Gateway Announces Laptop Battery Recall
Gateway 400VTX and 450ROG series laptops sold from May 2003 to August 2003 may carry the affected batteries. Replacement batteries for the computers are also affected by the recall. The battery packs and computers were sold through Gateway's Professional and Direct Channels as well as Gateway Country stores.
Customers are encouraged to contact Gateway to find out if their battery pack is being recalled. Battery packs with the numbers 6500760 or 6500761 are the only ones included in the recall. If you believe that you have an affected battery pack, you can contact Gateway's customer service hotline at (800) 292-6813 from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. CST. Instructions and details can also be found by visiting www.gateway.com/battery.
Customers with the affected battery packs are eligible for free replacement battery packs. Systems may be used with the battery pack removed, by using the AC adapter and power cord used for power.
Gateway and its suppliers are working to cover the cost of the replacement battery packs and expects their costs to be limited to incidental expenses related to exchanging the battery packs.
Gateway is just the latest computer manufacturer to be plagued by over heating laptop battery packs. Dell, Toshiba, Sony, Hewlett-Packard and Apple have all recalled older battery packs that have been prone to overheating and exploding. In August 2006, Sony recalled close to ten million battery packs shipped in Dell and Apple products due to a risk of fire. The recall cost Sony between $171 million and $250 million and damaged Sony's worldwide reputation.
Before the massive Sony battery pack recall, HP landed in recall hot water when over 200,000 HP and Compaq battery packs were recalled due to an internal short that caused battery cells to overheat and melt the plastic casing. The battery packs had been manufactures in 2004. The company was forced to recall a second set of battery packs in April of 2006. Almost 16,000 batteries were recalled due to a report of 20 batteries overheating resulting in burns and property damage.
Recent changes to battery pack designs have made the battery packs run cooler and pose less risk of overheating or causing fires or burns.
Source:
Gateway Launches Voluntary Battery Exchange Program (http://www.gateway.com/about/news_info/press_release.php)
Published by Kari Livingston
Kari Livingston is a freelancer writer living and loving life in the foothills of the Arkansas Ozarks. She specializes in local restaurants, attractions and family events. Her work has appeared on HubPages,... View profile
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1 Comments
Post a CommentI remember seeing a news clip on my local news channel where the laptop actually caught on fire becuase of the over heated battery. Good stuff!