I have been using them for over 20 years, since they were the new hinge, and have never had a failure. Of course I'm the guy that reads the car's owner manual too! All of the failures I have seen is directly attributable to improper installation. The wax pencil\crayon tip is good, I'll try that. I also put two pins on the center line when I install them so the hinge doesn't push too far in one side or the other.