Lenovo, IBM laptops hit with battery recalls

The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced today a voluntary recall of more than 500,000 rechargeable, lithium-ion batteries used in Lenovo ThinkPad notebook computers.

CPSC said consumers should stop using the affected laptop computer batteries, made by Sony, immediately. The recall affects laptop computers distributed by Lenovo and IBM from February 2005 to September as an accessory costing $150 to $180 or as part of a ThinkPad notebook computer costing $750 to $3,500.

According to the advisory from the CPSC, these lithium-ion batteries can cause overheating, posing a fire hazard to consumers. Lenovo said it has received one confirmed report of a battery overheating and causing a fire that damaged the computer.

The incident, which occurred at an airport terminal as the user was boarding an airplane, caused enough smoke and sparks that a fire extinguisher was used to put it out. There was minor property damage, and no injuries were reported, CPSC said.

The recalled lithium-ion batteries were sold with, or separately to be used with, the following ThinkPad notebook computers:

• T Series (T43, T43p, T60).
• R Series (R51e, R52, R60, R60e).
• X Series (X60, X60s).