Sony Announces it Will Support Further Battery Recalls from More Manufacturers

While Dell, Apple and Lenovo have issued recalls on Sony made batteries used in their laptops there is indication from Sony there will be more recalls to come in the near future.

According to a press release from Sony they will "initiate a global replacement program for certain battery packs that utilize Sony-manufactured lithium ion cells used by notebook computer manufacturers in order to address concern related to recent over-heating incidents. Sony always strives to deliver the highest level of satisfaction to its customers and all consumers. We believe that this program is in the best interest of both our customers and all consumers."

Sony has been supporting the recall of battery packs for Dell, Apple and Lenovo because according to the company "on rare occasions, microscopic metal particles in the recalled battery cells may come into contact with other parts of the battery cell, leading to a possibility of short circuit within the cell. Typically, a battery pack will simply power off when a cell short circuit occurs. However, under certain rare conditions an internal short circuit may lead to cell overheating and potentially flames. The potential for this to occur can be affected by variations in the system configurations found in different notebook computers. Sony believes that this engineering analysis remains valid."

Sony will be consulting with its OEM customers that utilize their battery cells and work with those that choose to participate regarding quantity and the scheduling of replacement battery packs. Since many notebook manufacturers indeed use Sony batteries we can expect more recalls to come. Manufacturers that choose to do the responsible thing and work with Sony to recall and replace batteries will likely be making announcements in the next few weeks. Stay tuned and we'll post on any further recalls that take place for laptop batteries.

Link to Sony Press Release

 

That's good to hear. It's refreshing to see a company take responsibility like that.

It's going to hurt their pocketbook though. Ouch.

 

Just saw this that Toshiba and Fujitsu are recalling Sony made batteries. check out this news story:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060929/ap_on_bi_ge/japan_battery_recall

 

More than the pocketbook it kills public perception.

 

I think they've been going down that road long before the battery issues.

Remember when "It's a Sony" was just about all they needed to sell their products--and we would willingly pay more for them too?