Strange clicking noise when rMBP13 is tilted

Question

Hello All.. I found no existing thread related to this issue, so starting a new one.. This is to let you all know/get your views and experience regarding a (formerly faint but growingly clearer) clicking noise from my one-year old 13 inch retina macbook, and to share the story of my monstrous ordeal trying to get it fixed by Apple. I have bit of a story here.. Sorry I tried my best to shorten it, but this is the shortest it could get..
About 3 or 4 months back, I started hearing this faint clicking noise from inside the case of my macbook whenever i tilted it, not while working or when the device is stationary, only when I flip the device to one side, usually about 90 degree, with lid open or closed.. When I bought it, my macbook had absolutely no noise from anywhere.. I live in Europe, and living rooms here can be freakishly quiet.. And I used to love it when there was not a click or a hiss out of place while working or carrying it around... To me, this made the device feel solid, and gave the impression of no moving parts inside, even though there were still the cooling fans.. But even they seemed held together so tight not making any noise out of the ordinary.. Of course one could hear them pretty well when they ran in top speed.. eg. during some heavy graphics, games etc.. But this again was a very steady whir.. which upon closing the heavy graphics app, slowed down steadily bringing the noise back to a zero. (I don't know if it's just me, I always thought it was intentionally part of the design, to try and make the whole device look and sound as solid as possible, like nothing lying loose inside).. I used to admire this in Apple devices.. But maybe I was wrong.. I don't know.. Maybe it's only my macbook, or is it all retina macbooks and only I notice and care about such stuff?
Initially the noise was very faint.. You really needed to be in a quiet room to hear it.. I checked the online forums, there was not much hint except one where it talked about some heat sink or something touching the metal body or so.. (did not really follow that).. Anyway I did not want to open up and experiment since my device was in warranty, so I took advice from the Apple support folks online who asked me to take my macbook to an authorised service centre nearby. (There was no genius bar or so near where I live, it's a smaller town in Germany)..  
The first place I took it to, was an authorised reseller/service center chain in Germany called 'Compustore'. My experience with them was outright annoying.. The first time i took it to them, they said they couldn't hear anything, as if they were trying to get rid of me.. Then I somehow convinced them to listen to it carefully in a quiet room, they did it and finally nodded that they could hear it, told me that it could be the fan.. (very convenient guess).. Anyway they asked me to leave my macbook there for 2 weeks so a technician can take a look.. (I don't know if its Germany, or does it usually take that long everywhere else for every service?) I did so, after about a week, I got a call from them that my macbook is ready. Upon arriving, they told me that they've replaced the right-fan.. I first thought woww.. they've found it and fixed it.. But when I checked the device myself, i could hear the same clicking noise.. No it wasn't the same.. It was louder..!!! And the worst was only yet to come.. None of them at the store could now hear it !! Furious, I asked them many questions, like how did they know that it was the fan? And why would they replace the fan without knowing it's the real cause.. Finally they had their least experienced (apprentice looking) guy tell me there isn't anything else they could do so I can leave.
Puzzled and totally ****** off, I walked straight to another reseller 'Gravis Retail'. At this place, everyone could hear the noise.. Loud and clear..!! (Thanks to the Compustore guys, I think they'd opened it up and made a bigger mess of things.) The Gravis guys asked me to leave it there (again 2 weeks!!).. After waiting for more than 2 weeks, I did not get any call or email from Gravis, I called up Apple support to follow up. A gentleman from Apple senior management who deals with Europe, spoke to me, followed up with Gravis and found that they had sent the device to another branch of theirs in Berlin, but the folks at Berlin couldn't hear any noise, so they returned it to my city again, and folks here could hear it and so on.. Furious again, I visited Gravis and asked them why no one called me, the guy had no clue, apologized to me, and promised me that they will have their technician look at it again, first thing next morning.. After 2 days, I got a call from them. When I visited the store they told me that they compared it with other retina 13 inch macbooks and all of them have the noise.. !!!! Extremely angry, I asked them to prove it to me by letting me listen to their other retina macbooks.. Of course, suddenly all of their reference macbooks magically disappeared, some taken back by customers, some went to other locations blah blah.. (The one on display at the store was wired with some beeping device etc, so they did not want to show that one to me, and anyway I wouldn't consider that demo model to be a good reference point).. Finally they too told me there isn't anything more they could do indicating me to leave..
After a month of leaving it at two different service centres (one of them causing the noise to grow little louder), I have the macbook with me now.. I still hear the noise when I tilt the device (don't tell me not to tilt it).. The gentleman from Apple senior management Europe stopped responding to my emails.. My 1-year warranty ran out this month.. Feeling insecure of what else could go wrong with my device in future, I have now bought the AppleCareProtectionPlan (or rather was cornered into buying it)..
I am not sure what to do next.. Some of you may tell me its just a little noise after all, and until my macbook has a real problem, there are better things in life I could worry about.. Maybe yes, but I what about the pathetic service I got from those "Authorized Apple Service Centres"?.. And the 'Compustore' guys.. How could they get away with such reckless service, that too in such a technologically advanced nation..? Of course I gave them bad feedback in the reviews, but I don't think anyone cares about those here in Germany.. (I think employees are safer than customers here).. And the Customer Support folks from Apple did not make my situation any better.. Puzzled!! and beginning to wonder - After paying the premium on these Apple products, is it really asking too much for these devices to be flawless? Is it wrong to expect something better than just sugar-coated words of "apologies", "I understand your situation Sir", and "we will surely see what best can we offer you" from Apple phone support team? If we have to live with these issues, why buy Apple?

Answer 1

damojo wrote:
yes. mine clicks also. really poor QC if you ask me. I've had all of the iphone versions and this is the worst quality i've seen. This is not the same Apple...
I'm taking it back and hopefully they'll give me a new one since I've only had it 3 weeks. AND NOT A REFURB either...
Apple doesn't use refurbished devices for replacements.  However, don't expect a 'new' one either, because that's not something that is promised in your warranty.  What you'll likely get is a remanufactured iPhone.