Digital Journal — You’re probably sick of hearing about laptop recalls, but when Lenovo and IBM announce they are recalling 526,000 laptops because of more Sony battery problems, we can’t let it go by without at least saying: This is stupid.
IBM and Lenovo Inc. are voluntarily recalling Sony-made rechargeable, lithium-ion batteries used in ThinkPad notebooks because they may pose a fire hazard. About 168,500 batteries were sold in the U.S. while the rest were sent worldwide.
It’s the fifth recall because of Sony batteries — first Dell pulled 4.1 million laptops, then Apple recalled 1.8 million, Toshiba pulled back 340,000 and Panasonic yanked 6,000 laptops out of Japan.
In the Lenovo/IBM recall, Lenovo cites a potential risk after one confirmed report of a Sony battery causing a fire at the Los Angeles airport. The laptop caught fire as the user was boarding a plane and caused enough smoke that a fire extinguisher had to be used to put out the smouldering ThinkPad. Nobody was injured.
Julie Vallese, a spokeswoman for the Consumer Product Safety Commission, said the problem is not related to the defects found in the Apple and Dell notebooks, and Lenovo and IBM are recalling as a precautionary measure.
Dell and Apple laptops caught fire in rare circumstances when metal particles come into contact with parts of the battery cell that cause a short circuit. Sometimes the PC would power off, while other times the unit could catch fire.
In a statement released today, Sony says it is working with the Consumer Product Safety Commission on a worldwide replacement program for certain battery models. “We believe that this program is in the best interest of both our customers and all consumers,” Sony said.
The recall affects the following notebooks sold between February 2005 and September 2006:
T Series (T43, T43p, T60), R Series (R51e, R52, R60, R60e) and X Series (X60, X60s).
The batteries have the following part or model numbers, which can be found on the battery label: ASM P/N 92P1072, 92P1088, 92P1142 or 92P1170; or FRU P/N 92P1073, 92P1089, 92P1141, 92P1169 or 93P5028. Consumers are advised to stop using the batteries immediately and contact Lenovo to receive a free replacement battery. For more information they can contact Lenovo at 1-800-426-7378 or log on to www.lenovo.com/batteryprogram.
