT-Tech · 10-23-2009, 07:22 PM

I tend to agree with you, but it will be their supervisors call on whether or not it gets repaired for free. It doesn't cost you anything to try; well except the headaches of getting thru to each level! However, if it saves you $425.00 in the end it will be worth your time.

Of course, if they deny repairing it for free you can always try to fall back on them doing it for a 1/2 price or something like that.

Thanks and good luck!

SA Spurs1 · 10-25-2009, 12:28 AM

I have used the Laptop Doctor to purchase dc jacks before. Email him to see if you can get a jack here.

10-23-2009, 01:58 PM	#1 (permalink)
mommavi1181 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 2 OS: Vista	Help! Toshiba DC in/adapter socket broken So I went to plug in my laptop (Toshiba Satellite L355-S7905) one day to charge the battery and I could not plug the adapter into the computer. There was just a hole there and it looks like the piece had fallen back into the laptop. It is under warranty so I sent it to the Toshiba repair depot. They just left me a message saying that it is not covered under the standard warranty because it is physical damage. Grrrrrr, obviously the part was loose for it to just fall back into the laptop...I had only had the laptop 2 months when this happened. So anyway they proceed to say it will cost 425.00 to fix! Are you kidding me, that is just about what I paid for the laptop itself! I will buy a new one before I pay that much for a repair. Does anyone know if is would normally cost that much to replace the DC in port (or whatever it is called)? Would this be something I could replace myself easily? Maybe I could try some local repair shops and see what they would charge. I just hate that my practically brand new laptop is now useless. Any help/advice would be appreciated!

10-23-2009, 04:07 PM	#2 (permalink)
IT-Tech Tech Hardware Team Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Indiana Posts: 267 OS: All Microsoft Operating Systems My System	Re: Help! Toshiba DC in/adapter socket broken Hi and welcome. What Toshiba is probably quoting you is a replacement motherboard for your laptop. Call them back and ask them exactly what they are charging you for on the quote. Of course, they might just be charging a lot for the labor also. They are "kind of correct" that the broken pin is not covered by the standard warranty. This would normally fall under “accidental damage” coverage. However, I would strongly suggest that you contact their customer service department and ask to escalate your issue. It's worth a try to get them to fix it for free. If the connector and housing are pushed inside the laptop; then it is not a NORMAL user break. Most normal user instigated breaks like that are broken pins & cracked housings, but the housing remains intact and does not fall inside the laptop. If they won’t agree to the repair, you could check with a local repair facility to see if they will fix it for you. IF the connector itself can be repaired it would probably run about $200.00 to $300.00; just an estimation. I have never disassembled your model before, but I can tell you that the disassembly and reassembly takes about an hour each way. So, you can figure about 2.5 hours in labor. Thanks and sorry to hear about your laptop.

10-23-2009, 07:14 PM	#3 (permalink)
mommavi1181 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 2 OS: Vista	Re: Help! Toshiba DC in/adapter socket broken Thanks so much for your response. I haven't talked to Toshiba yet so will definitely call and try to escalate the issue. I really feel that it should be covered under warranty as the entire thing just fell back into the computer. Hopefully they will cover it, I will also question them about what they are charging in the $425.00.

10-23-2009, 07:22 PM	#4 (permalink)
IT-Tech Tech Hardware Team Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Indiana Posts: 267 OS: All Microsoft Operating Systems My System	Re: Help! Toshiba DC in/adapter socket broken I tend to agree with you, but it will be their supervisors call on whether or not it gets repaired for free. It doesn't cost you anything to try; well except the headaches of getting thru to each level! However, if it saves you $425.00 in the end it will be worth your time. Of course, if they deny repairing it for free you can always try to fall back on them doing it for a 1/2 price or something like that. Thanks and good luck!

10-25-2009, 12:28 AM	#5 (permalink)
SA Spurs1 Tech Hardware Team Join Date: May 2009 Location: Texas Posts: 208 OS: Windows 7 Pro x64	Re: Help! Toshiba DC in/adapter socket broken I have used the Laptop Doctor to purchase dc jacks before. Email him to see if you can get a jack here.