Dell to Recall 4.1 Million Batteries

Dell woke up to the fact that its laptop batteries pose potential fire hazard after the US Consumer Product Safety Division (CPSD) received six such complaints. Thankfully, no one was hurt in the incidents. The consequence: The US computer maker is recalling an estimated 4.1 million laptop computer batteries made for Dell by Sony.

The lithium-ion batteries being recalled are installed in 2.7 million laptops sold in the US and 1.4 million sold overseas. The under mentioned models are likely to be affected:

Dell Latitude D410, D500, D505, D510, D520, D600, D610, D620, D800, D810;

Inspiron 6000, 8500, 8600, 9100, 9200, 9300, 500m, 510m, 600m, 6400, E1505, 700m, 710m, 9400, E1705;

Dell Precision M20, M60, M70 and M90 mobile workstations; and XPS, XPS Gen2, XPS M170 and XPS M1710.

The problematic batteries have been shipped between April 1, 2004 and July 18, 2006. To identify these batteries, one has to look at the backside for the following words: "DELL" and "Made in Japan" or "Made in China" or "Battery cell made in Japan, Assembled in China".

Computer owners have been advised to remove the batteries from the notebooks, till the time Dell provides replacement batteries. The CPSD stated that this is the largest computer-related recall in the agency's history.

However, Dell is not the only one affected. Computers from Hewlett-Packard and Apple are also reported to be affected. Apple has initiated a "battery exchange program" for some MacBook Pros shipped from February 2006 through May 2006. However, it has stated that the affected batteries do not meet their high standards for battery performance, hence they are replacing the batteries free of charge.”

While Dell’s action of recalling the affected batteries is appropriate, its repercussions are yet to be seen or felt by Dell. What we may witness is that customers may claim damages from Dell. At an organizational level Dell and Sony may pass the buck to each other.