In this month’s recall roundup, we bring you self-amputating dolly hands, attack lamps, flaming dehyrators, and bats that can score a home run all on their own. [More]
Great, My Acer Laptop Battery Exploded
By March 14, 2013
Did you think that the laptop battery explosion epidemic was over? No, it’s not just in the Boeing Dreamliner. Bill’s Acer laptop battery exploded not long ago: of course, he bought it in 2011 and the computer is now out of warranty. Acer is happy to take the computer back, but only to look at it for a “safety evaluation” and maybe to not send it back to Bill. He doesn’t think that this is fair. He sent the relevant exploded parts back to Acer, but doesn’t want to send back his hard drive or the rest of the computer. He wants replacement parts so he can get it working again. [More]
Comcast Charges Me $40 For The Pleasure Of Letting It Fix Its Own Screw-Up
By March 12, 2013
It’s bad enough that a Comcast tech futzed with the exterior connection to Consumerist reader Grant’s cable line, resulting in weak and dropped connections. But the folks at Kabletown never seem satisfied to stop at bad enough. [More]
March Recall Roundup: This Garlic Slicer Prefers Human Fingers
By March 11, 2013
In this month’s Recall Roundup for consumer goods, crossbows fire at will, snorkeling masks buckle under pressure, and garlic slicers are out to slice your fingers instead. [More]
Subaru Recalling 47,000 Vehicles Because Cars Shouldn’t Start On Their Own
By March 7, 2013
The super handy thing about having a remote starter for your car is pretty self-explanatory — you can start your vehicle from inside the house to warm it up on a cold day, or from wherever you are nearby instead of climbing in and turning it on. But that doesn’t mean cars should just start up on their own without you doing a thing, which is why Subaru is recalling about 47,000 vehicles. [More]
February Recall Roundup: The Heated Parka’s Revenge
By February 8, 2013
In this month’s Recall Roundup, pots and pans collapse on themselves, kids need to keep away from some vitamins, and battery-operated electric parkas turn on their owners and give them too much of a good thing. [More]
September Recall Roundup: The Care Bears Will Choke Your Baby
By September 18, 2012
In this month’s Recall Roundup, light fixtures plummet from the sky, bikes fall apart while you ride them, coffee makers explode from steam pressure, and the Care Bears try to comfort your baby, but could end up choking it instead. [More]
Kroger Manager Fired For Allegedly Attacking Man Who Handed Out Food In Parking Lot
By August 27, 2012
After you buy food at the grocery store, it’s pretty much yours to do with as you wish, right? But a Kroger manager in Georgia didn’t believe that an elderly customer would just want to hand out food to hungry people, and allegedly attacked the man, losing his job in the process. [More]
July Recall Roundup – Twist’n Explode
By July 13, 2012
In this month’s Recall Roundup: electronics short out and catch fire, little girls’ aqua shoes don’t grip as well as one might think, digital camera battery packs bite back, and someone thought that “Twist’n Sparkle” was a good product name. More like “Twist’n Explode.” [More]
Perhaps The 8th And 9th Replacement Phones We Send You Won’t Be Defective
By June 7, 2012
Garland and her husband have the same Android smartphone from Virgin Mobile, the Motorola Triumph. It’s supposed to be a pretty nice phone, and wasn’t cheap, but both of their phones had some issues. So get a warranty replacement and be on your way, right? Only it wasn’t just one replacement. Garland is now about to receive her fourth replacement phone, and her husband his third. That’s a total of seven defective phones so far. The phones suffer from a variety of problems, ranging from random reboots to poor reception to–worst of all–not recharging at all for no clear reason. They’d like Virgin to perhaps consider sending them a different, less crappy phone next time. They won’t. [More]
Recall Roundup – Banzai Inflatable Slides, Kolkraft Bassinets, And More
By May 10, 2012
There are some particularly scary recalls this week, including a massive pet food recall for dog foods manufactured by Diamond, some bassinets that might collapse and hurtle babies, and those Banzai water slides are finally being recalled after allegedly killing one person and paralyzing another. [More]
BMW Recalls 1.3 Million Cars Because "Flaming Battery Cable" Is Not A Desired Dealer Upgrade
By March 26, 2012
BMW has announced a worldwide recall of around 1.3 million 5- and 6-Series vehicles built between 2003 and 2010, because of a problem with a battery cable cover that could lead to some unpleasant results. [More]
NHTSA Says Don't Worry About Your Chevy Volt Erupting Into Flames More Than Other Cars
By January 23, 2012
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is shutting the books on its recent safety investigation into Chevrolet Volt battery packs when a few erupted into flames after crash tests. The verdict: Chevy Volts are just as likely to explode as any other cars. [More]
Chevy To Fix Every Volt Vehicle To Prevent Battery Fires
By January 5, 2012
Late last year it was revealed that the Dept. of Transportation was looking into possible problems with the batteries in electric vehicles after a Chevy Volt caught fire following a crash test. Now it looks like General Motors will spend the next few months upgrading the battery containment and coolant systems in every Volt currently on the road. [More]
Apple Will Replace First-Gen iPod Nanos For Overheating Risks
By November 14, 2011
If you have an iPod nano sold between Sep ’05 and Dec ’06, you could be eligible for a replacement under a new worldwide recall issued by Apple to deal with battery heating issues. [More]
How's Your iPhone 4S Battery?
By October 27, 2011
Our lab-coated colleagues down the hall at Consumer Reports are still testing various features of the iPhone 4S, so we don’t have their verdict on its battery life yet. But many customers online, including reader Bill, are already complaining that the battery drains much too quickly, and never fully charges to 100%. [More]
HP Call Center Supervisor Can't Help You, Answers To No One
By June 2, 2011
Consumer electronics have this terrible, terrible habit of breaking down shortly after the manufacturer’s warranty is up. In Eva’s case, the battery of her HP laptop self-destructed just two weeks after her original warranty ended. She thought that perhaps since her battery had started failing during the warranty period, they might give her a break. Nope. Thus began her battle of wills with R., the HP call center supervisor who can’t help you, but answers to no one. [More]
Changing Dead Battery Kills Jeep's Stereo
By May 26, 2011
Bob somehow got the crazy idea in his head that when he changed the battery in his Jeep Liberty, the factory-installed 6-CD changer would not stop working. He and other Chrysler vehicle owners should have known better. Of course their stereos, made by Chrysler part supplier Mopar, couldn’t handle a battery change. Since no one has any idea how to fix this issue, Bob had the choice to get the same system replaced for only $575, or go out and buy a significantly nicer aftermarket stereo for a lot less money. Hmm, what to do? [More]
