Lenovo and IBM Recalled 168,500 ThinkPad Batteries in the U.S.

Lenovo and IBM, in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission today announced the voluntary recall of approximately 526,000 ThinkPad laptop lithium-ion batteries worldwide, of which 168,500 in the United States. The batteries are manufactured by Sony. Lenovo offers free-of-charge replacement batteries for all recalled units. Lenovo has confirmed that these batteries can be subject to overheating, posing a potential fire hazard.

The recalled batteries were sold with or sold separately to be used with some models of ThinkPad notebook PCs. Those models are: T Series (T43, T43p, T60), X Series (X60, X60s) and R Series (R51e, R52, R60, R60e).

Since these batteries work with any T4x Series or R5x Series system, customers who ordered an extra battery or received a replacement battery for any T4x or R5x Series notebook PC between February 2005 and September 2006 may also have a battery subject to recall.

IBM and Lenovo sold these batteries with new notebook PCs or as replacement batteries between February 2005 and September 2006. Customers can continue to use their laptops by turning them off, removing the battery, and plugging in the AC adapter and power cord to power the system.

Lenovo estimates that between five and ten percent of ThinkPad notebooks sold during period of February 2005 to September 2006 are affected by the recall.

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