"Flames and fire" risk prompts HP battery recall

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 15 May 2009 at 09:09

HP has issued a recall for 70,000 lithium-ion batteries, which it claims are a fire hazard.

According to the recall announcement there have been two reported incidents of batteries overheating in HP laptops, resulting in "flames and fire that caused minor property damage but no injuries".

The laptops featuring the recalled batteries cover a wide range of models, including the Pavilion, Presario and Compaq series. The batteries were also sold individually.

The worldwide recall warns anybody who bought one of these models between August 2007 and March 2008 to return the battery to HP for a free exchange. In the meantime, it's perfectly safe to continue using the laptop on mains power.

The incident literally reignites the over-heating lithium-ion battery issue, which saw millions of laptop batteries recalled in 2007 and 2008, affecting most the major laptop manufacturers.

The statement from HP did not identify the manufacturer of the 70,000 batteries it wants back, but it does note they were manufactured in China. The Sony batteries that sparked the last bout of recalls were built in Japan.