subject: Fire Hazard Risk Prompts Giant Dell Laptop Battery Recall [print this page] Computer maker Dell today said it will recall 4.1 million laptop computer batteries because of a potential fire hazard. It's reportedly one of the largest consumer electronics recalls in history.
The lithium-ion batteries being recalled are installed in 2.7 million laptops sold in the United States and 1.4 million sold overseas between April 2004 and July 18 of this year, Dell said.
"Under rare conditions, it is possible for these batteries to overheat, which could cause a risk of fire," Dell said in a statement. The comapany said the overheating was caused by a manufacturing defect in batteries made for it by Sony.
Customers may continue to use the laptop computers safely by turning the system off, ejecting the battery, and using the AC adapter and power cord to power the system until the replacement battery is received, the company said.
Models Affected
The recalled batteries were sold with the following Dell notebook computers: Dell 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; and Dell Precision M20, M60, M70 and M90 mobile workstations; and XPS, XPS Gen2, XPS M170 and XPS M1710.
The batteries were also sold separately, including in response to service calls. The words "Dell" and one of the following are printed on the laptop batteries: "Made in Japan" or "Made in China" or "Battery Cell Made in Japan Assembled in China," Dell said.Uniwill un755 battery
