Comprehensive Sony Battery Recall List

Courtesy of WSJ
Consumer Guide to Battery Recall
October 4, 2006 9:52 a.m.

The recent raft of laptop battery recalls may leave some customers feeling confused. So far companies that have issued recalls include Dell Inc., Apple Computer Inc., Lenovo Group Ltd., Toshiba Corp. and Fujitsu Ltd. The batteries in all of these cases are manufactured by Sony Corp., and may pose a fire hazard due to small particles causing the battery to short circuit. Below is a rundown of what to do if your laptop is affected.
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Dell

Dell kicked off the Sony's laptop battery woes when the computer maker announced in early August it would recall 4.1 million batteries, what the Consumer Product Safety Commission called the biggest computer-related recall in its history. Dell later raised the number of recalls to 4.2 million.

Laptop models affected: Latitude D410, D500, D505, D510, D520, D600, D610, D620, D800, D810; Inspiron 6000, 8500, 8600, 9100, 9200, 9300, 500m, 510m, 600m, 6400, E1505, 700m, 710m, 9400, E1705; Dell Precision M20, M60, M70 and M90 mobile workstations; XPS, XPS Gen2, XPS M170 and XPS M1710. Batteries may also have been sold separately.

Sold through: Dell's Web site, phone and direct sales as part of a service replacement program, and catalogs from April 2004 through July 2006.

Remedy: Immediately stop using batteries and contact Dell at 866-342-0011 for a replacement. Notebook computers can still be used safely by turning the system off, ejecting the battery, and using the AC adapter and power cord to power the system.

Helpful sites: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml06/06231.html; https://www.dellbatteryprogram.com/Default.aspx
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Apple Computer

On the heels of Dell's announcement, Apple said in late August it would recall 1.1 million laptop batteries in the U.S., plus 700,000 batteries sold abroad, following nine reports of batteries overheating, including two reports of minor burns and property damage.

Laptop models affected: Apple iBook G4 and PowerBook G4 laptops purchased between October 2003 and August 2006. The batteries may have been purchased separately.

Part numbers: A1061 (12-inch iBook G4); A1079 (12-inch PowerBook G4); A1078 and A1148 (15-inch PowerBook G4)

Sold through: Apple's online store, Apple retail stores, and Apple authorized resellers from October 2003 through August 2006.

Remedy: Consumers should remove the batteries from their laptops and order a free replacement from Apple at 800-275-2273

Helpful sites: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml06/06245.html; http://www.apple.com/support/batteryexchange
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Lenovo/IBM

Lenovo announced its recall of 526,000 laptop batteries Sept. 28. It became aware of a potential safety hazard when an IBM ThinkPad caught fire at Los Angeles International Airport.

Laptop models affected: ThinkPad T Series (T43, T43p, T60); X Series (X60, X60s); R Series (R51e, R52, R60, R60e). Batteries may also have been sold separately.

Sold through: Lenovo and IBM's Web sites, telephone and direct sales, and Lenovo and IBM authorized distributors between February 2005 and September 2006.

Remedy: Consumers should stop using the recalled batteries immediately and contact Lenovo at 800-426-7378 to receive a replacement battery, free-of-charge.

Helpful sites: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml06/06270.html; http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?sitestyle=lenovo&lndocid=BATT-LENOVO
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Toshiba

Toshiba said Sept. 29 it would recall 830,000 batteries, bringing the total number of Sony batteries recalled to seven million.

Laptop models affected: Dynabook, Qosmio, Satellite Portege and Tecra. Regional breakdowns and dates of manufacturing not yet available.

Helpful links: NA

Additionally Toshiba announced another recall of 340,000 Sony batteries Sept. 18,, but that recall was for a different problem that caused the laptops to run out of power, rather than ignite.

Laptop models affected: Satellite A100/A105; Satellite M50/M55; Satellite M100/M105; Tecra A6; Tecra A7

Helpful sites: http://www.csd.toshiba.com/cgi-bin/tais/su/su_sc_dtlView.jsp?soid=1482876
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Fujitsu

On the heels of Toshiba's announcement, Japanese electronics maker Fujitsu recalled 287,000 battery packs, 63,000 of which are in Japan.

Laptop models affected (in Japan): FMV-BIBLO LOOX P70R; P70S; FMV-BIBLO LOOX T50M, T50R, T50RN, T50S, T50SN; FMV-BIBLO LOOX T70M, T70M/T, T70MN, T70R, T70R/T, T70RN, T70S, T70S/V, T70SN ; FMV-P8210
Laptop models affected (outside Japan): Lifebook P1510, P1510D, P7120, P7120D; Lifebook S7020, S7020D, S7025, S7025D; Lifebook C1320, C1320D

Helpful sites: http://www.csd.toshiba.com/cgi-bin/tais/su/su_sc_dtlView.jsp?soid=1482876

 

Thanks, jujube! Very helpful. But I think there is one missing. If I'm not mistaken Panasonic has also started a recall. Link.
I'm just wondering how long it's gonna take Sony to get around to identifying whcih of their own notebooks are affected by this issue.

 

Hitachi has effected a small recall:

TOKYO (Reuters) - Hitachi Ltd. said on Friday it will recall 16,000 batteries made by Sony Corp. for laptop computers, joining a growing list of PC makers recalling Sony batteries.

Hitachi is in talks with Sony about who will foot the bill to replace the lithium-ion batteries, but the number is too small to have any impact on Hitachi earnings, Hitachi spokesman Masayuki Takeuchi said.

The batteries were mostly used in laptops shipped to businesses, mostly in Japan, he said.

 

Sony to launch notebook battery recall - By Erica Ogg
http://news.com.com/Sony+to+launch+notebook+battery+recall/2100-1044_3-6128814.html

Story last modified Mon Oct 23 18:35:40 PDT 2006

Sony plans to recall 340,000 rechargeable lithium ion batteries that shipped with notebook computers in the U.S., the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced Monday.

Batteries that shipped with laptops sold by Fujitsu, Gateway, Sony and Toshiba comprise this recall, the CPSC said. Sony is expected to make its own official announcement at a Tuesday press conference in Japan, CPSC said in a statement. The worldwide tally of potentially defective batteries used in laptops made by these four PC makers is more than 3 million, the CPSC said.

The U.S. commission's decision to recall the batteries is based on 16 previous reports of notebook batteries overheating, causing minor property damage and two minor burns, the statement says. It cautions that there have been no reported incidents involving batteries sold by Fujitsu, Gateway, Sony or Toshiba.

he CPSC determined, in conjunction with Sony, that the battery recall is limited to notebook computers and does not affect other electronic devices with batteries made by Sony, said Julie Vallese, the CPSC's director of information and public affairs.

The announcement put Gateway in the recall spotlight for the first time since reports first surfaced in August. Notified two weeks ago by Sony, Gateway decided to issue a voluntary recall of the batteries contained in 18 of its notebook models, said Lisa Emard, director of media relations for Gateway. "We have not seen any of the types of issues they've described in these batteries in our systems," she said.

Emard said the recall will affect approximately 34,000 Gateway notebook PCs in the U.S.

The commission said 40,000 Fujitsu, 85,000 Sony and 210,000 Toshiba notebooks sold in the U.S. are affected by the announcement.

Dell, Apple Computer, Lenovo and Sharp have also issued massive recalls for the faulty batteries shipped with their notebooks. In total, more than 8 million Sony notebook batteries worldwide have been recalled.