4.1 Million Dell Batteries Recalled

[bapenguin]

According to Joystiq (http://www.joystiq.com/2006/08/15/dude-youre-returning-a-dell/), Dell will be recalling over 4.1 Million batteries for their various laptop lineups. The reason? They like to explode (http://www.bapenguin.com/?p=37).Dell confirmed Monday they were instituting a massive recall of about 4.1 million notebook batteries from their Latitude, Inspiron and Precision models. The batteries, made with cells by Sony, were reported to "overheat and, in rare cases, produce smoke and catch fire," Dell spokesman Jess Blackburn told Reuters.

Man...it seems Sony can't get away from bad news on any front. Anybody here get a recall notice?

[Heretic Machine]

I actually had to call Dell yesterday to request that my laptop be serviced because of a faulty heatsink. It was a relativley painless process, and they offered to repair it for free (even outside of the warranty) because it is a problem with the design of the heatsink that they have since corrected.

Also, I like their policy of allowing me to keep the hard drive while it is being serviced.

[Qoz]

Hmm.. my girlfriend has one.
Guess I'll have to get a new one from the site.

[Reanimated]

sony trying to kill Dell owners?

[bboy]

Yeah, I did....about 400 of them at my company (D410, D600, and D610's). Boo Hiss on Sony and Dell for that. :mad: :mad:

This simply re-enforces my stance against buying any SONY products whatsoever. Mind you, my reasons are not based on this but rather because of:

SORNY's rootkit fiasco (sneaky underhanded b@stards!).
SORNY's insistance on using their proprietary formats (they're slowly coming around in this area, but who cares).

[ProfPuppet]

What's amusing is that their laptop batteries have a very short lifespan, and are not covered under warranty, even an extended one. Not that I'm bitter.

[Heretic Machine]

Is there anywhere that I can get a model number or something that will tell me if my battery is one of the offenders? I have an Inspiron from 2005.

[Qoz]

Look here (https://www.dellbatteryprogram.com/) for recall information including serialnumbers etc.

[51|RandoM]

sony trying to kill Dell owners?

That is kind of funny.

Technically speaking, though, you can't blame Sony for the batteries until you know for sure that Dell followed the operations/build guidelines published with the battery.

If their design overcharged the battery, or didn't provide adequate system cooling during the charging process, boom!. Just what LI-Ion batteries do sometimes when facing excessive heat.

[Heretic Machine]

Look here (https://www.dellbatteryprogram.com/) for recall information including serialnumbers etc.

Ahh, mine doesn't seem to be on the list: X5646.

[Majster Wichajster]

Oh, buuuuuuurn!

You saw it coming. Anyway, Sony will probably throw a huge sex orgy if they somehow get through next-gen. At least Dell is recalling the laptops, not that they have a choice. I wonder who is to blame here...

[GunnyMo]

That is kind of funny.

Technically speaking, though, you can't blame Sony for the batteries until you know for sure that Dell followed the operations/build guidelines published with the battery.

If their design overcharged the battery, or didn't provide adequate system cooling during the charging process, boom!. Just what LI-Ion batteries do sometimes when facing excessive heat.

No, no, no 51 didn't you see who you quoted? :) It's obvious Sony was trying to kill off Dell customers so their remaining relatives would purchase a Vaio.

[Camel]

Whew! Not on the list! First laptop I've ever had, and it gets pretty damn hot sometimes, so I was worried it would be.

[bapenguin]

That is kind of funny.

Technically speaking, though, you can't blame Sony for the batteries until you know for sure that Dell followed the operations/build guidelines published with the battery.

If their design overcharged the battery, or didn't provide adequate system cooling during the charging process, boom!. Just what LI-Ion batteries do sometimes when facing excessive heat.

The article says Sony and Dell are going halves on the cost of the recall. So it looks like both parties are equally to blame.

[agentgray]

About 2/3 of our systems are affected. This'll be fun. After rootkit, poor PSP, and other such nonsense, I now have a Sony dartboard in my office.

UPDATE: and I know Dell is to blame as well. However, they were pretty quick to pass the buck. Who let 4.1 million batteries get through their testing process...hmmm?

[Ludoc]

Obligatory Ev Av anti-PS3 post:

Sony? Cell? (of a different kind) Fire? Flame on! (pun intended)

Seriously though, I didn't knw Dell was supplied to uch a large part by Sony. Which side of the HD-DVD/Bluray fence do they fall?

[NightRain]

Funny this is I read about this last year and checked out our laptops and found them to be fine. http://www.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/corp/pressoffice/en/2005/2005_12_16_dc_000?c=us&cs=555&l=en&s=biz

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml06/06056.html

Not sure why such a big deal is being made now 8 months later, it was back in December I remember seeing this on the news on TV.


Here is the actual site to check them. https://www.dellbatteryprogram.com/

[Swat]

Looks like I have a couple batteries to return. Still, my dealings with Dell have been A+++ when it comes to warranty and returns. My 2005FPW decided to fizzle out a year ago and they offered to ship out a replacement first and toss the old one in the box they provided. Very slick, very quick, and no complaints.

[Kamalot]

...made with cells by Sony, were reported to "overheat and, in rare cases, produce smoke and catch fire...Oh yeah! You've heard the PS3's Cell processor runs HOT, now we have PROOF! ;-)

[Kamalot]

Funny this is I read about this last year and checked out our laptops and found them to be fine.
Not sure why such a big deal is being made now 8 months later, it was back in December I remember seeing this on the news on TV.
Because this is a different and much larger recall effort than the one from 8 months ago. Way to read the details! :rolleyes:

[NightRain]

Because this is a different and much larger recall effort than the one from 8 months ago. Way to read the details! :rolleyes:

Yes I understand this is a larger recall covering more units. I wasn't trying to be negative I was just stating this was already announced. I know more units are affected then original though.

[Kamalot]

Yes I understand this is a larger recall covering more units. I wasn't trying to be negative I was just stating this was already announced. I know more units are affected then original though.
Well, if it is a different recall with a much larger number of machines affected, then it HASN'T been announced months ago cause it is, well, different.

Don't you think it is important to have these xploding batteries recalled? If so, then everyone should hear about it.

[absolut taco]

I wonder if Apple and HP are going to join in. Apparently they use the same Sony batteries in their laptops. If they do nothing, it will look pretty bad.

[Siraris]

It sounds as if this is Dell's fault and not Sony's. No other manufacturer is having problems with the batteries and this isn't the first issue Dell has had with battery problems either. Lenovo who is also a user of the batteries has said that they haven't heard of any problems so far.

In my experience, my Inspiron 600m gets so hot, I don't even use it anymore.

[Kamalot]

It sounds as if this is Dell's fault and not Sony's. No other manufacturer is having problems with the batteries and this isn't the first issue Dell has had with battery problems either. Lenovo who is also a user of the batteries has said that they haven't heard of any problems so far.

In my experience, my Inspiron 600m gets so hot, I don't even use it anymore.
Wrong. Apple has had problems with the same batteries too.

[Magnanimous Gnome]

My Dell Inspiron laptop is a total POS. The thing gets so hot that I can barely use it, and after a short time it just shuts itself off. I can't even game on it anymore - I just use it for the web, but even then it gets hot enough that I have to have it on a table.

It's the only computer I have to, so I'm stuck with it for quite a while. I'll never buy a Dell product ever again.

[Morangie]

Typical Sony. Microsoft have problems with their power cables setting on fire and have to recall them, and here Sony are with a product that sets on fire months later. Can't they get ANY original ideas?

[nonchalance]

My Inspiron's pretty good about heat; it gets hot enough that I'd rather have something between it and my actual lap, but I haven't had any overheating issues.

My battery's not on the list. Wooo.