CPSC, Kyocera Wireless Corp. Announce Recall of Batteries in Smartphone Cell Phones

Recall Insight

This CPSC action (record #04068) was formally reported on January 23, 2004. It is classified under Moderate severity, with a current status of Active. Coslight International Group, of Hong Kong, manufactured the batteries for Kyocera Wireless Corp., of San Diego, Calif. is listed as the recalling firm. Federal records indicate 140,000 units are affected, a scale large enough to require multi-state distribution tracking.

The documented reason for this recall is: The recalled batteries can short-circuit and erupt with force or emit excessive heat, posing a burn hazard to consumers. Distribution information was not included in the agency filing, so consumers should assume broad potential exposure until the firm publishes point-of-sale details. The remedy documented by the agency is: Consumers with the recalled units should immediately stop using the battery in the cell phone. Kyocera Wireless will contact consumers to arrange for delivery of a free replacement battery. If consum… — consumers holding this product should act on that instruction rather than relying on general guidance.

To put this record in context, PlainRecalls indexes 83,949 recalls across the FDA, CPSC, NHTSA and USDA FSIS going back to 1995. Within the same product category, the database holds 6 closely related recalls, of which 6 were also issued by CPSC. That clustering is a signal — repeated actions in a narrow category often indicate a systemic quality-control issue, a supplier-wide contamination, or a design defect that has propagated across product lines. This recall is roughly 22 years old; older recalls can remain relevant because many units enter resale, rental, and secondary-market channels where the original warning never reaches the end user. Always cross-check the recall number against the official agency page before relying on any summary.