Another Battery Blast: Regulators, Sony Announce 340,000 More Recalls

U.S. regulators and embattled battery maker Sony are announcing one more round of battery recalls, saying more affected units also have been sold by PC makers Gateway, Fujitsu, Toshiba and even Sony itself.

The total number of incidents where end users were involved in incidents has also increased, according to a statement released late Monday night by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

"There have been 16 reports of notebook computer batteries overheating, causing minor property damage and two minor burns," the CPSC said. "All of these reported incidents and injuries have been associated with earlier recalls of notebook computer batteries containing these Sony cells. There have been no incidents involving batteries sold by the notebook manufacturers participating in this announcement."

The CPSC said an additional 3 million suspect Sony batteries were shipped worldwide. The new batteries identified this week are added to a list of millions that also have plagued Dell, Apple and Lenovo.

According to regulators, the new affected units include those sold in notebooks by Gateway from September 2005 to present; by Fujitsu from June 2005 to present; by Sony from December 2004 to present; and by Toshiba from September 2004 to present.

Regulators said more information about specifically affected units can be found at each vendor's Web site, including Fujitsu's, Gateway's, Toshiba's, and Sony's sites.