Dell, along with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), has issued a recall of 4.1 million laptop batteries manufactured for the company by Sony according to a Dell representative. The recall affects batteries manufactured by Sony in Dell’s Latitude, Precision, Inspiron and XPS laptop lines, manufactured between April 2004 and July 18^th 2006. The exact models are as follows:

• Latitude: D410, D500, D505, D510, D520, D600, D610, D620, D800, D810
• Inspiron: 500M, 510M, 600M, 700M, 710M, 6000, 6400, 8500, 8600, 9100, 9200, 9300, 9400, E1505, E1705
• Precision: M20, M60, M70, M90
• XPS: XPS, XPS Gen2, XPS M170, XPS M1710

Dell is advising customers affected by the recall to eject the battery after powering down the notebook and to use the laptop on AC power until a replacement battery has arrived. The affected batteries may spontaneously combust, sometimes rather violently.

According to Dell the problem is related impurities in the anode and cathode of the battery. Over time the impurities can work their way to the outside of the anode and rupture an isolator.  The ruptured insulator then leaves an opportunity to create a short circuit that could result in a fire.

Customers who may have recalled batteries can go to DellBatteryProgram.com to determine if they need a new battery or call 1.866.342.0011 for assistance from Dell.