Battery recall hits Lenovo

Lenovo's (LNVGY) shares dropped on word that in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission it has announced the voluntary recall of approximately 205,000 extended-life, 9-cell battery packs in the United States.

Lenovo will offer customers free-of-charge replacements for all recalled battery packs and the company has confirmed that notebook computers containing the recalled battery packs may overheat, posing a potential safety hazard to users if the battery pack experiences a strong external impact. Lenovo advises customers to determine if they are using one of the recalled battery packs.

Lenovo sold the battery packs with new notebook computers or as optional or replacement battery packs on these models: R60 and R60e Series; T60 and T60p Series; and Z60m, Z61e, Z61m, and Z61p Series.

These models may have shipped with either regular or extended-life, 9-cell battery packs; only some of the larger, extended-life, 9-cell battery packs with the part number FRU P/N 92P1131 are being recalled.

Lenovo says consumers who have battery packs affected by this recall and who intend to transport their ThinkPad or use it in a manner that may subject it to a strong external impact, should continue to use their computer by turning off the system, removing the battery, and only power the ThinkPad by plugging in the AC adapter and power cord. Customers should use only genuine ThinkPad battery packs obtained from either Lenovo or an authorized reseller.

The company's shares settled at US$7.62, a drop of 1.04%, on March 1 when the recall was announced.