Toshiba Expands Battery Recall – 175,000 Laptops Now Affected

Toshiba recently recalled lithium-ion battery packs used in  91,000 laptops due to overheating, potentially causing fire hazards to consumers. The company is now expanding that recall to cover an additional 83,000 laptops.

Lithium-ion Battery Pack Description

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission:

• The original recall covered 39 models, including Portege, Satellite, and Tecra laptops, sold between June 2011 and January 2016.
• The new recall expands to cover the same models sold through November 2016.
• The expanded recall includes battery packs used in 41 of its computer models.
• The battery packs included in the recall have part numbers beginning with G71C.
• The part numbers are printed on the battery pack.

Incidents

Toshiba has received one additional report of a battery pack overheating. Previously, the company had received four consumer complaints of overheating and melting incidents. None of the five reports included injuries.

Additional Recall Information

In reference to laptops directly affected by the recall, Toshiba cautions that other computers may be affected if their owners purchased extra battery packs or had their batteries replaced during servicing.

In the event that your battery has been recalled, Toshiba suggest that users power off the laptop, remove the battery, and request a replacement battery pack.

Until a replacement battery pack is received, consumers should use the laptop by plugging into AC power only.