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.

Bill filed a report with the Consumer Products safety Commission, and remains in a repair standoff of sorts with Acer.

Just wanted to let you know that batteries in laptops are still exploding.

This time, it was the battery cell in my Acer 8951G laptop’s wireless trackpad that blew up and bulged out.

I have been in contact with Acer Executive customer service with RMA / service ticket [redacted].
But since the laptop was bought in 2011 and the warranty is expired it would be for a “safety evaluation” only.

That means it they can tear apart the laptop and erase my data, but I get no guarantee of a repair!

I simply would like a replacement trackpad sent to me from Acer. I did send the defective, exploded trackpad that was in my laptop back to the Acer repair depot in Texas.

I understand I am out of warranty, but this is a safety concern, and you can’t count on having an external mouse all the time with a laptop.

I saw these were last going for about $20 on eBay but missed out on the last auction 😦

Here is the story from another user with the exact same problem who Acer actually did help at no charge.

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.