Lenovo recalls some ThinkPad batteries
updated 04:40 pm EDT, Fri August 14, 2009
Lenovo recalls batteries
PC maker Lenovo has began recalling certain batteries used in its ThinkPad notebooks, Chinese daily DigiTimes reported on Friday. The possibly affected notebooks include the ThinkPad R60, R61, T60, T61, X60 and X61, though the issue isn't thought to be safety related. Some of the batteries may not be able to be charged or suffer from irreparable damage, Lenovo said. The company has provided users with a downloadable diagnostic tool that will show whether their battery qualifies for a replacement.
Unnamed sources at battery makers said the issue is likely to be with the battery cells, which were not produced by Taiwanese firms. Their actual nation of origin isn't known, though many notebook batteries are made by Sony for other firms.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2009
Many Batteries Fail
I have owned Thinkpad laptops for over 10 years and I have always loved them and thought they were the best laptops. My current Thinkpad is X60s.
But the customer support under Lenovo has slipped and I don't think they care about good customer relations any more. When I bought my Thinkpad I also bought an extra battery which I rarely used because the battery life was so good. I was shocked when the battery failed with irreparable battery damage message after only 30 charging cycles. When I called Lenovo customer support, they refused to replace the battery, even though they have already done two recalls - they said mine was not the failing type. But I had proof with the battery utility that the battery failed with only 30 cycles.
Now there is another recall, and again they say my battery does not qualify because it is not the failing type. My P/N is 92P1174 and only 92P1173 is on the list. They should replace every battery which fails below a certain number of cycles because the product clearly did not perform to its design specs.
Here is an article about it:
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/170238/lenovotoreplacedefectivethinkpadbatteries.html?tk=nldnxhcrawl