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Forums - Sony - Sony Laptop Batteries recalled due to firehazard

Reuters

* U.S. recalls 35,000 Sony notebook PC batteries

 

* Recall due to fire and burn hazard

 

* Recall impacts HP, Toshiba, Dell notebooks

 

* Sony supports recall of 100,000 batteries worldwide

 

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 30 (Reuters) - The U.S. government on Thursday issued a recall of 35,000 Sony Corp (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) notebook computer batteries, calling them a fire hazard to consumers.

 

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said the recall affects Sony lithium-ion batteries that were used mainly in computers from Hewlett-Packard Co (HPQ.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), with a smaller number in notebooks from Dell Inc (DELL.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Toshiba Corp (6502.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

 

There have been 19 reports of the batteries overheating, including 17 reports of fire, the CPSC said, with two people experiencing minor burns.

 

Sony spokeswoman Elizabeth Boukis would not speculate on the cost of the recall.

 

The company will support the U.S. recall, along with that of an additional 65,000 batteries worldwide. On a global basis, PC makers have reported 40 overheating incidents, Sony said.

 

The recall affects around 32,000 HP notebooks, 3,000 from Toshiba, and 150 Dell computers.

 

HP could not be immediately reached for comment.

 

Sony blamed the faulty batteries on manufacturing line adjustments in 2004 and 2005, which it believes may have affected the quality of some cells. Other incidents of overheating may have involved a problem with raw materials, the company said.

 

Boukis said batteries covered by the new recall are unrelated to those in company's massive 2006 recall. That action covered 9.6 million batteries and cost the company millions.

 

In addition, last month the consumer electronics giant recalled 438,000 of its Vaio laptops due to battery overheating concerns.

 

U.S.-listed shares of Sony closed at $22.65, up $1.52, or 7.2 percent. (Reporting by Gabriel Madway; Editing by Marguerita Choy)

 

It would appear sony is going through a bad patch lately. Profit estimate having been lowered already, shareholders will probably not be too happy.



I am a Gamer... I play games and not consoles. I have a PC and Console on which I game... I like games. End of Story!

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Wait - wasn't this from a few years back?

edit - guess not...well sort of

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27462337/

"Sony blamed two factors for the defects: adjustments on its manufacturing line from October 2004 to June 2005, which may have affected the quality of cells in certain production lots, and a possible flaw in the metal foil for electrodes.

The company said no reports have been filed for batteries made after 2006, and noted that the recalled units are a small fraction of the more than 260 million it has shipped over six years.

This also pales in comparison to the recall of more than 10 million of a different model of Sony batteries in 2006 and 2007, which affected almost every major PC manufacturer, including Dell Inc. and Apple Inc.

In this batch of problematic laptops, the bulk of the 35,000 affected computers in the U.S. were sold by HP between December 2004 and June 2006, according to the safety commission, including HP Pavilion, HP Compaq and Compaq Presario models."



Proud Sony Rear Admiral

Nice to know for Sony Laptop users.

It's always nice to keep a close eye on these things, no matter which laptop your using.

I remember Dell were recalling batteries in Latitude, thankfully I had a different series.



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