BEWARE of old batteries on your HP laptops - Just had an explosion!!

[kk4web]

I would like to bring this out on this forum to create awareness so that you take precaution when using laptops. Pardon me for this long post. I guess it’s just my luck that saved me.

Just yesterday night,   I had this horrifying experience. I was using my 2.5 yr old laptop (HP Pavillion dv2500 series) as usual for more than 3 hrs. When I thought of calling it a day, I have shut it down and removed the power cord. Within seconds there was smoke and boom the battery exploded.  I have thrown it away and ran, the next moment there were flames about 2 feet high and one of the cell blew out from the battery and fell a few feet away.  Everything happened in just 2 to 3 minutes. Man…… it was one of the scariest things that I have ever seen.

Luckily I had put the laptop on a couch just 5 min before this happened.  I am thankful to god…I can’t imagine what would have happened if I was holding the laptop on my lap …as I always do.

I know my laptop is an old laptop; it still had the original battery that came with the laptop.  I have been using it every day for more than 4 hrs. I have not seen any instances where the laptop would heat up. Recently I have noticed that battery life has been diminishing drastically and for the past 1 week the battery was not charging to full capacity, it was able to hold the charge only for abt 10 -15 min.  So I was using the laptop with the power cord plugged in and the battery still in. I was thinking of replacing it and ….just then this happened

Sometime in 2008, HP sent out e-mails for registered user to check if their battery is on the recall list. I verified mine and it was not listed for recall. But you never know…. To check your HP battery’s status go to the link below

 http://bpr.hpordercenter.com/hbpr/

Look at the link below to see the pictures and the damage it has caused.  Don’t freak out though!

http://picasaweb.google.com/114755639462843093369/LaptopBatteryExplosion?authkey=Gv1sRgCLKO0cna1MDEj...

I have contacted HP CS about this. I have to say they the worst customer service I have ever experienced so far. It took me 2 hrs to explain my situation and then they have logged in compliant. In the beginning they were reluctant to file a complaint as my laptop’s warranty expired and it didn’t  have accidental coverage.  I was given a service id after 2hrs of explanation and was told that someone from safety department would contact in 48 hrs. So I am waiting for them to contact me.

Meanwhile I would like to put this out so that you folks. BE CAREFUL with your laptops ....especially if they are old and the battery is not charging properly. It’s worth spending on a new battery than taking the risk.

Also I think it’s safe to unplug the power cord when you are not around the laptop and try to remove the battery and use the laptop with a power cord whenever possible.  When the battery is charging DON’T put the laptop on your lap... I know I am being paranoid but this thing just freaked me out.

Feel free to post any comments and advices. I will update this once I hear from HP.

Play it safe.

[GarenT]

Hi,

I'm hoping you check back here for a response. I'd like you to send me a private mail with some information to make sure your case is being handled correctly and as an escalation.

Please send this information only via the PM (Private Mail) feature here. I need name, phone, serial number, and case number. I am hoping this is already in the escalation status, but this will let me confirm.

Best

GarenT

HP Admin

[nagarajbatta]

I have bought my HP laptop December 2009 and I am worried whether this could happen to me also. Is there a time frame with HP batteries after which they tend to explode? I can understand if the battery not holding charge after sometime, but it's completely unacceptable for it to explode and cause human and property damage. 

What if this happens when you are on a flight? Then the consequences will be huge for the individual and also for company like HP. HP should better take some action to get to the root cause of this mishap and also help KK with his property damage. 

[kk4web]

UPDATE:

After 2 weeks HP Cust. Serv Manager has contacted me and worked with me in compensating the laptop damage and the carpet damage.  Total time for resolution was 40 days!!

HP has given me  2 options

1. To get a refurbished laptop with similar specs with out warranty

2. $500 gift card redeemable at hpshopping.com

Therefore I am ending up with a HP laptop once again even though my experience w/ HP Cust Service has been very distasteful.

[GarenT]

I'm glad it was worked out. Thanks for getting back to me as I did truly want to know that it was solved, though not as timely as you would have liked.

[jessierani_09]

Hi,

I have had something similar happen with my laptop although it is only 1 year and 2 months old. I purchased a hp1001TU mini notebook and while my battery didnt flame up or anything, it has basically became really hot over a few weeks and then cracked and exploded outwards and obviously does not work anymore. I was wondering what I should do since my HP one year warranty has expired and extended warranty does not cover batterys.

Cheers!

[OliCanada]

Hi,

The exact same thing happened to me. I've had my laptop HP Pavillon dv 6500 for 3 years now and just last week the battery literally blew up! I was in my room before going to bed and when I set the laptop down on the floor as I usually do when I'm about to go turn the lights off when a big "boom" came out of the laptop. At the same instant I saw bits of battery on fire  flying out from my laptop. The latter caught on fire and burn a nice section of my floor.

I was very fortunate that i didn't have my laptop in bead on my lap as i usually do. I also noticed that the battery was draining from it's energy in an uncanny way in the last couple weeks. I obviously took photos of the burnt floor and the blown up laptop as evidence of my claim,

I'm definitely expecting a compensation from you guys as this is unacceptable and extremely dangerous. {Content Removed: no legal discussion permitted}

Please get in touch with me as soon as possible.

Thank you.

Olivier {Personal Information Removed}