Sony recalls VAIO laptop batteries

Sony is recalling its VAIO laptop battery packs due to concerns they could become a fire hazard.

The battery packs risk overheating due to a manufacturing flaw, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

The recall includes battery packs sold with Sony’s VAIO E Series notebooks with product codes SVE15137CGP, SVE15137CGS and SVE15138CGW.

The notebooks were sold nationally by authorised VAIO resellers, including Harvey Norman and JB Hi-Fi, from 1 December 2012 to 1 September 2013.

Sony has issued a statement apologising for the inconvinience and asking customers to call their customer service team to discuss the next step.

"The issue is a manufacturing one which has the potential to burn parts of the battery packs. We are implementing a free replacement program for the affected battery packs," Sony said in a statement.

"If you are using one of the VAIO personal computer models listed below, please confirm if your battery pack is one of those affected via the link below. If it is identified as an affected unit, please immediately remove the battery pack from your PC. With the battery pack removed, you may continue to use your PC safely with an AC adapter."

Sony also pointed out that the affected battery packs were provided by Panasonic.

This is the fourth laptop battery recall the ACCC has flagged this year. Microsoft commenced a mass recall of power cords in January, which affected all Surface Pro, Surface Pro 2 and Surface Pro 3 devices sold before 15 July 2015.

Toshiba and Panasonic were also forced to recall laptop batteries last month.