DailyTech - All Sony Notebook Batteries Now Under Investigation

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IT All Sony Notebook Batteries Now Under Investigation
Tuan Nguyen (Blog) - August 17, 2006 5:31 AM

29 comment(s) - last by crystal clear.. on Aug 18 at 3:18 AM

Safety concerns loom over Sony batteries by HP says "it's just a Dell issue"

Sony could very well be forced to announce a major recall on a large number of or all of the batteries that it manufactures. From laptops to hand held devices, Sony's batteries are now under heavy investigation by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission citing safety concerns. The investigation started after Dell's recent 4.1 million battery recall. The Commission however says that hazardous situations are not limited to just Dell laptops -- Sony batteries are used in other computers by Apple, HP and Lenovo. HP responded by saying that "it's a Dell issue" and that it's not affected by the investigation.

Dell's recall of 4.1 million batteries however is an indication that the situation is more severe than at first appears. Earlier this month Apple issued a recall for certain batteries that shipped with its MacBook Pro notebook computer. Apple said that the batteries did not perform up to expectations but otherwise did not pose serious threat to users.

Analysts say that Dell's recall of 4.1 million batteries could cost up to $300 million depending on how many users actually send in their batteries. Lenovo told reporters that it was not recalling any batteries yet and Apple said it would look into the situation. Out of all the manufacturers using batteries from Sony, only Dell has issued a recall. Interestingly, a Sony representative told reporters that Sony believes the problem to be isolated to just Dell.

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Homeland Security danger

By interl0per on 8/17/2006 8:24:36 AM , Rating: 2

No way any of these products should be allowed on planes.
Someone better tell Michael.

RE: Homeland Security danger

By alexsch8 on 8/17/2006 8:52:57 AM , Rating: 2

Good point!

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RE: Homeland Security danger

By Chadder007 on 8/17/2006 10:10:42 AM , Rating: 5

New Movie coming out..... Batteries on a Plane!!!!

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RE: Homeland Security danger

By KristopherKubicki

(blog) on 8/17/2006 10:16:10 AM , Rating: 3

Your well timed and well executed SOAP reference has assured you +5 rating.

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RE: Homeland Security danger

By TomZ on 8/17/06, Rating: 0

RE: Homeland Security danger

By epsilonparadox on 8/17/2006 11:40:29 AM , Rating: 2

Its such a stupid name for a movie. And samuel starring in the movie doesn't really promote his career.

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RE: Homeland Security danger

By KristopherKubicki

(blog) on 8/18/2006 2:50:13 AM , Rating: 2

I just saw it. It is hysterically awful and addicting.

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RE: Homeland Security danger

By ksherman on 8/17/2006 10:17:51 AM , Rating: 2

:-D

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uh oh....

By Xavian on 8/17/2006 6:43:20 AM , Rating: 2

Sony under serious investigation and a large portion of Sony-made batteries could be recalled?

Something tells me those who use Sony Batteries in their laptops wont be buying from the said manufacturer again.

All things considered, Sony seems to have bad press after bad press, i really do wonder how long Sony can endure it without starting to lose serious business to its competitors.

RE: uh oh....

By plewis00 on 8/17/2006 7:28:35 AM , Rating: 2

I was more surprised to hear no-one mention Sony VAIO laptops - like the one I'm typing on now. Do Sony even use their own cells in their machines? I know some companies don't, like I'd seen Toshiba laptops with Fujitsu and HGST hard disks installed out of the box.

To be honest, 3 fires in batteries is, of course, a big deal and very unfortunate but in the scheme of things and given the number of machines out there it is a tiny percentage, and it possibly won't happen again (touch wood). Who knows if these fried/exploding batteries hadn't been dropped by the users and the protective circuitry malfunctioned? People dropping their computers isn't that out of the ordinary.

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RE: uh oh....

By LtFarva on 8/17/2006 7:51:32 AM , Rating: 2

Someone mentioned on another article thread (I believe the one about the recall) that their VAIO did not have a sony battery.

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RE: uh oh....

By Johnmcl7 on 8/17/2006 8:37:55 AM , Rating: 2

In another thread someone said it was Mitsubishi who make the batteries for the Vaios.

John

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RE: uh oh....

By Reflex on 8/17/2006 12:56:38 PM , Rating: 2

Just a couple points here. The issue is definatly not Dell, at my work one of these batteries literally exploded in the hands of a developer and set his office on fire, it was brand new and had yet to be charged. Secondly, there is no way there are less than a half a dozen cases of this, I personally am aware of two cases, and this article implies its only happened three times. There is no way that I have witnessed or been aware of 2/3 of the cases, that would just be way too coincidental...

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RE: uh oh....

By creathir on 8/17/2006 1:18:30 PM , Rating: 2

Consider yourself... lucky?

Out of the 4 millions, less than 15 have exploded...
You have gotten to see this... very cool.

- Creathir

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RE: uh oh....

By TomZ on 8/17/2006 8:30:29 AM , Rating: 4

quote:
Sony under serious investigation and a large portion of Sony-made batteries could be recalled?

Something tells me those who use Sony Batteries in their laptops wont be buying from the said manufacturer again.

At these types of manufacturing quantities, the batteries that Dell and the other laptop vendors order from Sony are most likely customized for their particular application, although based on common components. Therefore, it is possible that this is a Dell-only issue, due to the particular configuration Dell ordered, and may not necessarily affect other computer makers that use Sony batteries.

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RE: uh oh....

By heulenwolf on 8/17/2006 9:25:02 AM , Rating: 1

The problem likely has more to do with the monitoring/charging chip built into the battery case. If you overheat Li-ion battery cells, they will melt down or explode. There's a chip in the battery case that is supposed to monitor the temp and prevent overheating and overcharging. It could be that the chip or temp monitor was improperly designed or it could be that it was designed well but fab'd poorly. The only folks who know work for Dell, Sony, and whatever company(ies) actually built the things. The individual Li-ion cells are probably as good as any others out there.

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RE: uh oh....

By TomZ on 8/17/06, Rating: 0

Blame Game

By Viper007Bond on 8/17/2006 6:23:00 AM , Rating: 3

It's your fault! Nuh uh, it's your's!

RE: Blame Game

By marvdmartian on 8/17/2006 9:11:01 AM , Rating: 2

I wonder, does Sony even make Sony batteries? Or are they putting their badge on someone else's product?

Another thing, is there any way that the way that Dell built their notebook battery charging systems could be at fault here? It could be that Sony has a mediocre battery, but it's constantly being overcharged by the charging system built (or installed) by Dell, which is causing the overheating problem, couldn't it?

This reminds me of when the Ford Explorers started having all the rollover accidents. They immediately placed the fault on Firestone, and it wasn't until later that we found out that Ford knew that the "Exploders" had a crummy suspension, and instead of fixing the problem, Ford instead told people to purposely UNDER inflate the tires.....which any good mechanic can tell you puts the tires under a LOT more stress, and will cause premature failure of the tire!! But was it Ford's fault?? NOOOOOOO!!

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RE: Blame Game

By TomZ on 8/17/2006 9:55:21 AM , Rating: 2

quote:
I wonder, does Sony even make Sony batteries? Or are they putting their badge on someone else's product?

Sony is a manufacturer of OEM batteries: http://products.sel.sony.com/semi/energy/

quote:
Another thing, is there any way that the way that Dell built their notebook battery charging systems could be at fault here? It could be that Sony has a mediocre battery, but it's constantly being overcharged by the charging system built (or installed) by Dell, which is causing the overheating problem, couldn't it?

Doesn't sound like that is the root cause:

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.
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=3795

quote:
This reminds me of when the Ford Explorers started having all the rollover accidents. They immediately placed the fault on Firestone, and it wasn't until later that we found out that Ford knew that the "Exploders" had a crummy suspension...

There was not a single cause (i.e., suspension):

According to a report released on February 2, 2001 there was no single factor that caused tread separation on Firestone ATX and Wilderness AT tires recalled last August. Dr. Sanjay Govindjee, an associate professor of civil engineering at the University of California at Berkeley, was hired by Bridgestone/Firestone to analyze the problem. He found that hot weather was a primary factor, but other factors included the design of the tires, manufacturing differences among different Bridgestone/Firestone plants (especially the Decatur, Ill., plant), and the way the tires were used--the tire inflation pressure, the weight of the vehicle, and the vehicle's speed.
http://www.classactionamerica.com/public/caseIndex...

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RE: Blame Game

By tuteja1986 on 8/17/06, Rating: 0

Hope they recall mine

By DrDisconnect on 8/17/2006 8:18:15 AM , Rating: 2

I hope it does extend to VAIO laptops, lol. My battery can't hold more than 5 minutes charge anymore and I would be delighted to have it recalled!

RE: Hope they recall mine

By JazzMang on 8/17/2006 11:43:50 AM , Rating: 2

Luckily, no problems with mine.
I have a VGN-S360 and get 4-5 hours or battery life during casual usage (read: not playing games)

JazzMang

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Why only look at the battery source?

By iamverycrazy on 8/17/2006 10:21:13 AM , Rating: 2

Why only look at the battery source electronics only? Why not look at Sony power supplies too? It could be faulty.

Laptop and portable electronics with Sony manufactured battery can be a tool for terrorists now. Michael please do not allow them as carry-on into the airplanes, ships, trains, buses and HAZMAT trucks. Nor allow them to be near the vicinity of the airport, seaport, or any transportation hubs.

Knowing Sony...

By retrospooty on 8/17/2006 11:21:01 AM , Rating: 2

Its probably a "proprietary" Sony techmology that did it LOL

LOL again. Kharma got 'em again.

VOTE

By cciesquare on 8/17/2006 6:35:00 PM , Rating: 2

Ok we need a vote who is having the best year amongst the two companies

A) AOL
B) Sony

Strange

By crystal clear on 8/18/2006 3:18:34 AM , Rating: 2

Nobody seems to ask simple questions like-
Where were these laptop batteries manufactured & by whom?
Is it manufactured by Sony or For Sony ?
Let get to the source.