Toshiba recalls 340K Dynabook batteries

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5358754.stm

Toshiba is to replace about 340,000 laptop computer batteries worldwide, the third recall of faulty batteries made by Sony since mid-August.

The batteries, used in Toshiba's Dynabook and Dynabook Satellite laptops made between March and May of this year, could lose all their power.

However, unlike Dell and Apple last month, Toshiba said there was no risk of the faulty batteries catching fire.

Toshiba said the recall would not affect its earnings.

A spokesman declined to estimate the cost of the move, and would not say whether Toshiba was asking Sony to foot the bill.

Toshiba said the batteries would die "only in rare cases".

Last month, Dell recalled four million laptop batteries made by Sony, and Apple recalled 1.8 million, after both said there was an over-heating and fire risk.

 

does this include A105-s4094?

 

Check the list: http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3175

 

You have to either download the battery check utility, or do a visual verification. My laptop and battery models are listed in the recall, but the serial numbers are not within the specified ranges, so they aren't valid for the exchange program.

BTW, this is an exchange program, or otherwise known as a service campaign among you car enthusiasts. It would be an official "recall" if the US Consumer Product Safety Commission ordered Toshiba to retrieve the batteries due to serious hazard a product can pose. This is not a safety issue, rather a performance issue. Just wanted to throw this in before everyone starts panicking.

 

Toshiba has expanded their recall of the Sony made batteries:

Toshiba Announces Recall
Of Sony Laptop Batteries
Associated Press
September 29, 2006 5:38 a.m.

TOKYO -- Major Japanese electronics maker Toshiba Corp. said Friday that it is recalling 830,000 batteries made by Sony Corp. for its laptops, the latest in a growing global recall involving Sony batteries.

Toshiba spokesman Keisuke Omori said the recall involves Dynabook, Qosmio, Satellite Portege and Tecra models, but regional breakdowns and dates of manufacturing weren't immediately available.

Separately, Fujitsu Ltd. spokesman Masao Sakamoto said the Tokyo-based company will be making a decision soon about its laptops using Sony lithium-ion batteries.

The move follows an announcement from Sony earlier in the day asking manufacturers using its problem batteries to carry out exchanges.

The latest announcement brings the tally of recalled batteries to about seven million world-wide.

In August, Dell Inc. asked customers to return 4.1 million batteries, and Apple Computer Inc. recalled 1.8 million batteries world-wide, warning they could catch fire.

Overnight, IBM Corp. and Lenovo Group Ltd., the world's third-largest computer maker, said they were seeking the recall of 526,000 rechargeable, lithium-ion batteries purchased with ThinkPad computers after one of them caught fire at Los Angeles International Airport this month.

Mr. Omori said Toshiba's recall was in response to Sony's request, and Toshiba had not found any cases in which the laptops were at risk of catching fire. "But we wanted to assure and satisfy our customers," he said.

Last week, Toshiba said it was recalling 340,000 laptop batteries, also made by Sony, but that was for a different problem that caused the laptops to run out of power.

Friday's announcement marks the first time a Japanese manufacturer has announced a recall related to the problem in Sony laptop batteries behind the massive global recall.

The recall involving Sony batteries is the largest electronics-related recall in U.S. history. It is a major embarrassment for the Japanese electronics and entertainment powerhouse, which is in the midst of a major overhaul of its operations, closing plants, shutting divisions and trimming jobs.

Sony has said the batteries could catch fire in rare cases when microscopic metal particles came into contact with other parts of the battery cell, leading to a short circuit. Typically a battery pack will power off when there is a short circuit; but on occasion the battery would catch fire instead