Sony Recalls 73,000 Vaio Laptops Due To Burn Worry 115
alphadogg writes "Sony is recalling 73,000 Vaio TZ laptops because of a possible manufacturing defect that may cause them to overheat, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission said Thursday. The recall relates to a problem with wiring near the computer's hinge, which could short-circuit and overheat in certain circumstances, perhaps burning the user. One person has suffered a minor burn as a result of the latest defect, and Sony has received 15 other reports of overheating computers, according to the Commission."
Sony (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Sony (Score:5, Interesting)
You joke, but I used to purchase Sony products because they represented quality. Need a top of the line Palm Pilot, CRT, television, laptop, CD player, etc.? Sony was the place to go.
These days Sony's quality IS the joke. :-(
Re:Sony (Score:5, Interesting)
...possibly true for hifi, TVs etc., but having once worked for a Sony laptop repair shop I can say that the evidence suggests they have never really perfected the art of laptop design - bits fall off, break, or the system boards/screens develop early life failures.
We used to repair Sony, Toshiba, Dell, Compaq, IBM etc. and he Sonys were the worse for 'it just happened' faults as opposed to 'I dropped it' or disk failures etc.
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As an example I got a PCG-XG19 back in early 2000. It has been dropped, kicked, dragged around the country, and endured 2 OS upgrades in its useful lifetime and still works when I start it up. Over this time the only things that have gone wrong with it are the hard drive died of old age and had to be replaced, the battery had to be replaced, and it only supports 250 MG of RAM.
In 2005 I p
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My major complaint with SONY computers has always been the driver support. If you have to reload them without the OEM discs for any reason you're basically screwed. The machines are full of odd components that only SONY has drivers for and their website is virtually useless.
We've had a few VAIOs come through the shop and they're always a pain to work on.
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Nope - you've missed the point: we serviced pretty much all the main brands as a manufacturer-approved centre (fully trained staff, mandatory attendance at training classes, inventoried tooling & spares stock etc.) and the volume of Sonys that came in for repairs due to 'mystery' or 'non-user induced' faults (eg: not because the user dropped the laptop) was significantly higher than other brands.
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In my experience in IT and repairs in general, 90% of the issues are user induced; they just don't tell you what they did.
"I didn't do anything" must be the most heard sentence by mothers of 6 year olds and by IT staff people.
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Amusingly, it has an AMD 1GHz speedstep cpu which was quite quick at the time, and now the speeds are coming back my way. I wouldn't sell it for anything - its been a
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Things have certainly changed over time and I do not think manufacturers are as consistent (quality-wise) now between models as they used to be; I think it's the continuous rush to bring out new designs to compete with, or better, the opposition - but to generalise:
Sony: Do not sneeze near them. I stay clear of them. My wife was captivated by a VGN-2S a few years back due to its lightweight design, and despite my warnings she bought it. It was back for repair within the month with a failed screen AND mother
Seconded (Score:1)
I'd like to hear that too, good to know if you are in the used and cheap laptop market. Computers I can't tell you, guns I can, used to fix them. For shotguns, cheap to buy and very good quality, you can't go much wrong with a remington 870, tough as nails.
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I bet the IBMs were the best, that has been my experience on repairing laptops. IBM likes to make parts interchangeable between as many models as possible.
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Re:Sony (Score:5, Informative)
Sony made PDA's that ran the PalmOS (the Clié series). They were generally regarded as a very desirable/quality version of a Palm.
Since they ran the same OS/software, it's obvcious that the GP was referring to "Palm" the platform and not the brand of device.
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They still are, the TH55 is only now showing its age, purely down to an outdated web browser. It's still the king of the Palm OS devices.
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They still are, the TH55 is only now showing its age, purely down to an outdated web browser. It's still the king of the Palm OS devices.
Are you saying the current Palm gizmos don't have an outdated web browser ? :)
I wish I could do something useful on the Web with my T|X (theoretically a nice device apart from that). But then Palm is pretty much dead nowadays. I still have my former Pilot / Palm devices though (with only the original Pilot 5000/Pro with a dead digitizer). Strange how that company was left to rot...
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But then Palm is pretty much dead nowadays. I still have my former Pilot / Palm devices though (with only the original Pilot 5000/Pro with a dead digitizer). Strange how that company was left to rot...
I've still got one hanging around somewhere too. A Palm Zire (the white model - can't remember the number). I used it for a while but I've personally just never really been bit by the PDA bug. I know lots of people love them and more power to them, but I had too much trouble just remembering to take the thing with me.
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Tell me about it. I have a Sony tuner that's nearly 20 years old (I bought it just out of college). It even has a button for DAT input. It's still going strong.
Sony is great but sometimes can fail... (Score:1)
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Our experience with their computers, both desktop and laptop, has been uneven at best.
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Re:Sony (Score:5, Funny)
Sony and IBM are the only electronics I will buy because of their superior quality and affordability.
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IBM Quality (Score:1)
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Re:Sony (Score:5, Interesting)
I think that I may hate Creative just slightly more than Sony due to profound psychological trauma I suffered as a result of their hardware and drivers
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Not to mention Sony is a member of every **AA anti-piracy group out there.
Sony optical drives (Score:5, Funny)
I specifically buy Sony optical drives because
1. I've generally not had problems with them and
2. I get a real good chuckle when I make illegal copies of audio discs recorded on their label.
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73000 laptops? How about 440000? That's what BBC [bbc.co.uk] claims.
manufacturing? (Score:5, Interesting)
The recall relates to a problem with wiring near the computer's hinge, which could short-circuit and overheat in certain circumstances, perhaps burning the user.
That sounds like a design defect, not a manufacturing defect.
Re:manufacturing? (Score:4, Insightful)
They can then allege that this was only in X thousand laptops because they were built wrong, not because they were designed to be wrong.
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If this were the case, couldn't they just claim the machine is NOT a laptop, but a notebook (ala Apple MacBooks) and easily avoid lawsuit? C'mon, this is Sony... what manufacturing run doesn't have defects?
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The manufacturers followed the defective design, so it's their fault. At least, that's what the lawyers tell me.
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That sounds like a design defect, not a manufacturing defect.
That doesn't sound like a design defect; it sounds like they're copying Apple's laptop design.
(in case the joke is too obscure: Apple's laptops are designed in such a way that they get ridiculously hot.)
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Did you read the review that you linked to?
My wife and sons have this phone, and the call quality is *awful*, as the article says, multiple times.
The phone better be unbreakable, because it's going to be thrown against the wall in frustration more than a few times.
It's a phone - come on, make it possible to conduct a conversation, at least...
Tsk.
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The word you're looking for is *engineering* defect.
As it is, most laptops run the cable for the LCD thru the hinge (in the case of tablet notebooks, it's the center hinge, on hp dv9000 series laptops, it's the left hinge) and that in itself is just asking for problems. However, there's really no other place to hide the cable from sight and from being exposed, so you have to risk putting it near the hinge.
Inverter (Score:4, Funny)
The overheating could be caused by misplaced wiring near the hinge, or if a screw in the hinge falls out and short-circuits the wires.
Nice, that's usually where the inverter [laptoprepair101.com] is. The only better way to make a true Sony-style exploder would be a short across the battery terminals!
it blew up in my pants (Score:5, Funny)
Re:it blew up in my pants (Score:5, Funny)
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You have experience? Poor guy.
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Who said his sexlife involves others?
Sony's latest anti-piracy trick. (Score:5, Funny)
Apparently, the famous CD rootkit wasn't good enough at preventing piracy. Well, this new tool in the fight will burn your fingers clean off. I'd like to see you try to pirate a CD when you can't even pick it up.
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You could always use your stumps.
I'm confused (Score:1, Funny)
Sony is recalling the laptops, but my exercise instructor told me to "feel the burn"!
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What the hell was that?!? Don't you ever try to be funny again, EVER!
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Ouch. Everybody's a critic.
Re:I'm confused (Score:4, Funny)
To see if you're affected... (Score:5, Informative)
guess i'll need to wait until I can call their hotline or something. (1-888-526-6219 if you're that interested...)
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Takes me to a page that says:
Sony VAIO® VGN-TZ Notebook - Rework
This Web site is only for VAIO VGN-TZ computer customers that live in the United States, Canada, Latin America, and Brazil.
To get started, please select the country in which you currently reside: ...and so on. Following the US link takes me to a page that asks me for the serial number and other particulars of my defect laptop (which I couldn't test, seeing as I don't have one). Seems to be working fine to me.
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Also, this is an old story guys. Come on. You don't remember the one about Sony and an exploding battery recall? Get it together, people!
No, this is a separate defect from the other exploding batteries problem. IIRC, the exploding batteries was caused a short in the battery itself. This is a short somewhere else.
This would make me strongly consider not buying anything Sony if I wasn't already boycotting them for general wankery (rootkit, membership in various undesired groups, etc.) and the fact they seem to have fired their entire QA department.
Re:Sony's QA programs lacking in other areas too (Score:5, Insightful)
I know exactly what happened. Follow along. Prior to about 1990, most electronics systems were made of more parts (less system on a chip type stuff) and the technology for putting those parts together was different. When you use a 4-7 layer board, with lead containing solder, and few if any surface mount components, the connections are more reliable. Some might argue, but it's true. The technology for using lead free solder and surface mount components is almost an art. You're not going to get joe at the tv repair shop to fix your mp3 player very often these days. Consequently, design techniques and technology also changed. Reliability is not something they design in for the 'lifetime' of the device because life expectancy is not 15 years any more, it's about 3 years tops. It's not designed for obsolescence, it just happens that way, so 15 year reliability is not a big bonus anymore.
With surface mount components and technology, most consumer devices have become 'throw away' technology. That is to say it's cheaper to build a new one than to repair the broken one. It's been that way for some 15+ years. So it has become a gamble: make something that lasts long enough for the next model to come out, just replace any defects. Most "repairs" in the last 15 years are nothing more than putting a new case on the outside. Note that Apple has had some problems as have other manufacturers. The Razor sucked as an example.
Despite many such failures in consumer products, I have yet to find anyone complaining bitterly about Panasonic or sharp. Does anyone have horror stories from them? Sharp makes the Sidekick, and I have to say I'm rather impressed with that product.
This is why extra warranty time is a rip-off. If the product is going to fail, it will fail in the first year, if not, it will probably last for 7+ years... well past typical usefulness to most markets.
RoHS in manufacturing programs are also causing things to happen that will bit by bit reduce long term reliability. That's just how it is. Perhaps some nanotech will come along to fix the problems induced by current manufacturing technology trends. I hope so.
Well, at least... (Score:4, Insightful)
At least they weren't shipped with rootkits! Well, I THINK they weren't but how could you know?
I know that after being rooted by a music CD, I'll never have a Sony product burn me (except maybe my TV, which I bought before being burned by XCP). Once bitten, twice shy. Other corporations should take heed.
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*shakes head*
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What's sad is, just a couple of decades ago their stuff was top quality. Back when the walkman first came out you couldn't hurt the damned things.
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It's kinda like my friend and his Mercedes. He's got a '92 300D or something like that which has over 300K miles on it and no major problems, but his '05 or so CLK500 has been in for sensors and engine problems multiple times. He's even been through a transmission.
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At least they weren't shipped with rootkits! Well, I THINK they weren't but how could you know?
I know that after being rooted by a music CD, I'll never have a Sony product burn me (except maybe my TV, which I bought before being burned by XCP). Once bitten, twice shy. Other corporations should take heed.
I was thinking the exact same thing - given Sony's track record regarding PC software, why on earth would anyone buy a computer from them? For all we know there could be a custom BIOS that triggers the injection of rootkit code into your OS.
I have a question... (Score:1, Interesting)
...as a mathematician with my head in the clouds, I want to ask hardware types: why do things have such horrible failure modes?
Why doesn't a laptop battery do something intelligent way before it explodes, for example? I should expect to be able to short circuit externally or in several places internally and the worst case behaviour be that it blows a fuse, permanently disabling the battery. Why do the vents that are supposed to prevent explosion seem not to trigger until enough pressure has built up that so
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Well, there are multiple levels of protection in lithium ion battery
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...as a mathematician with my head in the clouds, I want to ask hardware types: why do things have such horrible failure modes?
2 words..profit maximization
Why doesn't a laptop battery do something intelligent way before it explodes,...
Well, that would cost extra money to implement, which goes against the point mentioned above
Is it really that the few cents it costs to engineer these obvious safety and reliability features aren't worth considering?
At even a few cents per unit to implement these, it'd add up to a considerable amount of money. Enough to make implementing said safety features not attractive to Sony...until enough bad press comes as a result of their cutting corners, that is.
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Power supplies are actually complicated to engineer -- adding monitoring to every supply line would increase the component count, rather than simply add software complexity. That means it costs more per unit, as well as more design effort. So, unfortunately, you're unlikely to see it without a clear demand.
Many modern batteries are designed to fail in some safe manner; at least some of the battery problems have been due to manufacturers substituting cheaper materials than specified, which results in the s
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Li-Ion batteries work by placing anodes and cathodes next to each other, causing lithium ions to go to and from the anodes/cathodes. The resulting electro-chemical reaction "makes" electricity (this is over simplified!) When one of these things drops, is punctured or in any other way causes the two components to come into further contact with one another and then is "charged" the resulting energy can cause "expansion," excessive heat, fire and can even explode as we've seen previously.
This is a very simple
Not surprised (Score:5, Insightful)
The recall relates to a problem with wiring near the computer's hinge, which could short-circuit and overheat in certain circumstances, perhaps burning the user.
Users generally get burned for buying Sony anyway.
Is a general problem (Score:2)
I can't imagine why we are designing hotter laptops. Heat is waste energy, which requires a bigger battery, which generates more heat...
Re:Is a general problem (Score:5, Insightful)
I think the recall relates to something more than the general trend toward laptops running hotter...
But to your point, a few things.
First, heat as waste energy... well, sort of. All of the energy that goes into your computer comes back out. (Remember, using energy doesn't mean the energy is gone.) If we exclude the energy that's deliberately converted to light for the monitor, a good chunk of that is ultimately coming out as heat regardless of what happens to it in the mean time.
Yes, a more energy-efficient processor (and other hardware) will run cooler, all else being equal. However, dividing the energy that goes into a computer into "useful" vs. "waste heat" isn't really accurate.
But my real point is, it's not as if a laptop today is equivalent to a laptop 5 years ago except less energy-efficient. Newer laptops are smaller, which makes it harder to dissipate the heat generated. Also, processors are faster (and by other measures "more powerful"). Transistor counts go up, so does power consumed... and again, "consumed" mostly means "dissipated as heat".
I wouldn't say that we're "designing hotter laptops"; I'd say we're designing smaller/faster laptops and increases in efficiency haven't kept up wtih the level of cool running we'd become acustomed to.
SOLUTION! (Score:2)
Sell them to Eskimos.
During the colder months, sell them to Canadians, Islanders, Norwegians, Russians... etc...
Silly Sony... If they had only managed to drag on the issue for a few more months...
I remember when Sony used to make good stuff (Score:5, Interesting)
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Several things.
1. Production was outsourced to China-- to remain cost-competitive, and especially under Sony's now US-executive leadership, most of their products are now made in China. While China's quality has improved tremendously, it was pretty bad at first, and still isn't really up to par with Japan.
2. OEM components-- unlike the days of the Walkman where Sony could've made all the ICs themselves, today if you hope to build a computer, MP3 player, etc at anywhere near an affordable price you have t
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Well, basically Sony's decline begins when they buy an Entertainment arm in the 80's. There's a lot of info on Wikipedia about it.
They had probably the best reputation of any Japanese electronics company back then.
More than 73,000 (Score:5, Informative)
Up to 440,000 [bbc.co.uk] laptops now.
Comment removed (Score:3, Insightful)
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Is all consumer fault.. (Score:1)
Does Sony give "Advanced Replacements"?? (Score:2)
So what does one do when their laptop is recalled and they need one to work?
If someone purchased the on-site next-day service plan, do they still honor that because the product line is defective?
440,000+ unhappy users is a hell of a way to have "Sony Style"...
Not that Dell is the pinnacle of notebook perfection, but my older Dell laptop has been so reliable for me and
73,000 or 440,000? (Score:3, Informative)
Give Sony Some Credit. This is More than Dell Did (Score:2, Interesting)
I own a VAIO TZ. I love it. (Score:1)
I own a Vaio VGN-TZ17TN which started smelling like smoke a couple months ago. When I turned it off I found a melted area on the bottom of the case near the hinge. It looked to me like a power regulator's heat sink had overheated in a big way, but when I got the machine back the paperwork said they had replaced lots of wiring harnesses. I can't help but wonder if I experienced the issue that the recall is for.
That said, I can't find a real press release about exactly which models are affected. Mine is a Tai
The fix... (Score:1)