HP has announced a recall of 135,000 laptop battery packs sold with HP and Compaq notebook computers globally between May 2004 and May 2005. Of those recalled, 85,000 were sold in the United States. The batteries are being recalled in response to 16 complaints of overheating due to an internal short circuit. In four cases, batteries caused minor property damage after the cases melted or charred.
Models using the recalled batteries include HP Pavilion, Compaq Presario, and Compaq Evo notebooks manufacturered between March and September 2004. Barcodes of these models begin with GC, IA, L0 or L1. Owners of such batteries are entitled to a free replacement.