Dell Recalls Laptop Batteries

About 35,000 Latitude, Precision, Inspiron, and XPS models pose fire risk, vendor says.

Tom Krazit, IDG News Service

Dell and the Consumer Products Safety Commission have announced a recall of about 35,000 notebook batteries that could potentially pose a fire risk.

No injuries have been reported from the faulty batteries. Dell has received three reports of damage to table tops and desks as a result of the problem, it said in a joint news release Friday with the CPSC. Around 22,000 of the batteries were sold in the U.S.

Dell will replace all the affected batteries free of charge.

Affected Models

The recall affects certain Dell notebooks sold between October 5, 2004, and October 13, 2005. Customers who purchased the following models are advised to visit a Dell Web site with information about the affected models.

Users who may need a new battery are those using Dell Latitude models D410, D505, D510, D600, D610, D800, and D810; Inspiron models 510M, 600M, 6000, 8600, 9200, and 9300; the XPS Generation 2 notebook; and Precision M20 and M70 mobile workstations. The batteries were also sold separately and provided as part of service replacements, Dell said.

Customers can also call 1-866-342-0011 toll free to determine whether their notebooks have the affected batteries. Users should have the identification number stamped on the back of the battery written down before they call or visit Dell's site, the company said.

Just a year ago, Dell issued a similar recall of power cords for some of its laptop models, among them certain Latitude, Precision, and Inspiron notebooks.