Dell Issues Largest Safety Recall in Industry History

By Amy Teeple

Published on August 15, 2006

Dell, the world’s largest personal computer maker, notified the CPSC of six documented cases of the notebooks overheating or catching fire. None of the incidents were linked to injuries or deaths.

According to Dell, defective batteries are the source of the fires and overheating. The lithium-ion batteries used in the computers were made by Sony and installed in Dell notebooks sold between April 2004 and July 18, 2006. The battery packs were included in some of Dell’s Latitude, Inspiron, XTS, and precision mobile workstation notebooks.

Depending on the number of laptops that still have the defective batteries, the recall could cost over $300 million. Sony has acknowledged its battery’s role in the matter and has offered financial support to help Dell with the recall. Exact financial figures were not disclosed by either company.

Dell will notify affected customers by mail and online. Customers will be instructed to remove the dangerous battery and arrange for a replacement. For more information, go to www.dellbatteryprogram.com.

Prior to this recall, the largest consumer electronic industry safety recall involved one million Kyocera mobile phone batteries.

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