HP Recalls Battery Packs, Overheating, Fire Hazard Reported

HP has recalled approximately 135,000 laptop battery packs after reports claimed of overheating and fire hazards due to an internal short, which could cause damage to the laptops.

The Chinese made or Taiwan made Lithium Ion batteries were shipped with Hewlett-Packard laptops between May 2004 and May 2005. These rechargeable battery packs were also sold separately and are used to power Compaq Presario and Compaq Evo laptops.

The lithium ion rechargeable batteries have been sold around the world in national and regional computer and electronics stores, HP’s online stores - between March 2004 and May 2005. The recalled packs bear a barcode label starting with GC, IA, L0, or L1. Eighty-five thousand of the 135,000 faulty battery packs were sold in the US.

HP has so far received 16 reports of the batteries overheating, including four in the US. While no injuries have been reported yet, four cases of minor property damage were reported.

The US Consumer Products Safety Commision (CPSC) has advised consumers to stop using the recalled batteries immediately and contact HP to arrange for a free replacement battery. The company has created a dedicated website to handle queries and reports about the faulty battery packs at www.hp.com/support/BatteryReplacement. After removing the offending battery from their laptops, the CPSC advised users to plug in the AC adapter to power their computer until a replacement battery is sent to them.