LG battery recall ramps up as 4400 Aussie homes remain at risk
Technology giant LG will launch an urgent year-long advertising campaign after it emerged that more than 4,000 Australian homes are still using solar batteries that can overheat and catch fire without warning.
However, the company’s battery recall could affect thousands more households in the future after it emerged that a battery that had been ‘repaired’ with a software update had also caught fire.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on Monday released details of LG’s latest recall commitments, revealing the company had signed a court-enforceable undertaking to increase the reach and number of its warnings.
LG Energy Solution has agreed to do more to warn and protect consumers from faulty LG solar storage batteries that can overheat and catch fire without warning, in a court-enforceable commitment accepted by the ACCC.
Tech giant LG will launch an urgent year-long advertising campaign after it emerged that more than 4,000 Australian homes are still using solar batteries that can overheat and catch fire without warning
However, the company’s battery recall could affect thousands more households in the future after it emerged that a battery that had been ‘repaired’ with a software update had also caught fire.
LG Energy Solution has recalled 18,000 solar storage batteries sold in Australia, with voluntary recalls starting in August 2020.
The defective batteries, sold by LG and SolaX, were produced between January 2016 and June 2019 and can overheat, overheat and catch fire.
So far, 15 cases of property damage have been attributed to the faulty batteries, including a house fire in Victoria that destroyed the home.
About 4,400 defective batteries have yet to be located by the company.
The defective batteries, sold by LG and SolaX (pictured), were produced between January 2016 and June 2019 and can overheat, overheat and catch fire.
LG’s latest recall includes an advertising campaign to warn consumers of the fire risk, emphasizing the urgency of the recall, using simple language and emphasizing words such as “fire” and “death.”
The company has also committed to paying consumers for the cost of their batteries and installation, as well as compensation for higher energy bills incurred while solar batteries are turned off.
ACCC deputy leader Catriona Lowe said the measures were necessary to ensure all hazardous batteries could be recalled within 12 months.
“We are warning consumers who have a solar energy storage system to check if their battery is affected by these recalls,” she said.
‘If you have an affected battery, including one that has already received a software update, turn it off and contact LG urgently.’
Ms Lowe said the committee is also investigating whether software installed to address the problem in some batteries is an adequate solution.
Questions about the solution arose after an LG solar battery with the diagnostic software installed caught fire in a Townsville home in March.
Pictured: Batteries and systems involved
“The ACCC is extremely concerned about this development and we are monitoring it closely,” Ms Lowe said.
“We urge all consumers who have previously installed a software update to immediately turn off their battery pending the outcome of this investigation.”
LG’s new commitments come three months after Federal Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones sent the company a recall notice due to defective batteries.
The ACCC has now recommended against a mandatory recall.
Solar battery owners can check if their products are affected by the recall by visiting the website LG website or call 1300 677 273.