Washington — The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Acer America, today announced a voluntary program for the replacement of certain notebook computer lithium-ion batteries containing Sony-made cells.
The lithium-ion batteries can overheat, posing a fire hazard to consumers, according to a release. About 27,000 units are affected by the recall.
The affected notebooks and batteries are:
·TravelMate 321x with BT00604001 battery bar code;
·Aspire 980x with BT00804016 battery bar code;
·TravelMate 242x, TravelMate 330x and Aspire 556x with BT00604005 battery bar code;
·TravelMate 561x, Aspire 930x and Aspire 941x with BT00807010 battery bar code;
·TravelMate C20x with BT00604002 battery bar code;
·TravelMate 422x, TravelMate 467x, Aspire 560x and Aspire 567x with BT00804011 battery bar code; and
·TravelMate 320x with BTT4807001 battery bar code.
There have been 16 reports of notebook batteries overheating. These reports were associated with earlier recalls by other notebook computer manufacturers of batteries containing these Sony cells.These previous reports involved only minor property damage and two minor burns, and none of these reports involved batteries in Acer notebook computers, according to the release.
The batteries were sold from May 2004 through November 2006 for between $500 and $1,500.
Consumers should stop using these recalled batteries immediately and contact Acer to receive a free replacement battery. Consumers can continue to use the notebook computers safely by turning the system off, removing the battery, and using the AC adapter and power cord to power the system until the replacement battery is received.
For assistance in determining if their battery packs are covered by this program and to request a free replacement battery pack, consumers can visit www.acerbatteryrecall.com/AcerWeb. Consumer also can contact Acer toll-free at (800) 503-2330.
