Dell Issues Laptop Battery Recall

zoogies writes "The New York Times is reporting that Dell is now issuing a laptop battery recall — for notebooks sold between April 2004 and July 18, 2006. According to the article, 'The recalled batteries were used in 2.7 million computers sold in the United States and 1.4 million sold overseas. The total is about 18 percent of Dell's notebook production during the period in question.' This seems to go along with a June Slashdot story on an exploding Dell laptop, and a July Slashdot story on a Dell investigation into its exploding laptops. Curiously, there is nothing yet on Dell Support's product recall page about this latest recall."

Comments

Web site to check your laptop

[Ctrl-Z]

Dell has set up a website at http://www.dellbatteryprogram.com to check your laptop model.

Re:Web site to check your laptop

[Ctrl-Z]

That may be, but this paragraph makes me think that it has been updated:

In addition, these batteries may have also been provided in response to service calls. The batteries were shipped to customers between April 1, 2004 and July 18, 2006. The words "DELL" and "Made in Japan" or "Made in China" or "Battery cell made in Japan, Assembled in China" are printed on the back of the batteries. If your battery does not reflect one of these markings it is not part of this recall, and you may exit the site.

(emphasis added)

How To Check / What To Do

[brunes69]

From the official Dell press release....

Customers should contact Dell to determine if their notebook computer battery is part of this recall. Please visit the firm's Web site at www.dellbatteryprogram.com beginning at 1 a.m. Central Daylight Time Aug. 15 or call toll-free at 1-866-342-0011, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Time. Customers may continue to use the notebook 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. Customers can also write to: Dell Inc., Attn: Battery Recall, 9701 Metric Blvd., Austin, Texas 78758.

Assault and Battery

[Ruff_ilb]

Actually, Apple is involved just as much as Dell is. The same division of Sony that manufactured these batteries for Dell also produced many batteries for Apple laptops. Although the issue has already been brought up to Apple, they haven't said whether or not they're going to recall as well, merely saying that they would "look into" the issue.

(http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/corporaten ews/view/224917/1/.html)

Given Apple's many battery woes, a recall on their part also seems likely if this is indeed the same battery batch/design.

On the other hand, this is yet another one the conspiracy theorists can blame on Sony (/tinfoilhat on)

Re:Assault and Battery

[vought]

Sony was the designer and
build partner for Apple's original PowerBook 5300 battery, which would have been the first mass-marketed laptop with an L-Ion battery.

Introduced in the fall of 1995, only about 1500 of the powerBook 5300 units had
shipped when the battery - again, designed and built by Sony -
caught fire in an Apple lab. A separate overheating incident at
Apple later that week caused the company to pull all the stops to
recall and destroy the Sony L-Ion cells. Customers all received two NiMH
batteries as compensation.

Apple's new flagship laptop started life with a misstep because
of Sony - who Apple never explicitly named in the press.

What's Sony's problem? Have they figured L-Ion batteries out in
the past 11 years? Apparently not. no word on whether UPS is going to seek damages from Sony/Dell for the cargo jet they suspect was lost to an L-Ion fire in February.

No, actually it's new (again)

[dereference]

See Dell's official announcement here, where it says:

Please visit the firm's Web site at www.dellbatteryprogram.com beginning at 1 a.m. Central Daylight Time Aug. 15

The CPSC page is somewhat less informative.

Re:Sony Batteries

[dgatwood]

Problem is that companies like Apple and Dell probably have contract terms that stipulate a maximum (typical) expected failure rate above which the component manufacturer must cover some or all of the repair costs. While some of these costs will still probably be borne by Dell, odds are Sony will bear the brunt of the costs unless the folks at Dell are asleep at the switch.

If you have Sony stock, now would probably be a good time to sell some of it. :-)