I own a dv9000, had it for 3 years now. THere are one or two major faults with the design, including that hinge crack.
It's gotten to the stage where I can't close the lid without hearing some awful cracking sounds.
That said, it's given me almost 3 years of great usage in less-than-ideal environments. That is, being biked into college/work every day, which 17-in laptops rarely like.
So, yes it's a problem, and no I'm not too torn up about it. Replacing the laptop over the next few months anyway, maybe an MSI GT729