HP and Compaq Notebook Battery Recall Expanded Due to Fire Risk

A continuing string of burn injuries, fires and property damage have led to yet another expansion of a notebook battery recall involving Hewlett-Packard and Compaq computers.

About 162,600 batteries are part of the HP battery recall expansion, which was announced on May 27 by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

The battery recall was first issued in May 2009 for about 70,000 batteries due to a tendency to overheat and rupture. It was expanded a year later, in May 2010, to include another 54,000 batteries. The recall now encompasses more than 286,000 lithium-ion batteries.

Since the May 2010 recall expansion, HP has received 40 new reports of lithium-ion batteries in computer notebooks that have overheated and ruptured. The defective batteries burned seven people, caused one smoke inhalation injury and 36 cases of property damage.

The battery recall affects more than 30 models of HP, HP Pavilion, HP Compaq and Compaq Presario notebook computers that were not part of the previous recalls. A complete list of model numbers and battery bar codes affected by the recall are available on the CPSC’s recall announcement. The model numbers are located at the top of the service label on the underside of the computer.

The affected notebook computers were sold at computer and electronic stores nationwide, as well as on hp.com and hpshopping.com, from July 2007 through July 2008 for $500 to $3,000. Some of the affected batteries were also sold separately for between $100 and $160.

The CPSC recommends that consumers immediately remove affected batteries from their notebook computer and contact HP to determine if the battery is included in the recall. This applies even to consumers who previously checked their battery and were told it was not included in the last recall. Those with batteries affected by the recall will have them replaced free of charge. The notebook computers can be powered via the AC adapter until the battery is replaced.

Consumers with questions can visit the HP Battery Replacement Program website at www.hp.com/support/BatteryReplacement.