Dell and Sony knew about laptop battery defects back in October 2005

There were some rumblings a couple of months ago that Dell had known about its laptop battery issues for a while, but now InfoWorld reports that a Dell spokesperson has confirmed that they had been discussing the issue with Sony (the maker of the batteries) since October of last year and had decided to hold off on issuing a recall "until those flaws were clearly linked to catastrophic failures causing those batteries to catch fire." Sony did make some design changes to help alleviate the problem (like strengthening the lining of battery cells), but that doesn't do much for batteries that are already in the market. We can understand not wanting to issue a recall until it's clear that there truly is a problem (rather than just a potential problem), but let's just say that Dell and Sony are lucky that no one's been killed or seriously injured by an exploding battery.

[Thanks, Emanuel]

[Kyle @ Aug 21st 2006 9:51AM]

And now it's time for the lawyers to get rich.

[srw985 @ Aug 21st 2006 10:12AM]

only a matter of time till someone gets hurt

[neal @ Aug 21st 2006 10:13AM]

Take the number of batteries in the field, A.

Multiply it by the probable rate of failure, B.

Multiply the result by the average out-of-court settlement, C.

A x B x C = X.

If X is less than the cost of a recall,

we don't do one.

[I am Jack's complete lack of surprise @ Aug 21st 2006 10:18AM]

What? They knew about the explosive potential of these batteries? All it takes is a little math to figure out why they didn't initiate a recall to begin with. I mean, haven't you seen Fight Club?

Take the number of vehicles in the field,(A), and multiply it by the probable rate of failure,(B), then multiply the result by the average out-of-court settlement,(C). A times B times C equals X... If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one.

[Leif @ Aug 21st 2006 10:28AM]

We're ALL extremely lucky that one of these laptop users wasn't on a plane when their battery decided to go all Satan on them. Laptops would be banned, then we'd all be without Solitare on long flights.

[Kevin @ Aug 21st 2006 10:34AM]

Might've been interesting to hear their justifications if it had happened on a 'plane. I suspect the only reason laptops will still be allowed on as carry-on items is that they'll do less damage to the aircraft if they blow up on a person rather than in the hold.

[Thailand Flower @ Aug 21st 2006 10:47AM]

Well, I can say that the problems about Dell and Sony batteries were known for a long time. There is no excuse for this.

[dc @ Aug 21st 2006 11:06AM]

Leif,

Take along a deck of cards.

[spud boy @ Aug 21st 2006 11:23AM]

.
Lithium Ion cells don't "explode." They have pressure vents that prevent this. Rather, they "vent with flame" like a bic lighter gone haywire. Still dangerous mind you, but they don't explode.
.
.

[SHOTT3R @ Aug 21st 2006 11:27AM]

"And now it's time for the lawyers to get rich."

Seconded. It's never really about the crime. It's always the cover-up. What did you know, and when did you know it?
This is going to be a huge PR fiasco. On the flip side it means i can pick up a new Dell cheap(er) on eBay soon.

[NeoteriX @ Aug 21st 2006 11:38AM]

What Leif means by "solitare", is "on-board porn DVDs"

[Caboom! @ Aug 21st 2006 1:09PM]

Wow... You managed to copycat a famous quote off of "Fight Club".. What's next, are all the batteries gonna blow up in our cell phones!

[Pumi @ Aug 21st 2006 3:08PM]

In the style of the old Pace Picante sauce ads

"Since October?


Get a rope.."

[Michael @ Aug 21st 2006 3:32PM]

That A x B x C = X was actually pioneered by Ford in the 70s.

[Brian @ Aug 21st 2006 3:47PM]

Hmm... You know, I remember checking my laptop for a Dell battery recall last year, so I think it was already in effect...

[Eion @ Aug 21st 2006 4:28PM]

"That A x B x C = X was actually pioneered by Ford in the 70s."
Not exactly - Learned Hand (a famous Judge) came up with basically the same thing first, using different letter (B < pL).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learned_Hand

[Russ @ Aug 21st 2006 8:29PM]

Obviously no one here can do math. It seems there are 6 reported incidents according to a report I saw on CNET. 6 out of 4.1 million. Also, Sony makes batteries for many other system manufacturers so don't kid your self this can't happen with other notebook manufacturers. Heck it even happened to the pretty boy's over at Apple.

[Taylor Brown @ Aug 21st 2006 8:35PM]

Thats why you buy a mac.

[nikster @ Aug 21st 2006 8:52PM]

I don't know but it seems like this was a dumb decision by Dell.

All this AxBxC stuff doesn't take into account the publicity that goes with it. Some companies are famous for putting their customer's safety first - they issue recalls even on obscure defects. In the press that will read like "Company X recalled 4 bazillion batteries because they might cause a problem..." - if you spin that correctly, it can be very good publicity - the kind that you can't buy with advertising dollars.

It also alleviates the risk that something might turn into a really bad problem, like Ford/Firestone and so on. That incident definitely didn't help Ford sales.

[niels @ Aug 22nd 2006 2:28AM]

sony, dell just need make sure they make profits and could not care less about safety of the consumer, only if it becomes a PR issue. wouldnt you like that these companies actually cared for their consumers and not only in the way that this would become a pr issue and make them lose money? its depressing, really.

[Richard @ Aug 22nd 2006 8:21AM]

Dell and Sony aren't the only ones with this problem. Our family owns a Polaroid portable DVD player which we take with us on car trips.

During one trip in June, my daughter complained that the DVD player was getting "very hot" while she was watching a movie so I told her to turn it off.

When we arrived at our destination I had a look at the player only to find that the battery, which is also a lithium-ion and covers the complete bottom of the player, was badly deformed. It was so bad that I could not even remove it without considerable force.

I decided to contact Polaroid to see if I could purchase a new battery. The first thing I see when I got to their Canadian website..."Battery Recall Notice". I will be calling them today.

[Caboom! @ Aug 22nd 2006 11:14AM]

Yes, but it's not a question of whose to blame. All companies will have defects in there products at one time or another. Dell just screwed this one up a heck of a lot more than other companies usually do. Most of the defects or bugs are prevented during product testing, which Dell obviously didn't do a very good job during the testing.