Garmin Recalls 1.25M 'Fire Risk' Satnavs 54
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Soulskill
from the hot-new-battery-tech dept.
from the hot-new-battery-tech dept.
Barence writes "Garmin is recalling 1.25 million of its nüvi satnavs after batteries overheated. According to Garmin, the issue only affects devices containing batteries manufactured within a set date range by a third-party supplier and that have a specific printed circuit board design. 'It appears that the interaction of these factors can, in rare circumstances, increase the possibility of overheating, which may lead to a fire hazard,' the company said in a statement. 'Although there have been no injuries or significant property damage caused by this issue, Garmin is taking this action out of an abundance of caution.' Perhaps Garmin should also issue a software update that diverts drivers to their nearest fire station?"
Lamest joke ever. (Score:4, Insightful)
Perhaps Garmin should also issue a software update that diverts drivers to their nearest fire station?
Lamest joke ever.
there's no safety in batteries these days (Score:3, Insightful)
I used to shoot a lot of panasonic cameras; and about a year or two ago, pany changed their 3rd party battery story so that new models use chipped batteries (pulling a sony, so to speak) and this locks out most 3rd party batteries.
their reason: safety. they claim that 3rd party batteries are less safe than the oem's.
then we see essentially ALL companies who make battery power (li-ion mostly) devices have this or that battery recall. its not if, but when. I'm not sure a single vendor has escaped.
they claim their own choice of batteries is safer but each recall BY the vendor whittles this trust away bit by bit.
Why the fuck these proprietary li batteries anyway (Score:2, Insightful)
Garmin Geko circa 2003, ran 20 hours on two non-exploding AAA cells. When they go flat, swap in another pair, and charge the flat ones up when you get home.
Garmin Nuvi 205W circa 2010, runs 4-5 hours on internal proprietary lithium cell, non-removable. When it goes flat, you are hosed and can't use the unit until you can find a place to charge it. And that's assuming it didn't explode.
Lithium batteries are just a fucking scam. I buy AA or AAA powered devices (digicams, portable audio, etc) when I can possibly help it, and use Sanyo Eneloop NiMH cells which have no self-discharge problems (the usual excuse for lithium). The slight size/weight penalty is more than worth it to avoid the damn proprietary battery and charger and explosion hassle, and there is also a huge cost savings.