Sony Finally Comes Clean On Problem Batteries

For weeks Sony who claim that they are a “responsible” Company have tried to hide the fact that their very own Vaio notebooks could well burst into flames because of faulty batteries. Now they have come clean and admitted that more than 90,000 notebooks could well explode into flames.

As every other vendor was coughing up to the problem Sony refused point blank to admit that their own notebooks were being manufactured with the very same batteries that other vendors had recalled.

Repeated requests both verbally and written by SHN to Sony both in Australia and Japan resulted in them refusing point to answer two questions. Why are Sony’s own notebooks not being recalled? And, are Sony using different batteries in their notebboks than what is being sold to OEM vendors like Dell, Apple, Toshiba etc. 

Now Sony Electronics has finally recalled its own problem-prone notebook batteries with the Company announcing that they are recalling about 90,000 Vaio notebook batteries.

A Sony spokesman said that the company is now gather the information required regarding which additional Vaio notebook battery packs would be recalled and the company would likely release the information by late this week or early next week. Sony continued to point out that these recalls are being done voluntarily to give consumers peace of mind and that only the earlier Dell and Apple cases involved situations where the batteries overheated and caused damage. This is despite the fact that a Lenova notebook exploded in LA.

 Compounding Sony’s situation are the published reports that three computer vendors may seek extra financial compensation from Sony in response to their having to recall thousands of Sony-made notebook computer batteries.

Toshiba, Fujitsu and Hitachi reportedly have all expressed interest in obtaining from Sony money above and beyond that which Sony has already agreed to pay to cover the recall costs.

“We are studying various possibilities, but nothing has been decided at this moment. We will first of all carry out the battery exchange program, for the confidence of customers using our PCs,” Toshiba said in a written statement.

The other two companies have not returned calls. Sony has not received word from any other company on this topic, the spokesman said. A total of about 7 million Sony-made batteries have been recalled worldwide since the first incidents cropped up in August.