Panasonic joins the party, recalls laptop batteries (in Japan)

It's a drop in the bucket compared to Dell's and Apple's recalls, but Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. is nevertheless playing things safe and recalling some 6,000 batteries from its Panasonic Let's Note CF-W4G laptops sold in Japan. While the numbers are on the low-end, the recall is somewhat notable for the fact that the batteries being pulled back are not the same Sony-made ones that have given Dell and Apple headaches, although the company refuses to say who did make the batteries. Apparently, the problem with these batts lies in part with the cover, which can become loose causing the batteries to change shape when they heat up. Not exactly the fireworks we've come to expect, but probably still enough of a concern to get a replacement as soon as you can if you've got one of these models.

[Perrey Z. @ Sep 5th 2006 12:29PM]

let's see who is going to take the fire and hefty fines for this one courtesy of the Japanese government since no American firm is involved.

[Ben Hobbs @ Sep 5th 2006 1:23PM]

"causing the batteries to change shape when they heat up"

Terminator 3 is here, I for one welcome our new battery shapeshifting overlords.

[John @ Sep 5th 2006 2:44PM]

And yet not a single comment about how "I'd like to pop open her CD drive" or "I wonder if she changes shape when she heats up?"

Sad.

[armelo @ Sep 5th 2006 6:58PM]

"Not exactly the fireworks we've come to expect, but probably still enough of a concern to get a replacement as soon as you can if you've got one of these models."

I dont have one of these models, and if I did I would not replace. So Where can I get one like the one in the picture next to the laptop

[kaztm @ Sep 22nd 2006 4:47PM]

Yahoo article is no longer accessible, but the original Aug. 31 press release from Panasonic states that the latch on the said batteries may break if strong force is applied for example by dropping. Broken latch may cause the battery to heat up and deform.

Interesting contrast between high-standard Panasonic service versus low-quality Yahoo news (translation).