Sony recalls 4,38,000 Vaio TZ laptops

Jayesh Limaye, Sep 06, 2008 1023 hrs IST

According to a Sony spokesman, there are currently around 72,800 computers in the United States alone awaiting recall.

Japan's Sony Corp has announced that it will recall around 438,000 Vaio portable computers affected by a potential hazard that is likely to cause them to overheat or even burn the user. This is one of the biggest computer recall since 2006, the earlier one being by Dell Inc, when it recalled 4.1 million notebook computer batteries, which incidentally also overheated and caused fires.

According to a Sony spokesman, there are currently around 72,800 computers in the United States alone awaiting recall. The U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission said that Sony has received 15 reports of overheating and one of a consumer suffering minor burns.

The laptops in question are the Sony VGN-TZ100, VGN-TZ200, VGN-TZ300 and VGN-TZ2000 series, and the problem is related to "irregularly positioned wires near the computer's hinge and/or dislodged screw inside the hinge". This is stated to be a cause of short circuit and overheat.

Sony says, "This poses a burn hazard to consumers. Sony has initiated a voluntary program to perform a free inspection and, if necessary, a repair to ensure these units meet our high quality standards."
If you have been following the news, you may recall that in recent years, Sony has had to recall of laptop computer batteries due to overheating and catching fire.

The year 2006 saw Dell, Apple Inc, Lenovo Group Ltd, Toshiba Corp and some other PC makers recall more than 8 million Sony batteries. Sony has declined to comment on the potential cost that it will incur due to the recall.

USER COMMENTS

My Vaio VGN-CR25S/L also get heated at the left hand side.

by SD Paul, Wellington, on Sep 09, 2008 11:32 PM, Report abuse Reply

wow! I've been having this issue. It gets so hot that I'm sometimes afraid it will catch on fire. I can't believe they've waited this long to recall them.

by LeDawn, Okinawa, on Sep 09, 2008 08:42 AM, Report abuse Reply

Hey you're right Bob. My company got that "green" word from Sony and I truely feel sorry for any one purchasing Sony electronic products from now on. Being a QA person, I can't understand why Sony is expexcting their suppliers to use inferior parts.

by Doug, LA, on Sep 08, 2008 08:24 AM, Report abuse Reply

VGN N37GH i bought a year back in Mysore india has the same heating problem.Plus battery back up has gone down. Infact its so hot after few mins that it cannot be kept on the lap without a cushion in between.

by dr.syed nabeel, mysore, on Sep 07, 2008 04:42 PM, Report abuse Reply

Understandable due to Sony's insistance on their "green first" policy from their electronics suppliers instead of quality products. I can agree on a safe and green policy but when Sony disregards the QUALITY aspect of materials from their suppliers, this is exacty what will occur for aqll Sony products.

by Bob D., Riverside, on Sep 07, 2008 09:38 AM, Report abuse Reply

wow 4 million, can't believe that.

by Mr. Math, Mathtasticville, on Sep 07, 2008 08:44 AM, Report abuse Reply

Text Limit = 255 Characters

by Text Limit = 25, Text Limit = 255 Characters, on Sep 07, 2008 06:24 AM, Report abuse Reply

Is VGN-TZ37CN affected?

by MILAN PETRKOVSK, Toronto, on Sep 07, 2008 05:43 AM, Report abuse Reply

i prefer dell and ibm. It rocks and works

by subhadeep, sunnyvale, on Sep 07, 2008 05:03 AM, Report abuse Reply

How much is 4,38,000 exactly?

by Joe, =), on Sep 06, 2008 10:58 PM, Report abuse Reply

I never trusted VAIO and never recommended it! Apple is the Best and HP after Apple.

by Anonymous, Bangalore, on Sep 06, 2008 09:51 PM, Report abuse Reply

Hp? Try being a computer consultant for a while and get back to me whether or not you still think so highly of them!

by Kevin, Oregon City, on Sep 06, 2008 09:57 PM, Report abuse

Truly cares about the consumers? 8 million computers had to be racalled because of fire safety harzards, those batteries had the name SONY on them. These Vaio's overheating have been a problem for a good long time. It's not until now that they (sony) has just started paying attention to the problem.

by Youhsaw, Ogden, on Sep 06, 2008 08:25 PM, Report abuse Reply

Ummmm I got a major overheating problem with my VGN-FZ21M around the left hand side and top Left corner. Very nearly burning hot when I start to use it for large programs.

by Matthew Francis, Carcassonne, on Sep 06, 2008 07:10 PM, Report abuse Reply

a company which truly cares it customers. hats off to sony!!!!!!!!!!!! they are the no.1 and they will be...

by Shaheen, Calicut, on Sep 06, 2008 06:20 PM, Report abuse Reply

Is there a problem with my Sony Vaio number FZ340E. I've always thought it got very hot.

by Susan Vidrik, Golden, Colorado, on Sep 06, 2008 04:31 PM, Report abuse Reply

The comma after the number 4 should be removed...

by Daniel Ionescu, Lincoln, on Sep 06, 2008 04:10 PM, Report abuse Reply

What a beautifull Laptop ! Thank Sony Corp

by Abhiram Sahu, Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India, on Sep 06, 2008 03:45 PM, Report abuse Reply

who taught you how to count?

by Hightekk, SanFrancisco, on Sep 06, 2008 12:03 PM, Report abuse Reply