Thinkpad Batteries Recalled for Fire Risk
ThinkPad owners might want to check their machine’s battery pack serial number as maker Lenovo has just issued a product recall after discovering the unit could be a fire hazard.
The lithium-ion batteries at the center of the recall shipped worldwide between October 2010 and April 2011, the company said in a statement Thursday, with 34,500 thought to be in circulation in the US and 2,900 in Canada. More than 115,000 units have also been recalled in China, according to Chinese media sources.
Lenovo urged customers with a recalled battery to refrain from using it immediately.
“Until a replacement battery arrives, you should turn off the system, remove the battery, and only power your ThinkPad by plugging in the AC adapter and power cord,” the company said.
This recall involves Lenovo battery packs sold with the following ThinkPad notebook computers: the Edge 11, 13 and 14 series, the T410, T420, T510 and W510 series, and the X100e, X120e, X200, X201 and X201s series. The battery packs were also sold separately. The black battery packs measure between 8 to 11 inches long, 1 to 3 inches wide and about 1 inch high. Recalled battery packs have one of the following part numbers starting with the fourth digit in a long series of numbers and letters printed on a white sticker below the bar code on the battery pack: 42T4695, 42T4711, 42T4798, 42T4804, 42T4812, 42T4822, 42T4828, 42T4834, 42T4840 and 42T4890. —Consumer Products Safety Commission
