Lenovo has just joined the flaming battery debacle that has so far seen mass recalls of Dell, Toshiba and Apple notebooks.

This just in from their PR:

AUCKLAND, New Zealand, September 29, 2006 - Lenovo and International Business Machines Corporation, in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission today announced the voluntary recall of approximately 526,000 lithium-ion batteries manufactured worldwide by Sony Corporation. In the interests of public safety, Lenovo will offer customers free-of-charge replacement batteries for all recalled batteries.

Although no make or model of battery is immune from some overheating or failure, Lenovo has confirmed that these batteries can be subject to overheating, posing a potential fire hazard, and Lenovo is advising customers to check if they are using one of the affected batteries as follows:

The recalled batteries were sold with or sold separately to be used with some models of ThinkPad notebook PCs.

T Series (T43, T43p, T60)
X Series (X60, X60s):
R Series (R51e, R52, R60, R60e)

Battery Part/model number

ASM P/N FRU P/N
92P1072 92P1073
92P1088 92P1089
92P1142 92P1141
92P1170 92P1169 or 93P5028
92P1174 92P1173 or 93P5030

Additionally, since these batteries work with any T4x Series or R5x Series system, customers who ordered an extra battery or received a replacement battery for any T4x or R5x Series notebook PC between February 2005 and September 2006 may also have a battery subject to recall.

IBM and Lenovo sold these batteries with new notebook PCs or as replacement batteries between February 2005 and September 2006. Customers can continue to use their notebook PC by turning off the system, removing the battery, and plugging in the AC adapter and power cord to power the system. Customers should use only genuine ThinkPad batteries obtained from either Lenovo or an authorized reseller.

Following reports of an incident at Los Angeles International airport, Lenovo has reacted swiftly, announcing this recall less than two weeks after the incident was first brought to the company’s attention. Lenovo estimates that between five and ten percent of ThinkPad notebooks sold during period of February 2005 to September 2006 are affected by the recall.

Sony has agreed to financially support the recall.

Customer Contact Information

Customers should contact Lenovo to determine if the battery used in their notebook PC is subject to this recall. Please visit www.lenovo.com/batteryprogram or call the New Zealand Service Centre on 0800 733 222 and select option #1.