Lenovo recalls ThinkPad battery packs in US, Canada due to fire hazard

The announcement came on Thursday via US Consumer Product Safety Commission (USCPSC). It says that the consumers should stop using this product unless otherwise instructed.

USCPSC has noted that no injuries have been reported as yet, but Lenovo has received two reports of the battery packs overheating, resulting in damage to the computer, battery pack and nearby property.

The recall applies to 34,500 battery units sold in the U.S. and 2,900 units sold in Canada. This involves units sold between October 2010 to April 2011 via authorized dealers or through Lenovo's official online store. Battery pack units sold separately or as a part of ThinkPad laptop are both eligible for the replacement. Affected laptops include the Edge 11, 13 and 14 series, the T410, T420, T510 and W510 series, and the X100e, X120e, X200, X201 and X201s series.

To further identify the battery pack, consumers can also see a white sticker below the bar code, starting with the number 'four' in a long series of numbers as: 42T4695, 42T4711, 42T4798, 42T4804, 42T4812, 42T4822, 42T4828, 42T4834, 42T4840 and 42T4890.

The announcement further provided few suggestions for consumer interest. It says consumers should immediately remove the battery pack and contact Lenovo for a free replacement, while they can use their ThinkPad notebook without the battery pack by plugging in the AC adapter and power cord.

A similar recall announcement has been made by Lenovo in China, reported ComputerWorld via Xinhua.

The report says that Lenovo has recalled 117,732 lithium ion batteries units in the Edge11, Edge13, T410, X100e, X201 and X201s series manufactured between October 2010 and April 2011.