Dell Recalls 4 Million Batteries

One of the production laptops we use at Consumer Help Web is a Dell Inspiron 9100 that has a bad overheating problem. (We had a Latitude as well, but that's another story).

Tonight, Dell has announced a voluntary recall of approximately 4.1 million Dell-branded lithium-ion batteries with cells manufactured by Sony. Under rare conditions, it is possible for these batteries to overheat, which could cause a risk of fire. The good news --- at least two of our machines qualify!

The recalled batteries were sold with the following Dell notebook computers: Dell LatitudeTM D410, D500, D505, D510, D520, D600, D610, D620, D800, D810; InspironTM 6000, 8500, 8600, 9100, 9200, 9300, 500m, 510m, 600m, 6400, E1505, 700m, 710m, 9400, E1705; and Dell PrecisionTM M20, M60, M70 and M90 mobile workstations; and XPSTM , XPS Gen2, XPS M170 and XPS M1710. The batteries were also sold separately, including in response to service calls. "Dell" and one of the following are printed on the batteries: "Made in Japan" or "Made in China" or "Battery Cell Made in Japan Assembled in China." The identification number for each battery appears on a white sticker. Customers should have this number available when they contact Dell to determine if their battery is part of the recall.

Dell sold or provided these batteries with the notebook computers, as part of a service replacement, and as individual units from April 1, 2004, through July 18, 2006. The computers with these batteries sold for between $500 and $2,850 (US) and individual batteries sold for between $60 and $180 (US).

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.

Tags: Dell , recall , laptop , battery

posted by Consumer Help Web Editorial Team at 9:11 PM |