MacBook Pro 13 Inch - Liquid Spill! Help!

[Gvrbaz]

So I was working on my MacBook Pro 13 Inch (2015) 2 days ago (the 4th) when I dropped Iced Tea onto the keyboard. Here's what I did to clean it:

1) quickly removed the liquid from the surface of the laptop
2) brought paper towels and cleaned it up completely
3) switched it off (yes, i know, that shoud be number 1)
4) cleaned the sides and the gap between the screen and the keyboard

I used it again that night, everything was working well. I did a diagnostics test and no issues came up. However, the next morning I noticed the keys were extremely sticky and difficult to press (of course). It wasn't nearly as smooth. Everything was working perfectly though.

I backed it up yesterday (the 5th) so I shouldn't lose anything.

I took it to Apple today. (the 6th) I mentioned to them that I'd dropped a liquid (good call or should I have lied about this?) on it as well as that I'd run a diagnostic test and nothing was wrong. A Genius Bar technician took it in to check for damages. He came out saying there were some internal damages and that it would be $750 (!!!) to repair. I asked him what would happen if I just kept it like this, he said it would just become slower/ stop working

I'm a college student and I cannot afford that right now. I left with my laptop and tried diagnostics again with the same result - no issues.

Now, I had a couple of questions:

a) If Apple Diagnostics says there's no issue, shouldn't this mean the only problem is the keyboard? Or is there something Diagnostics can't pick up on?
b) Is there an alternative (and more cost effective) way to get it fixed?
c) Is there a way for me to be sure there are internal damages? (I don't know why but I'm just very suspicious of this)
d) I read somewhere that Apple never just changes the keyboard, they change the entire bottom unit. Is this true?
e) Is there a way to replace only the keyboard
f) Any advice you can give me? What do you think I should do? Pay the $750? Or trust Diagnostics?

Sorry for making this so long and having so many questions! I'm just really stressed and would SO greatly appreciate any help! Thanks in advance!

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello and welcome.

Sorry to hear of your situation. You took the right steps when the spill occurred. The quote they gave you for repair is correct, and it will slowly fail as they stated, especially if the liquid made it inside the MBP.

To answer your questions:

a) If Apple Diagnostics finds no issues, that is good for now. However, since they found evidence of liquid inside the machine, it will eventually corrode and damage the internal components, causing failure.
b) You can have a third-party repair shop replace parts, but I recommend having Apple do it, since that reinstates the MBP to full warranty status.
c) You could have another Apple Authorized Service Provider take a look at it. I would believe the Apple Genius Bar however, since they have nothing to gain by diagnosing it as they did.
d) Correct - the keyboard is part of the top case assembly. In addition, it sounds like the liquid made it to the logic board itself. They will replace any/all parts affected by the spill for the $755 quote to ensure it is back to factory spec.
e) No, they isn't a way to replace only the keyboard.
f) You can save the money for now if it is working for you. You could get an external wireless keyboard, if the built-in has sticky keys or isn't working properly. You could then have it repaired if/when it fails in the future.

Honestly, it is your call. But, I would trust their diagnosis and feel that it will eventually fail. It would then be your decision to repair it or replace it with a newer unit.

Hope that helps and sorry for the bad news.

C