Sony starts massive Vaio notebook recall

Sony starts massive Vaio notebook recall
Sony has announced that it will be recalling over 440,000 Vaio branded notebooks worldwide due to the fact that wiring faults could cause overheating.

The notebooks in question are 19 separate Vaio models from the TZ series that were manufactured from May 2007 to the present.



Sony says that "wires have been put in the wrong position near the hinge, while a flaw in the circuit board that controls the screen also may cause overheating." As a result, a few customers have been burnt by their laptops.

Sony did note however that there were no complaints in the UK and that "a product recall is not required" in the region.

The electronics giant has received 210 reports of overheating and in seven of the incidents users received minor burns.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 7 Sep 2008 14:22
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  • 23 comments
  • chaos_zzz

    wow! just wow, i don't see acer's burning and they cost half of what a vaio costs

    7.9.2008 14:42 #1

  • core2kid

    I don't see Dell's burning either



    ...I see them exploding ;)

    7.9.2008 16:58 #2

  • borhan9

    Wow i am glad i went and bought my HP laptop instead of this sony thing well ya i have no issues witth my laptop so far :) "Knock on wood" :P

    7.9.2008 17:23 #3

  • 1bonehead

    Profits before good product design

    7.9.2008 17:26 #4

  • tatsh

    The Vaio computers are ridiculous. You are paying for the Sony name, and nothing more beyond the cost of the hardware. Sony also makes it very difficult to open their systems on purpose (so users will go to a Sony AUTHORIZED dealer to fix them). I had to replace an HDD in one and it involved almost taking the entire thing apart. There are many more ribbons simply floating around in a Vaio laptop also. Chances are if you drop it, they are likely to break or even get a tiny crack that makes them stop working.

    Sony making computers...the company's model is going to fail eventually. Make bad products, make money first, then go and fix the problems ONLY if they are really bad. I am sure up to this point, Sony was just making excuses.

    7.9.2008 20:56 #5

  • sKrEwZ

    Quote:due to the fact that wiring faults could cause overheating.
    Oops. That's going to hurt. I don't have a Vaio as I found them to be a little overpriced. I'm glad I went with something else.

    8.9.2008 10:42 #6

  • lxfactor

    well at least ps3s arent overheating =] thats quite a bit of notebooks tho.. but they are replacing them with a cooler running one so hey who doesnt like a new laptop.. just make sure u wipe ur HDs.. there might be alot of stuff u dont want to get into the wrong hands.. as u know sony is a member of the RiAA.. they might just be trying to catch people sharing files.. and choose not to give ur laptop back to pay of record labels =X lol could you imagine?

    8.9.2008 13:48 #7

  • varnull

    I spent a chunk of today working on a sony lappy.. it was running hellishly hot, and throwing errors on raid0.. with no apparent way to test/repair without waiting 5 hours. What is the point of raid on one physical drive? I can't see the thinking behind it..

    8.9.2008 14:16 #8

  • 13thHouR

    Originally posted by chaos_zzz: wow! just wow, i don't see acer's burning and they cost half of what a vaio costsYou know if you want the best you have to pay a premium, and that Ferrari just runs hot, hot, hot.

    so dodge wires not exploding sony batteries are to blame this time!

    They seem to have acted just as slow as when their batteries started explodeding, well peoples lives aren't as important as shareholders are they!


    8.9.2008 14:21 #9

  • mike.m

    I guess I'm lucky I've been having some issues with my credit card, I was just about to order a Vaio FW this week. Now that I think about it, I'll wait till they fix this and drop the price, or until something better comes out.

    8.9.2008 20:36 #10

  • Hyasuma

    You guys NEVER used a Sony laptop before, I bought a Sony Vaio back in 1999, and still in use till now, never had any virus, no problems at all, did not reformat ANYTHING. Yes, the price tag is over price, but why don't u just get them on sale? I just bought a new Sony Vaio Centrio 2/blue ray, I having the greatest time with their laptop, if i do need to get it fix, its under warranty. Dont start talking like you know all about laptops, and start dissing a company because they are over priced, they are over priced for a reason, and yes, I do own a Dell (my dads), Hp (my moms) and a Toshiba (my sisters) they all given me problems just to let u know, because I have to fix them.

    10.9.2008 08:13 #11

  • tatsh

    So what? You take care of your Sony laptop. I hear so many reports about HP's just going dead and etc. I take care of my HP laptop and it still keeps going. The problem with most people is their carelessness about their laptop, because everyone (including me) wants a laptop/tablet to be a device you can throw down on your desk when you get home like your keys. Instead when I get home, I have to treat it like gold and lightly place it where it will stay for the night, because otherwise SOMETHING has a chance of breaking. I do not have a warranty, I am a DIY-type I guess because when the HDD went on this, I quickly replaced it. Do you get service like that with Sony without paying a premium? All I had to pay for was hardware and it took me less than a half hour to get the new HDD in.

    10.9.2008 08:50 #12

  • Hyasuma

    Alright, Your not the only who can fix computer around here you know, I'm talking about like screen break, or keyboard mess up, mouse pad don't work, I rather have them to fix it then me doing it myself. Okay, I take care of my laptop, shouldn't everyone? Why you buy something so expensive and just to destroy it? whats the point of buying a new one than an use laptop? Laptop are expensive things just to throw around, if you have that kind of money to throw around, go head, I'm not opposing it, i'm just saying Sony makes hell of a great laptop than the ones I have had.

    10.9.2008 12:50 #13

  • varnull

    Yeah.. one hell of a machine.. runs hot as hell too. Plus the blu crap drive doesn't burn any more and throws disk read errors all over the place. The HDD is failing and the screen gets attacks of the flickers.. 18 months old and near death without expensive repairs.... I think most of the problems are related to the amount of heat generated in the case.. It runs very hot.. which isn't good.

    I fix servers and industrial process systems for a living. I know a bit about hardware.. I'm not just the family IT geek!



    Free open source software = made by end users who want an application to work. Just put your hands up its a raid!

    10.9.2008 12:58 #14

  • bdoggie08

    Originally posted by varnull: Yeah.. one hell of a machine.. runs hot as hell too. Plus the blu crap drive doesn't burn any more and throws disk read errors all over the place. The HDD is failing and the screen gets attacks of the flickers.. 18 months old and near death without expensive repairs.... I think most of the problems are related to the amount of heat generated in the case.. It runs very hot.. which isn't good.

    I fix servers and industrial process systems for a living. I know a bit about hardware.. I'm not just the family IT geek!
    Guess Microsoft doesn't even think twice about "recalling" their piece of Sh%t 360s like Sony does with their Vios. That's the difference. And guess what, they have the same problem...overheating. So don't criticize them for doing good business.

    11.9.2008 16:56 #15

  • varnull

    I don't see the comparison between a £199 console and a £1600 laptop. You aren't likely to burn yourself with a games console ;) There was no mention of M$ crappy quality control in this topic until you came along trolling.

    Sony recall them.. fine, but what about the ones with the same problems that aren't included in this recall? Every vaio I have seen seems to run hotter than the acers and dells.. even with pretty much the same hardware inside.



    Free open source software = made by end users who want an application to work. Just put your hands up its a raid!

    11.9.2008 17:18 #16

  • tru003

    Asus makes excellent models and are cheaper than the Vaio's. You can't go wrong with an Asus mobo.

    11.9.2008 17:57 #17

  • 13thHouR

    Originally posted by tru003: Asus makes excellent models and are cheaper than the Vaio's. You can't go wrong with an Asus mobo.i fully agree, quality without the premium, i cant understand why ppl purchase the sony vario's, as they are exactly the same as other notebooks, dell xps and alienware top line notebooks benchmark faster than ALL sony's equivalent models and cost less and are equipped with the same chips vga cards ect, but because it's sony you have to pay an extra $400 to $700.

    plain stupid if you ask me, but ppl are suckers for advertising and the line "it cost more so it must be better". sony notebooks are not a statement about wealth they are a statement of stupidity!


    12.9.2008 09:21 #18

  • mike.m

    Originally posted by Hyasuma: You guys NEVER used a Sony laptop before, I bought a Sony Vaio back in 1999, and still in use till now, never had any virus, no problems at all, did not reformat ANYTHING. Yes, the price tag is over price, but why don't u just get them on sale? I just bought a new Sony Vaio Centrio 2/blue ray, I having the greatest time with their laptop, if i do need to get it fix, its under warranty. Dont start talking like you know all about laptops, and start dissing a company because they are over priced, they are over priced for a reason, and yes, I do own a Dell (my dads), Hp (my moms) and a Toshiba (my sisters) they all given me problems just to let u know, because I have to fix them..

    There's no reason why anything should be overpriced. I was about to buy one but now I'm glad I didn't. You can buy a dell with way better specs at the same cost. And I didn't insult sony, if anything I may buy one later in the future. And I am on my second year education of a Electrical & Computer Engineering Program, so don't go saying that me or anyone else on this site knows nothing about laptops or PC's. Just because you say you own both a dell and a sony doesn't mean that your right in saying the other brand is bad. It's like people saying, "oh the 360 is crap, but don't get mad at me, I'm right because I own a PS3 and a 360"

    Quote:Guess Microsoft doesn't even think twice about "recalling" their piece of Sh%t 360s like Sony does with their Vios. That's the difference. And guess what, they have the same problem...overheating. So don't criticize them for doing good business.Atleast Microsoft extended their warranty for free. The Sony Canada website only lets you have up to 3 years warranty. Dell, or HP lets you cover way beyond that at almost the same price sony charges for it's warranty. Why would a company only let you have 3 years warranty on a item, and others let you have more? Maybe the item wasn't made to last that long. And I'm sure no one got burnt by their 360's.

    14.9.2008 03:41 #19

  • ckwan

    The reason that the Sony VAIO's are selling well is that Sony is doing a pretty good job on packaging their products. For example, can you name a Dell or HP laptop model that has both the Blu Ray burner and the High Def TV tuner and how much it would cost if you have to customize to get one? The people who go for the leading edge technology would have no choice but buying the VAIO's.

    15.9.2008 15:39 #20

  • 13thHouR

    Originally posted by ckwan: The reason that the Sony VAIO's are selling well is that Sony is doing a pretty good job on packaging their products. For example, can you name a Dell or HP laptop model that has both the Blu Ray burner and the High Def TV tuner and how much it would cost if you have to customize to get one? The people who go for the leading edge technology would have no choice but buying the VAIO's.If you want the best you have to pay a premium, its the famous/stupid sony Public Relations Ferrari analogy all over again.

    Did you pull that quote out of the sony pr staff sales manual?

    16.9.2008 04:55 #21

  • ckwan

    Quote:Originally posted by ckwan: The reason that the Sony VAIO's are selling well is that Sony is doing a pretty good job on packaging their products. For example, can you name a Dell or HP laptop model that has both the Blu Ray burner and the High Def TV tuner and how much it would cost if you have to customize to get one? The people who go for the leading edge technology would have no choice but buying the VAIO's.If you want the best you have to pay a premium, its the famous/stupid sony Public Relations Ferrari analogy all over again.

    Did you pull that quote out of the sony pr staff sales manual?
    I am saying if you want the same features from Dell or HP through customzing, you are going to have to pay even more than what you would have to pay on a VAIO.

    16.9.2008 09:17 #22

  • flatster

    has anyone else had the same problem i have with a sony viao? that is the screen crack when you switch it on. I took it to my local sony centre and they refused point blank to do anything about it and accused me of damaging it. You expect more than that from a big name like sony. They suggested i claimed on my insurance to get it repaired (at a cost of £700), pay for the repair myself or buy a new one.

    7.2.2009 13:18 #23

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