The problems first began in May 2009 with people reporting some of the batteries overheating and catching fire, resulting in some minor property damage. This was followed by more reported cases which resulted with some minor injuries. Now according to an article by Nicole Wilson of Best Syndication the recall now includes an extra 162,600 units.

This led to the recall being expanded to replace the faulty batteries which are manufactured in China. The laptops involved where sold from July 2007 and July 2008, and HP will be replacing the affected batteries. It is advised that you recheck your laptop with the updated list even if you have done it before.

You can find the model number on the laptop on the bottom, and the battery had a barcode label. The models concerned cost between $500 and $3,000, and separate batteries which were sold for $100 to $160 are also part of the recall. If you think you may have one of the laptops affected you can head over to the HP website or call toll free on (888) 202-4320 Monday to Friday.

A report on cnet.com by Leslie Katz states that the batteries which are made in China, may overheat and pose a burn or fire risk to consumers. The recall originally began in May 2009 after two cases of batteries that “overheated and ruptured, resulting in flames/fire that caused minor property damage”.

This resulted in a recall that affected 70,000 batteries, but since then HP received 38 other cases of faulty batteries, which have resulted in 31 reports of minor property damage with 11 cases of minor injury.

The models affected by the recall were manufactured between August 2007 and March 2008. The units were sold at electronic and computer stores, as well as online stores hpshopping.com and hp.com.

It is advised that customers stop using their unit straight away until they know if it’s one of the affected lines. Use the link above to find out the model numbers affected.