Lenovo is expanding a recall of their ThinkPad notebook computer battery packs. The battery packs can overheat, posing a fire hazard. Lenovo has received four incident reports of battery packs overheating and damaging the computers, battery packs, and surrounding property. One incident included a consumer’s skin being reddened and burn marks on the consumer’s clothing.
The battery packs were sold with ThinkPad notebook computers at computer and electronics stores and authorized dealers and online at www.lenovo.com from February 2010 through June 2012 for between $350 and $3,000. The battery packs were also sold separately for $80 to $150. The expanded recall includes 148,800 battery packs in the United States and 17,700 in Canada (about 37,400 in both countries were previously recalled in March 2014).
The battery packs were sold with 35 models of ThinkPad notebook computers, and they were also sold separately. The battery packs are 8 to 11 inches long, 1 to 3 inches wide, and about 1 inch high. See the CPSC recall notice for a full list of model numbers.
Customers should immediately turn off their ThinkPad laptops, remove the battery pack, and contact Lenovo for a free replacement battery pack. In the meantime, customers can continue to use their ThinkPad notebooks without the recalled batteries by plugging in the AC adapter and power cord.
