Lenovo Battery Recall

From PR/US Newswire:

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using the recalled product immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Lithium-ion extended-life batteries used in ThinkPad notebook computers

Units: About 100,000 battery packs (an additional 105,000 battery packs were sold worldwide)

Battery Distributor: Lenovo (United States) Inc., of Research Triangle Park, N.C.

Battery Manufacturer: Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd., of Japan

Hazard: If the battery in the laptop is struck forcefully on the corner, such as from a direct fall to the ground, the battery pack can overheat and pose a fire hazard to users. This is not an internal battery cell defect.

Incidents/Injuries: Lenovo has received four reports of batteries overheating and damaging the notebook. This caused damage to the notebook computers, minor property damage and, in one case, minor eye irritation to one consumer.

Description: Lenovo sold these extended-life batteries with new ThinkPad notebook PCs or as optional or replacement batteries for the following ThinkPad notebook models: R Series (R60 and R60e), T Series (T60 and T60p) and Z Series (Z60m, Z61e, Z61m, and Z61p). The recalled 9-cell batteries have the following part number, which can be found on the battery label: FRU P/N 92P1131.

Sold Through: Lenovo's Web sites, telephone and direct sales, and Lenovo authorized distributors nationwide between November 2005 and February 2007, as an accessory for about $180, and as part of a ThinkPad notebook computer for between $750 and $3,500.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should stop using the recalled batteries and contact Lenovo for additional information and to receive a free replacement battery. Consumers should use only ThinkPad batteries obtained from either Lenovo or an authorized reseller.

Consumer Contact: Customers should contact Lenovo at (800) 426-7378 anytime, or log on to http://www.lenovo.com/batteryprogram to determine if the battery is part of the recall and to order a replacement battery.

Note: In September 2006, Lenovo conducted a recall of batteries manufactured by another firm for a different problem.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from more than 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $700 billion annually. The CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard. The CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products -- such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals -- contributed significantly to the 30 percent decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.

To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC's hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC's teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270 or visit CPSC's Web site at http://www.cpsc.gov/talk.html. Consumers can obtain this release and recall information at CPSC's Web site at http://www.cpsc.gov.

Firm's Recall Hotline: (800) 426-7378
CPSC Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772
CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908

This was a product that I was rather familiar with in my previous line of employment. I'm not a real fan of external batteries at any rate...and this is just one of the reasons why.