Lenovo and IBM, in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission,  announced the voluntary recall of approximately 526,000 lithium-ion batteries worldwide manufactured by Sony Corporation.

The recalled batteries were sold with or sold separately to be used with some models of ThinkPad notebook PCs. They are the T Series (T43, T43p, T60), X Series (X60, X60s), R Series (R51e, R52, R60, R60e).

In the interests of public safety, Lenovo says it will offer customers free-of-charge replacement batteries for all recalled batteries.

Although no make or model of battery is immune from some overheating or failure, Lenovo says it has confirmed that these batteries can be subject to overheating, posing a potential fire hazard, and Lenovo is advising customers to check if they are using one of the affected batteries.

Additionally, since these batteries work with any T4x Series or R5x Series system, customers who ordered an extra battery or received a replacement battery for any T4x or R5x Series notebook PC between February 2005 and September 2006 may also have a battery subject to recall.

IBM and Lenovo sold these batteries with new notebook PCs or as replacement batteries between February 2005 and September 2006. Customers can continue to use their notebook PC by turning off the system, removing the battery, and plugging in the AC adapter and power cord to power the system. Customers should use only genuine ThinkPad batteries obtained from either Lenovo or an authorized reseller.

Following reports of an incident at Los Angeles International airport, Lenovo has reacted swiftly, announcing this recall less than two weeks after the incident was first brought to the company's attention. Lenovo estimates that between 5-10% of ThinkPad notebooks sold during period of February 2005 to September 2006 are affected by the recall.

Sony has agreed to financially support the recall.