Electronics maker Toshiba is now recalling more than 41,000 units of three different models from the T-series due to overheating and fire issues, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission announced.
To date, the CPSC claims it has received 129 reported cases of Toshiba products overheating and melting. Toshiba discovered the problem and said a faulty DC-in harness is responsible for the problem. There were two complaints of property damage and two medical issues that didn’t require immediate medical assistance.
The models were manufactured in China and were available from August 2009 to August 2010 -- and prices on the T135, T135D and ProT130 ranged from $600 up to $800. Toshiba is offering a free BIOS download that will give owners the ability to see if their notebook is overheating.
"If the harness failure is detected while the system is operating you will receive a system message indicating that the failure has occurred and that external power has been disabled," Toshiba said in a statement. "You may continue to use the system, without risk of overheating, using the remaining battery charge. You should immediately close all open files and applications to avoid any data loss. Once the data has been saved the system should be properly shutdown. It will not be possible to recharge the battery within the system until it has been repaired."
Although just three different Satellite models are effected, more than 40 different T-series SKUs are listed as part of the recall.
Sony, Toshiba, and numerous other companies have had recalls related to overheating notebooks, batteries, and AC adapters that could overheat and cause safety issues. Most of the recalls were due to shoddy Chinese manufacturing -- but these manufacturers continue to use the same suppliers and manufacturers that make these inferior products prone to problems.
