Lenovo Recalls 100,000 ThinkPad Extended-Life Batteries in U.S. Due to Fire Hazard

MORRISVILLE, N.C. – Lenovo and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission are recalling some 100,000 extended-life battery packs in ThinkPad laptop computers due to a fire hazard.

Another recall was issued for some 105,000 of the battery packs sold to international customers.

The voluntary recall was issued Thursday morning.

The battery packs are 9-cell models and are attached externally to various Lenovo models.

“We were able to determine all the incidents had something in common, that if the battery pack itself was subject to a drop or a severe impact,” Lenovo spokesperson Ray Gorman said. “Once we concluded it was not a random failure and could be prevented, we immediately took steps to ensure the public’s safety.”

The Sanyo-made batteries can overheat and pose a fire hazard, the CPC and Lenovo said. The company has received four reports of batteries overheating and causing damage. One consumer reported “minor eye irritation,” Lenovo reported.

The batteries must be dropped from a relatively high level, such as a desk, and must land on a corner in order to be affected, Gorman said. Lenovo and Sanyo have cooperated in designing a fix for the batteries that involves the plastic casing protecting the cells.

The defect does not affect the cells themselves, Gorman said.

Last September, a Lenovo laptop powered by a Sony-made battery erupted in flames at Los Angeles International Airport. That incident led to the recall of more than 500,000 Sony batteries.

The problem with those batteries were impurities in the production process, Gorman said.

The latest recall is for lithium-ion extended life batteries. Lenovo, which is based in Morrisville and is the world’s third largest personal computer manufacturer, is offering a replacement battery pack free of charge.

Some 100,000 laptops in the U.S. are affected by the recall. Another 105,000 battery packs were included in laptops sold outside of the U.S.

“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,” the CPC said in the recall statement.

The batteries were sold with new ThinkPads or as replacement batteries for the following models: R Series (R60 and R60e), T Series (T60 and T60p) and Z Series (Z60m, Z61e, Z61m, and Z61p).

The recalled battery includes the following number on its label: FRU P/N 92P1131.

The laptops were sold from November of 2005 through February of this year.

For more information, consumers can contact Lenovo at (800) 426-7378 or visit the Lenovo Web site.