Toshiba Satellite laptops recalled for burn hazard

The U.S. and Canadian governments this week said that Toshiba is voluntarily recalling some Satellite laptops for posing a burn hazard to customers.

Laptops could overheat and possibly melt the area around the notebook’s plug-in to the AC adapter, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada said in a joint statement.

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The burn hazard results from a faulty component. Laptops being voluntarily recalled include the Satellite T135, Satellite T135D and Satellite Pro T130 models. The model and part numbers are located on the bottom of the laptops, and begin with PST3AU, PST3BU, or PST3LU, according to Toshiba’s support Web site

The laptops were sold in stores and through online retailers, including Toshiba’s Web site, from August 2009 through August 2010 for between $600 and $800.

The hazard affects about 41,000 laptops worldwide. Toshiba has received 129 reports of either overheating or of plastic casing melting around the AC adapter plug, the CPSC and HC said. The reports included minor burn injuries and property damage.

Toshiba has released BIOS revisions for the laptops that can disable external power after failure. Toshiba said batteries cannot be recharged until the problem is fixed. Toshiba has asked customers to call the company’s product support line for repairs.