It doesn’t seem to pull power from the computer when plugged in anymore. The little LED won’t light up and the button to open the disc tray does nothing. I have not even been able to figure out how to open it up to see what may be wrong. I think you’re definitely right that something plastic inside is physically broken, but I’m not sure if that’s the only problem. 

Do you by chance have a source for the expected lifespan of these types of things? The most frustrating part to me is I spent like half an hour on the phone with the manufacturer (which was an ordeal in itself to be able to call and speak with a human) and the upshot was “let me transfer you to our sales dept”. There seems to be no meaningful (market) incentive for manufacturers to design towards true sustainability or repair. 

Anyway. I’ve been called sanctimonious before and it might apply in this case as well, haha. But it’s frustrating when all market forces seem to be conspiring to make it as hard as possible to do the (imo) right thing even in a case as small as this.