Battery Spotlight Brightens
Nearly 10 million laptop batteries manufactured by Sony are being recalled worldwide.
That recall affects approximately 340,000 in the United States.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a formal recall notice for U.S. consumers.
The government says the batteries could catch fire. Sony will replace them free of charge.
Computers made by Gateway, Dell, Apple, Lenovo and Sony's Vaio brand are among those affected.
Sony executives are apologizing for the global recall, acknowledging that the troubles had caused worries and inconvenience to consumers.
The Japanese electronics and entertainment company said improvements in production, design and inspection have been made to prevent a recurrence of laptop overheating problems. Company officials said they were caused by microscopic metal particles that mistakenly got inside the battery, causing short-circuiting.
| Computer Manufacturer | Computer Model | Battery Model |
|---|---|---|
| Fujitsu | LifeBook: P1510, P1510D, P7120, P7120D, S7020, S7020D, C1320D, Q2010, T4210 | CP229720-01, CP229725-01, CP234003-01, CP234019-01, CP255100-01, CP255108-01, CP267910-01, CP267915-01, CP283030-01, CP293420-01 |
| Gateway | Gateway: CX200, CX210, E100M, M250, M255, M280, M285, M465, M685, MP8708, NX260, NX510, NX560, NX860, NX100, MX1025, MX6918b, and MX1020j | 916C4610F, 916C4720F, 916C4730F, 916C5010F, W230 |
| Sony | Sony VAIO: VGN-FE550G, VGN-FE570G, VGN-T240P, VGN-T250, VGN-T250P, VGN-T260P, VGN-T270P, VGN-T340P, VGN-T350, VGN-T350P, VGN-T360P, VGN-T370P | VGP-BPS3A, VGP-BPS2B |
| Toshiba | Portege: M300, M400/M405, S100/S105 Qosmio: G35 Satellite: R10/R15 Tecra: A2, M3, M4, M5, M6, and S3 | PA3191U-4BRS, PA3356U-2BRS, PA3475U-1BRS, PA3191U-5BRS, PA3356U-3BRS, PA3476U-1BRS |
The batteries were sold directly by Fujitsu Computer Systems Corporation, Gateway Inc., Sony Electronics Inc., and Toshiba America Information Systems Inc. and through authorized distributors as part of a notebook computer. The computers sold for between $500 and $3000 and the batteries were also sold separately for between $75 and $200, during the following dates:
Consumers should remove the affected batteries from notebook computers until they contact their computer manufacturer and receive further instructions. Batteries covered by this program will be replaced free of charge. Consumers should use only batteries obtained from their computer manufacturer or from an authorized reseller.
Customers should contact the manufacturer of their notebook computer to determine if their battery is covered by this program and to request a replacement battery. The contact information for the participating manufacturers is:
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