Sony, Dell must probe battery problems and report to Japan's trade ministry

Japan's trade ministry on Thursday ordered Sony Corp., Tokyo, Japan, and Dell Inc., Round Rock, Texas, USA, to investigate trouble involving Sony laptop batteries, saying they overheated and caught fire in at least two instances in the country, reports The Associated Press.

Sony and Dell must report on their findings and say how they will prevent future problems by the end of August, or face a fine under Japan's consumer safety laws, the statement said. The order came after problems with Sony battery cells forced Dell to recall 4.1 million laptop batteries worldwide earlier this month, the largest recall of electronics-related products in U.S. history.

Lithium-ion batteries manufactured by Sony for Dell laptops imported to Japan overheated and caught fire in at least two separate instances in October and June, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a statement.

No one was injured in those incidents, but the fires destroyed the machines, according to ministry official Atsuo Hirai.

The ministry also pointed to problems with battery cells supplied by Sony for Dell computers in other countries, and told the companies to investigate the safety of Dell models Latitude, Inspiron and Precision imported to Japan from April 2005.

The ministry also instructed other Japanese electronic makers to check the safety of their laptop batteries, says the AP.

Battery packs contain cells of rolled up metal strips, says the AP. Sony has said that during production, crimping the rolls left tiny shards of metal loose in the cells, and some of those shards can cause batteries to short-circuit.

Dell has already recalled batteries from affected models in Japan. Batteries powering Sony's Vaio laptops don't have the same problems, according to the company.