Lenovo Recalls 500,000-Plus Laptop Power Cords

Lenovo is recalling more than 500,000 AC power cords due to the risk of fire and burn hazards.

According to the recall notice issued Dec. 9 by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the power cords—sold with Lenovo laptops between February 2011 and June 2012—can overheat. The recall impacts about 500,000 units in the United States and another 44,000 in Canada.

Lenovo’s LS-15 AC cords were distributed with the IdeaPad B-, G-, S-, U-, V- and Z-series laptops and Lenovo brand B-, G- and V-series systems, according to the notice. The cords—manufactured in China—are black and have “LS-15” molded on the AC adapter end, the commission said. The manufacture date code in the format REV: 00 YYMM is on a label attached to the cord.

There were no injuries reported in either country, though Lenovo had received reports of 15 incidents occurring outside of the United States of the cords overheating, sparking, melting and burning.

“Consumers should immediately unplug and stop using the recalled power cords and contact Lenovo for a free replacement. Consumers can continue to use the computer on battery power,” the commission said in its recall notice.

Lenovo last year overtook Hewlett-Packard as the world’s largest PC maker, and the company continues to grow its share of a market that since 2011 has shrunk in the wake of the growing popularity of smartphones and tablets but has stabilized to some degree in recent quarters. According to Gartner analysts, in the third quarter, Lenovo’s market share was 19.8 percent, compared with HP’s 17.9 percent and Dell’s 12.8 percent.