SaferProducts incident

Failure type

Overheating

Incident narrative

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20210306-F8DCD-2147365511. Severity: Incident, No Injury. Product: Hewlett-Packard 15-ch011nr (HP SPECTRE X360 - 15-CH011NR internal battery (part # 928372-856) Model 15-ch011nr UPC 0192018903555). Incident: The battery on my 2018 HP Spectre x360 (HP Battery 928372-855) laptop, which I have since replaced, would quickly overheat after only an hour and a half of use, and became so bloated that it eventually split the case. When I initially noticed the case was splitting around August 2020, I thought it was because the screws became lose. I took it to an IT person for repair and was told the battery inside had bulged and expanded so much it split the hard case. I was told to immediately stop using it, and to contact HP. He speculated that the battery had likely started expanding months prior. The IT person also said it is highly unusual on such a reasonably new brand-name laptop (2 yrs) of moderate use and believe it to be a manufacturer's defect and was a safety risk. I contacted HP and although they initiated a battery recall with some other models, they told me they did not with this particular model and claimed a bloated battery is not a safety issue. IT professionals with whom I've consulted strongly disagree and contend the heat and gas emissions can pose safety and health issues to users. It's also evident from HP's own user forum that this is a common issue and those users who continue to use their laptops despite the bulging and overheating may be exposed to harm. I believe this is especially dangerous because most users who purchase HP laptops would not think they would have to replace their batteries within the first year and half to two years of purchasing it and may not recognize the damaged battery since it wouldn't be apparent until their case splits. Further most