Sony Battery Recalls Expand Dell and Toshiba recall more notebook batteries from Sony; Fujitsu may join them. September 29, 2006 Notebook makers Dell and Toshiba expanded the number of Sony lithium ion battery packs they recalled Friday because of overheating hazards, with Dell adding another 100,000 to the 4.1 million it recalled last month and Toshiba recalling 830,000 notebook batteries. Earlier this month, Toshiba recalled 340,000 Sony-made notebook batteries because of power storage and transmission problems (see Another Sony Battery Recall). Sony asked manufacturers on Friday to recall notebooks using the troubled batteries that were prone to overheating and occasionally causing fires. On Thursday, IBM and Lenovo joined the recall parade, recalling over half a million ThinkPad notebook batteries made by Sony after a ThinkPad began emitting sparks and smoke in Los Angeles International Airport (see Lenovo, IBM Recall 500K+ Batteries and Flaming Laptops! Now It’s Lenovo). Like Dell, Apple Computer also recalled 1.8 million Sony batteries because of overheating hazards in August (see Apple, Sony Burned). - ADVERTISEMENT - In addition, Matsushita, Panasonic’s parent company, recalled 6,000 notebook batteries this month because of overheating, but said those batteries were not made by Tokyo-based Sony (see Matsushita Recalls Batteries). There are now over 7 million batteries that notebook makers have recalled since Dell issued the first recall in August after reports and video surfaced of flaming Dell laptops (see Dude, You’re Getting a Recall). “To ensure that all potentially affected batteries are identified and returned to Dell, the company is requesting that customers recheck their batteries if they have not ordered or received a replacement battery,” Dell said in a statement Friday. Sony is also expected to begin recalling the batteries in its Vaio notebooks as well. Fujitsu is also reportedly planning to recall its notebooks and plans to make a decision soon, according to the Associated Press.