HP Expands Lithium-Ion Battery Recall To Include 101,000 Additional Laptops

Seven months after HP recalled 41,000 laptops because the lithium-ion batteries could overheat, causing explosions and fires, the company is expanding the recall to cover 101,000 additional batteries in HP and Compaq computers. 

The expanded recall covers 101,000 lithium-ion batteries shipped with HP, Compaq, HP ProBook, HP ENVY, Compaq Presario, and HP Pavilion notebook computers sold from March 2013 to Oct. 2016.

According to a notice posted with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the batteries — which measure about eight to 10.5 inches long — overheat, posing fire and burn hazards.

Since the June 2016 recall of 41,000 batteries was first announced, HP says it has received one additional report of the battery overheating, melting and charring, causing about $1,000 in property damage.

Previously, the company said it was aware of seven reports of battery packs overheating, including four incidents that resulted in about $4,000 in property damage.

HP says that consumers who own the affected computers should immediately stop using the recalled batteries, remove them from the notebook computers, and contact HP for a free replacement battery.

Until a replacement battery is received, consumers should use the notebook computer by plugging it into AC power only.

Affected batteries can be identified by the bar code printed on the back. The batteries include the bar codes starting with: 6BZLU, 6CGFK, 6CGFQ, 6CZMB, 6DEMA, 6DEMH, 6DGAL and 6EBVA.

Consumers who own computers covered by the previous recall should recheck their batteries.

This is the second large computer battery recall this month, In early January, Toshiba expanded a 91,000-laptop recall of lithium-ion battery to include 83,000 additional units.