The macbook I use now--never had the problem. (knock on wood)
Apple isn't perfect. They do have their share of lemons. A lot smaller share, but it's there. . . and they willl usually do somehing about it, even after the warranty expires. I had a client that had a Apple Macbook Pro that kept failing with a similar problem time after time. . . and had documented it. She kept taking it to a 3rd party Apple warranty station who fixed it first under warranty and then later charged her for the fix. Finally when an Apple store opened near her she took it there with me. The took to the back and came back about 30 minutes later and told her they couldn't fix it. . . and recommended a new MacBook Pro. She said she was afraid of that. . . and asked how much that was going to cost. The Genius said, "Give me a few more minutes." She called her bank to arrange for an increase on her credit line. Twenty minutes later the Genius came back with a brand new MacBook Pro and handed it to her, saying "There you go, no charge. We transferred all your apps and data from your old one. Do you mind if we keep the old one? we'll wipe the hard drive while you watch if you care." My client's was flabbergasted. They gave her a brand niw MacBook Pro at a time when that was a $2000 computer in exchange for an out-of-warranty four year old one. That's customer service.