3.5 Million More Sony Batteries Under Recall

By Michelle Kessler and Jayne O’Donnell

Sony and the Consumer Product Safety Commission said late Monday that the company will recall nearly 3.5 million additional laptop computer batteries because of fire risks.

The new recall involves numerous models of batteries in some Sony, Gateway, Toshiba and Fujitsu laptops. Consumers can check their PC maker’s website or cpsc.gov.

The new recall comes as buyers have returned only a small percentage of the 7 million Sony laptop batteries already recalled, data from computer makers and analysts suggest.

Lenovo says it has received fewer than 10,000 of the 526,000 batteries it recalled in September. Like every PC maker affected, Lenovo bought the batteries from Sony.

That’s a return rate of less than 2%, despite a much-publicized free replacement offer and injury risks associated with the batteries.

There have been 16 reports of previously recalled Sony laptop computer batteries overheating, leading to minor property damage and two minor burns, the CPSC says. No incidents have been reported with the newly recalled batteries.

Dell similarly recalled 4.2 million batteries beginning in August. Orders for more than 200,000 — or about 5% — were placed during the busy first 10 days. The company says it is not ready to provide an update. But order rates have probably dropped off since then, says tech analyst Roger Kay at Endpoint Technologies Associates.

Several other PC makers affected by the earlier recall, including Apple, Fujitsu and Toshiba, aren’t talking.

A preliminary study of 377 corporate technology departments by researcher IDC shows only 37% of companies polled with affected batteries had sent most back. More than 12% hadn’t sent any.

IDC is still surveying consumers. IDC analyst Richard Shim says consumers are much less likely to respond to a recall than businesses, because they’re harder to reach and have less time to deal with tech problems. Kay says response rates to tech recalls are “amazingly low” — often below 15%.

Customers without spare batteries are advised to use laptops only under plug power until a replacement arrives.

Last week, Sony set aside $429 million to pay for a recall of nearly 10 million batteries. Since actual return rates will likely be much lower, Kay says some of the money will “go back into circulation.”

Laptop users will likely be affected most by airplane bans. Korean Air is asking all laptop-toting passengers to remove their batteries and plug into the plane’s power system, an option available on nearly every international seat.

Virgin Atlantic is prohibiting the use of affected batteries. Higher-class passengers can plug in, but those in coach don’t have the option. Qantas is asking affected laptop users to remove the battery only if they’re plugging into the plane’s power system. (c) Copyright 2005 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.