Toshiba begins another recall for Sony batteries
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Toshiba is recalling about 5,100 laptop batteries that could overheat and burn users.
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Toshiba Corp. 6502.T said on Tuesday it   would replace about 340,000 laptop computer batteries made by   Sony Corp. 6758.T worldwide due to possible problems with   recharging and transmission of electricity.
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By From news reports  Toshiba issued a worldwide recall Tuesday of 340,000 batteries made by Sony for its laptop computers, citing recharging problems. The recall is the latest in a series of embarrassing manufacturing slips for Sony.
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(InfoWorld) - Dell has increased by 100,000 the number of laptop batteries it is recalling due to a potential fire hazard, while Toshiba said it would take part in Sony's voluntaryÂ battery replacement programÂ kicked off Thursday. Fujitsu indicated that it was also considering a voluntary recall. Dell said it received new information that caused it to increase its recall to 4.2 million batteries from 4.1 million. It urged customers to visitÂ itsÂ battery recall siteÂ and to recheck their batteries to see if they are affected. The site has received almost 200 million hits since theÂ recall was first announcedÂ in August, Dell said. The problems affect battery packs containing Sony-made Lithium Ion cells. Sony has discovered that metallic particles in the cells created during the manufacturing process could cause a short-circuit. That short-circuit could in turn result in a fire, depending on the way the laptop is designed. While the affected notebooks from Dell and Apple Computer, which hasÂ recalled 1.8 million batteries, pose a potential fire hazard, Toshiba said its laptops are not in danger of catching fire. It said it was recalling the laptops voluntarily to ease concerns among customers. Toshiba offered toÂ replace 830,000 laptops, including some of its popular Satellite and Portege models. Fujitsu indicated that it would also be likely to join the voluntary recall, although details had not been announced late Friday in Japan. Toshiba, and possibly Fujitsu, are taking advantage of a program announced by Sony on Thursday, which said it would conduct a battery-replacement program in conjunction with laptop makers worldwide. One day earlier, Lenovo GroupÂ added its nameÂ to the list of manufacturers recalling Sony-made battery packs, saying it will recall 526,000 notebooks. Other laptop makers are expected to follow suit and offer new batteries to their customers, said Takashi Uehara, a spokesman for Sony in Tokyo. The plan might reassure consumers but will also increase the cost to Sony of the problems. In late August, Sony said it wouldÂ incur costsÂ of between Â¥20 billion and Â¥30 billion ($170 million to $255 million), but that was only for the recalls announced by Dell and Apple. Sony has not updated investors since then. Its battery problems began in October last year when Dell approached the company about a possible problem involving Sony Lithium Ion cells used in battery packs in Dell laptops. Sony changed its manufacturing process to lessen the chance of metallic particles being left in its products, but it wasn't until August this year -- after several well-publicized cases of Dell laptops catching fire -- that Dell began recalling batteries. Apple followed on Aug. 25 with its own recall of 1.8 million batteries, and on Thursday Lenovo joined the list. Together, the recalls that cite a potential fire hazard total about 6.5 million battery packs. Separately, Toshiba last week offered to exchange 340,000 Sony notebook batteries, but not because of a fire hazard. Instead, the defective batteries could unexpectedly cut power to the notebooks, causing users to lose unsaved work, the company said. The latest reports from Toshiba and Fujitsu came after the stock market closed in Japan, but the Lenovo recall had little effect on Sony shares, which closed trading on Friday at Â¥4,780, down less than 1 percent on the day. The overall Japanese stock market as measured by the Nikkei 225 index rose by just under 1 percent to 16,127 points.
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A fire involving a laptop at Los Angeles International Airport has prompted Lenovo Group and IBM to recall Sony-made batteries used in 526,000 laptops because of concerns about fire.
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Toshiba is to replace 340,000 laptop batteries, the third recall of faulty batteries made by Sony since mid-August.
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Performance problems only - no fire risk, company says Toshiba has joined Dell and Apple, and asked its customers to send back their Sony-made laptop batteries currently sitting in Dynabook and Satellite machines. The notebook maker's recall extends to some 340,000 customers worldwide.â¦
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Toshiba and Fujitsu are forced to join Dell in the recall for Sony battery packs, bringing the tally to about 7 million worldwide
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Fujitsu provided more guidance Wednesday on the specifics of its previously announced recall, saying that 287,000 Sony-manufactured batteries would be recalled due to short-circuit and overheating issues.
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Japan's Hitachi Ltd. 6501.T said on   Friday it would recall 16,000 laptop batteries made by Sony   Corp. 6758.T, taking part in Sony's worldwide battery   exchange program.
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(InfoWorld) - SonyÂ has appointed one of its presidents to oversee product quality and safety, the first time such a high-level member of staff has taken that position at the company. The new role for Makoto Kogure's, who was president of Sony's TV division, came as the company deals with the fallout of two recalls in recent weeks of laptop computer batteries that included Lithium Ion cells that it produced. The first, on Aug. 15, sawÂ Dell recallÂ up to 4.1 million laptop batteries because of a potential fire hazard. Then on Aug. 24Â Apple Computer said it was recallingÂ 1.8 million batteries for the same reason. Sony has estimated theÂ recalls will costÂ it between Â¥20 billion and Â¥30 billion ($171 million to $256 million). The battery problem isn't the sole reason for Kogure's appointment, the Tokyo company said. "Obviously the batteries are an issue but it's not intended that he will focus on batteries and batteries alone," said Gerald Cavanagh, a spokesman for Sony in Tokyo. "It's something we've been wanting to upgrade for sometime and batteries will be one of the responsibilities."
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Toshiba Corp. and Fujitsu Ltd. joined a   growing list of computer makers recalling Sony Corp. batteries   in the latest blow to consumer confidence in Sony's reputation   as a manufacturer.
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Toshiba Corp. (6502.T) said on Tuesday it  would replace about 340,000 laptop computer batteries made by  Sony Corp. (6758.T) worldwide due to possible problems with  recharging and transmission of electricity.
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Sony-made battery was covered by last year's recall Toshiba has no doubt left Sony feeling a little hot under the collar after announcing that yet another of the laptop battery packs made by its Japanese rival has burst into flames, ultimately nuking the notebook.â¦
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The massive global recall of batteries made by Sony Corp. widened Wednesday as Japanese electronics maker Fujitsu Ltd. said it is recalling 287,000 laptop batteries that are at risk of overheating or catching fire.
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WASHINGTON -- IBM Corp. is recalling 526,000 laptop batteries worldwide made by Sony Corp., the latest in a series of problems with Sony batteries, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said Thursday.
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(InfoWorld) - Fujitsu'sÂ recall of defective batteriesÂ will affect 287,000 notebook PCs, including 63,000 in Japan, the company said Wednesday. Fujitsu last week became the fifth recent PC vendor to recall batteries using lithium-ion cells made by Sony Energy Devices. A manufacturing defect can cause those cells to short circuit, overheating and in some cases catching fire. So Fujitsu has asked both users of certain notebook PCs and dealers with unsold computers in their inventory to return the affected batteries, said Sean Nemoto, investor relations manager for Fujitsu. Dell started the rush when it announced on Aug. 14 it wouldÂ recall 4.1 million batteries, following complaints from a handful of customers that their PCs had burst into flames. Other vendors quickly followed, includingÂ Apple Computer,Â Toshiba,Â Lenovo Group, IBM, andÂ Fujitsu. Together they have recalled 7.9 million batteries. Sony has beenÂ pushing vendors to recall its batteriesÂ even in the absence of customer complaints. Sony said Thursday that it was working with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to recall any remaining defective cells in notebooks worldwide. The move will not affect other types of consumer electronics that use lithium-ion cells, such as cameras and music players. Notebook vendors insist that the number of actual fires is very small, amounting to just fractions of a percent compared to the many millions of batteries recalled. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has counted 47 incidents of smoke or fire coming from notebook computers from January 2001 to August 2006. Sony and the vendors continue to debate whether the fault lies solely in battery cell manufacturing, or also in the design of notebook PCs. Sony designs its batteries to shut down after a short circuit, but in certain occasions they will continue to overheat. "The potential for this to occur can be affected by variations in the system configurations found in different notebook computers," the company said. Hewlett-Packard said Monday that its customers had not experienced any overheated batteries thanks to redundant safety features used in HP notebooks. "Because of HP's PC system configuration, HP notebooks using Sony battery cells are not prone to overheating issues that have recently been observed," the companies said in a joint statement. However, other vendors insist their designs are also safe. Dell's recall is careful to state that "only the described batteries are subject to this recall and not the notebook computers themselves."