Canon IXUS 240 HS
Canon PowerShot SX240 HS
Nikon D800
Samsung DV300F
Olympus OM-D E-M5
Nikon Coolpix P510
Canon PowerShot SX260 HS
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ30
Nikon Coolpix S9300
Nikon Recalls EN-EL3 Li-ion Batteries
Nikon Europe Customer Care Notice
Safety Warning Recall of Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL3 for Nikon D-SLR Cameras
Through strict quality control procedures Nikon has detected that on rare occasions some rechargeable Li-ion batteries of the type EN-EL3 for Nikon Digital SLR cameras may become defective, resulting in overheating during recharging. Investigations have clarified that the cause of the defect is not a design fault, but has resulted from a problem in a manufacturing process that occurred during the production of this battery type between May and September 2004. In the interests of its customers and as a reflection of Nikon’s commitment to safety and product quality, the company has initiated a voluntary recall and replacement program of all EN-EL3 batteries manufactured during this period. The EN-EL3 is provided as a supplied accessory with the D100, D70 and D50 Digital SLR cameras. It is also sold as a separate accessory for these camera models, and can be used in the Nikon D70s.
To date, Nikon has received notification of five occurrences of defective batteries worldwide of which two have been in Europe. No cases of personal injury have been reported; however, the overheating has caused damage to adjacent material during the recharging process, and further use is not advised. Batteries that bear a manufacturing batch identification (see diagram) found in the list below should be returned to Nikon for replacement. Instructions on how to apply for a replacement battery are given below.
Canon IXUS 240 HS Review
Canon PowerShot SX240 HS Review
Nikon D800 Review
Samsung DV300F Review
Olympus OM-D E-M5 Review
Nikon Coolpix P510
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ30
Canon PowerShot SX260 HS
Fujifilm X-Pro1
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX200V
#1 Jase
And it's so nice of Nikon to essentially ensure that everyone has to buy another spare battery before they can get their defective battery replaced. The return process will take, and I'm paraphrasing here, 5 to 10 days from receipt and verification (with no notice of how long that takes) but may take considerably longer if they're busy. So if you're like me and need to have two batteries around at all times, you have to buy another spare, send in the first one, wait however long to get the replacement, then rinse and repeat.
And possibly do it a third time with your spare since they haven't pulled them all from the distribution chain.
It's possible that there's no other way for them to accomplish it, but in my mind its a better bet not to bother. They could have at least set up a network of Nikon retailers in the states who could do the exchange at a POS rather than a nebulous time frame of 5 - 10 days (plus the shipping to and from Europe).
4:54 pm - Wednesday, November 9, 2005
#2 Tristan
This is standard practice for most all manufacturers. If you don't like it, don't send your battery in and then have it possibly explode instead. Do you prefer that?
Look, you're getting a brand new battery for free, in exchange for one you could have been using for a year and totally worn out. And you don't even have to pay for any shipping. Seems like Nikon is going the extra mile, they could have denied that there was any issue and done nothing.
I'm sure you'll survive with just one battery for a week or two while you wait.
11:14 pm - Wednesday, November 9, 2005