Lenovo, IBM recall 526,000 notebook batteries
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Lenovo Group Ltd. 0992.HK and   IBM IBM.N are recalling more than half a million notebook   computer batteries made by Sony Corp. 6758.T after a computer   caught fire at the Los Angeles International Airport, Lenovo   and U.S. safety officials said on Thursday.
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(InfoWorld) - Gateway Inc. is recalling 14,000 batteries used in its notebook PCs after four customers reported that their computers had overheated, a similar condition to the massive battery recall that swept the industry in 2006. Dell Inc., Apple Inc., Lenovo Group Ltd. and other vendorsÂ recalled more than 8 million batteries made by Sony Corp. when customers began complaining that the rechargeable lithium-ion cells could overheat and catch fire after being dropped. Gateway recalled 35,000 batteries in that episode, beginning in October 2006. However, the new recall affects battery cells made by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and assembled into battery packs by Simplo Technology Co. Ltd., of Taiwan, Gateway spokeswoman Lisa Emard said on Tuesday. Gateway, the third-largest PC vendor in the U.S., expects both vendors to help cover the cost of the action. "We're working with our suppliers to cover the cost of replacement battery packs and other direct costs. We expect our costs to be limited to incidental expenses associated with administering the exchange program," Emard said. Simplo and Samsung did not return calls for comment. Even when they offer free replacement batteries, PC vendors face a challenge in persuading laptop users to participate in recalls. Earlier Tuesday,Â Toshiba launched a campaign to remind laptop users to return Sony batteries, after one user's computer burst into flames eight months after the previous recall began. Gateway expects better results from this recall since all the PCs were purchased through direct channels, either over Gateway's Web site and phone lines or through professional direct sales, Emard said. That means Gateway still has the buyers' addresses, and plans to contact them with news of the exchange program. The recall affects certain Gateway 400VTX and 450ROG series notebooks sold between May 2003 and August 2003, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The faulty batteries are identified by part numbers 6500760 or 6500761 and say "made by SMP" on a label pasted on the underside of the battery pack. "The root cause of this failure becomes apparent as the batteries age and perform repetitive charging cycles," Emard said. Of the four customer complaints, one had caused minor property damage while the others simply overheated, she said. Â
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IBM has recalled 553,000 ThinkPad AC power adapters after receiving reports that some have overheated, melting the adapter housing and charring the circuit board inside.
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IBM is recalling more than 500,000 AC adapters made for their ThinkPad notebooks between January 1999 and August 2000. These adapters may overheat, resulting in melting, posing a fire and electrocution hazard.
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Japanese electronics giant Matsushita, the maker of Panasonic products, has begun recalling some 6,000 laptop batteries due to fears that they may overheat, a company spokesman has said.
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IBM is recalling power adapters that shipped with certain models of its ThinkPad notebooks sold between January 1999 and August 2000.
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By YURI KAGEYAMA  TOKYO - Toshiba is recalling 340,000 laptop batteries made by Sony Corp. because of problems with recharging them, the latest in a string of embarrassing defects and production glitches for Sony.
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Hitachi Ltd. 6501.T said on Friday it   will recall 16,000 batteries made by Sony Corp. 6758.T for   laptop computers, joining a growing list of PC makers recalling   Sony batteries.
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Consumers are being asked to return 526,000 laptop batteries made by Sony Corp. because they could catch fire, the latest in a record-setting recall involving nearly 7 million computers.
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InfoWorld - Toshiba is recalling a small batch of laptop batteries that could overheat and burn users, a company spokesman said Thursday.
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Apple, in cooperation with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, said it would voluntarily recall about 28,000 rechargeable batteries used in its 15-inch PowerBook G4 notebooks.
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Fujitsu is the latest laptop maker to issue a recall because of a defective battery. This one affected 287,000 laptops that use Sony batteries.
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The computer maker recalls laptop batteries that could overheat. Yikes.
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Curse of the fire-breathing Sonys Lenovo and IBM today issued a recall on notebook batteries sold with various ThinkPad models between February 2005 and September 2006.â¦
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(InfoWorld) - Toshiba has offered to exchange 340,000 notebook computer batteries, but said they do not pose a fire hazard. Instead, defective batteries could unexpectedly cut power to the notebooks, causing users to lose unsaved work. TheÂ batteries, made by Sony, may fail to charge correctly, causing the power to cut off suddenly if the notebook is not connected to a mains outlet, said Toshiba spokesman Keisuke Ohmori. Reports of lithium ion cells in notebook batteries overheating or catching fire have prompted other computer manufacturers, including Apple Computer and Dell, to issue safety recalls.Â Dell recalled 4.1 million batteriesÂ used in its notebook computers in August, citing a fire hazard, whileÂ Apple recalled 1.8 million batteries, warning that they could overheat. Toshiba's batteries areÂ not at risk of starting a fire, Ohmori said. "There is no such hazardous or related issue," he said. Instead, Toshiba's problems stem from a defect in the interface circuitry between the battery cells and the computer. That defect is caused by corrosion, said a spokesman for Sony, the manufacturer of the batteries. An ingredient used in the insulating paper of batteries manufactured between March and May can corrode components in the batteries' charging circuits, causing them to fail, said Sony spokesman Takashia Uehara. The supplier changed the composition of the insulating paper without notice, he said. Batteries made for other notebook manufacturers also contained the paper, and Sony is working with those companies to see whether there is a problem, Uehara said. He declined to say how many batteries were affected overall. Toshiba's battery exchange offer covers 10 models of Toshiba notebook computer. The company will post a software tool to its Web site shortly, allowing customers to identify whether their computer is affected, Ohmori said.
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(InfoWorld) - Eight months after recalling potentially flammable notebook PC batteries, Toshiba is again urging its customers to trade in the defective units, saying one of its notebooks caught fire on May 24. Toshiba was one of many PC vendors that recalled more than 8 million rechargeable lithium-ion batteries made by Sony. A manufacturing defect left those batteries vulnerable to short-circuiting and catching fire if they were jostled, prompting the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to issue a broad recall. Dell was the first to recall those batteriesÂ in August 2006 and was quickly followed by Apple, Lenovo, Fujitsu, Gateway, and Sony. By October 2006, that defect had led to 16 reports of notebook computer batteries overheating, causing minor property damage and two minor burns, according to the Commission. On Tuesday, Toshiba said the latest fire was sparked by a battery that was never returned. "Recently, certain instances occurred where Sony battery packs installed in Toshiba portable computers caught fire," Toshiba said in a statement on its Web site. After an investigation with Sony, Toshiba found that the battery caused "the situation," the statement said. "The original Sony Battery Pack had not been replaced as recommended by Sony and Toshiba. We put importance on the fact that the incidents that occurred involved unreplaced Sony Battery Packs, despite our ongoing replacement program." In the original recall, the Commission warned laptop users to remove the batteries immediately and to power their PCs only by plugging them into a wall outlet until receiving a free replacement battery from the PC manufacturer. Laptop users were responsible for taking the initiative to return their own batteries, leading some analysts to predict that only a small percentage would do so. Other PC vendors may face the same challenge, although the Commission does not list any other fires. Dell is continuing to replace the faulty batteries, but a spokesman said he could not produce figures for the number of batteries replaced or whether the company had noted any overheating incidents since the recall began. "The recall's going well. Customers are taking heed to send back the affected batteries and have replacements sent to them," said Dell spokesman Bob Kaufman. In response to the latest fire, Toshiba warned customers to stop using the affected batteries immediately. Users who continue running their laptops on battery power should not leave their PCs unattended while they charge and should not place PCs on a sofa, bed or other surface that could obstruct its ventilation, Toshiba said. Toshiba has not changed the list of laptops that use the affected batteries. They include various models of the company's Portege, Qosmio, Satellite, and Tecra brand PCs. As with the original recall, Toshiba will replace all affected batteries for free.
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(InfoWorld) - Months after joining other PC vendors in aÂ massive recall of faulty notebook batteries, Lenovo Group has found a different problem with some models, and will recall 205,000 notebook batteries worldwide, the company said Thursday. Lenovo made the move after four customers complained their batteries overheated after they had dropped or hit the notebooks. The defect caused minor eye irritation for one user, and damaged the property and computers of the others, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The recall affects the nine-cell, extended-life version of a battery pack manufactured by Sanyo Electric, of Japan. Lenovo sold the packs between November 2005 and February 2007 as an option in certain versions of ThinkPad notebook PCs in the R series, T series and Z series model lines, the commission said. The faulty packs have the part number FRU P/N 92P1131. Buyers of those PCs had the choice to purchase either a standard four-cell battery pack or longer-endurance six-cell or nine-cell packs, said Lenovo spokesman Ray Gorman. The problem occurred with the pack, a box designed in tandem by Lenovo and Sanyo that holds the battery cells. That is a different fault than the metal shards that contaminated battery cells made by Sony, causing some batteries to overheat or catch fire and leading to the recall in 2006 of millions of notebook batteries used by nearly every PC vendor.