Aussies mostly safe from Toshiba battery issues

Toshiba yesterday announced a global recall of 340,000 laptop batteries, but the company stresses that the recall is not a result of exploding battery packs, unlike the recent Apple and Dell recalls.

Toshiba estimates that less than 1,000 laptops in Australia and New Zealand are likely to be affected.

In a statement released late yesterday afternoon, Toshiba confirmed that it has identified a "potential batch-related issue" with certain Toshiba battery packs supplied by a "third-party vendor".

The manufacturer of said batteries is Sony, the same producer of the faulty battery packs embroiled in the unrelated Dell and Apple recalls.

"Subject battery packs may not properly charge or discharge, on occasion.  These affected battery packs were sold separately as accessories (optional battery packs) as well as part of certain notebook PCs manufactured between March and May 2006.

"There [is] no safety risk associated with this issue.  This is an entirely different matter to the overheating / flammability issue being faced by other notebook manufacturers, which has led to a recall of other notebook batteries."

A spokesperson for Toshiba Australia declined to comment on exactly which battery pack models were affected, so users are unable to seek out a replacement battery pack until they've experienced the problem first-hand.

Toshiba advises that any customers experiencing "significant battery issues" -- such as the "battery pack stops accepting charge or no longer supplies power to the notebook" -- should contact their nearest Toshiba authorised service centre, Toshiba Mobile Care Service Centre or call Toshiba's Support Centre on 1800-021-100 (Australia) or 0800-445-439 (New Zealand).