Had several light primer strikes at the range, cheapo ammo. Rounds went off successfully in the range officer's glock. After comparing my M&P with another one on the range, it appears my plunger, which is supposed to activate the internal firing pin safety and keep it from traveling forward, is ineffectual. Defunct. Not doing it's job. It also seems the rear portion of the firing pin has sheared. Finally, the trigger bar which you must pull out to disassemble the gun appears bent.

1: Has anyone seen this before?
2: Are these wear-and-tear issues and should S&W cover them?
3: Where can I find pieces to replace them (plunger spring, firing pin, etc)? I'm having a hard time finding them on Brownells... I'll check the EE here while I'm at it.

No, what your experiencing it not normal. I've never seen any of the issues you've described in thousands of rounds fired in my M&P40's and my brothers M&P40 and M&P .357sig... Pics would be helpful. What ammo are you shooting? I would send it to S&W. They have some of the best customer service in the industry and WILL pay for shipping both ways. Contact Smith, they'll issue a call tag...

I've got just over 10,000 rounds of assorted ammunition through my M&P .40 and it's been completely trouble free and so has my M&P 9c, so no, I would say your problems are far from normal.

Smith and Wesson has a "lifetime service policy" which kicks in after the one year warranty; call S&W Customer Service for a free shipping label and let them take care of your issues at their expense.

Not normal I have maybe 600 rounds through my mp40 and my buddy has close to 5k through an mp 9 neither of us has had a malfunction at all. Are you shooting reloads by chance?

Do you have any pictures?



Also, how old is your M&P? Some of the earlier revisions of the striker didn't hold up too well to excessive amounts of dry firing and could fracture. See this link for a comparison of different versions of the striker: http://smith-wessonforum.com/smith-wesson-m-p-pistols/111730-m-p-full-size-45-firing-pin-breakage.html#post1196661



Regardless, I would send it in the S&W to have them repair it.



 

You can buy an aftermarket striker and an Apex plunger assembly (with spring).  The trigger bar does appear to have a bend in it from the factory.

I contacted S&W and they should be sending me a shipping label... any day now... =)

I had a similar issue on an M&P 9mm Compact; S&W resolved and I've had no further issues.

...

S&W finally returned my gun with a note saying they replaced the striker assembly. I haven't gotten a chance yet to thoroughly inspect the gun or fire it, but I hope to have an in-depth update within the week.

S&W will replace strikers free of charge but I keep two striker assemblies in my safe because I'd rather not have to send in my pistol for a striker issue and, along with full size and compact recoil spring assemblies, they are good spare parts to have in hand.

I believe the strikers cost me $29 each from Midway some years back and they fit the .40s and 9s, both full size and compacts and they only take a couple of minutes to replace.