Dell, along with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), has issued a recall of 4.1 million laptop batteries after it was made aware of concerns that they could catch fire when overheated. It is estimated that about 2.7 million of the recalled notebooks are in the United States
The lithium ion batteries made for the US computer company by Sony , are being withdrawn because they are liable to overheat and in rare cases, produce smoke or on catch fire. Although No injuries have been tied to the defect the company has received six reports of batteries overheating causing damage to furniture and personal belongings.
The recall involves 18 percent of Dell's 22 million notebook computers sold between April 2004 and July 2006. The affected Sony batteries include Dell's Latitude, Precision, Inspiron and XPS laptop lines. The exact models are as follows:
Latitude: D410, D500, D505, D510, D520, D600, D610, D620, D800, D810
Inspiron: 500M, 510M, 600M, 700M, 710M, 6000, 6400, 8500, 8600, 9100, 9200, 9300, 9400, E1505, E1705
Precision: M20, M60, M70, M90
XPS: XPS, XPS Gen2, XPS M170, XPS M1710
Dell is advising customers affected by the recall to eject the battery after powering down the notebook and to use the laptop on AC power until a replacement battery has arrived. Further details can be obtained from Dells website: www.dellbatteryprogram.com.
The withdrawal comes at a sensitive time for Dell which has been fighting broader perceptions of poor customer service and slowing sales growth. It also comes three days before the company is scheduled to report its fiscal second-quarter earnings.
The financial impact of the recall on Sony is still not fully determined but it's expected that Sony would have to at least bear part of the recall expenses. It may be however, that costs are limited due to the fact that only six cases had been reported so far and its hoped the recall rate is likely be fairly low.
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