EN-EL15 Rechargeable Li-ion Battery Service Advisory

<p>Nikon Inc. is asking your cooperation in connection with a <strong>voluntary recall</strong> of certain lot numbers of its Nikon Model<strong> EN-EL15</strong> rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack. The Nikon EN-EL15 battery pack is provided as a supplied accessory with the purchase of Nikon’s digital SLR <strong>D800, D800E, D7000 cameras and the Nikon 1 V1</strong> advanced camera with interchangeable lens. It is also sold separately at retail under Nikon’s model number 27011. The EN-EL15 battery pack involved in this recall was first distributed by Nikon in March 2012 and is still being sold at retail.<br>

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<strong>This voluntary recall is limited only to those units of the Model EN-EL15 in lots E and F.</strong><br>

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Fordetails on how to identify whether or not your battery is involved in this recall and what to do if it is, see here:<strong> <a href="http://www.nikonusa.com/Service-And-Support/Service-Advisories/h0ndzaip/EN-EL15-Battery-Recall-Service-Advisory.html">http://www.nikonusa.com/Service-And-Support/Service-Advisories/h0ndzaip/EN-EL15-Battery-Recall-Service-Advisory.html</a><br /></strong><br>

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<p>Thanks Dieter.</p>

<p>I have noticed recently that EN-EL15 batteries are hard to find and the price has gone up quite a bit. I was wondering why; this may be the reason: <a href="../nikon-camera-forum/00aHhc">http://www.photo.net/nikon-camera-forum/00aHhc</a></p>

<p>Personally I have three EN-EL15 for my D7000, but I bought all of them in late 2010. However, on the D800 test sample photo.net received from Nikon, it includes an EN-EL15 that is on the recall list. For those who bought D800/D800E recently, you might want to check that. For me, since that is not my battery, it is not an issue.</p>

<p>Each EN-EL15 battery has some sort of serial number. The first 8 digits are apparently the date of manufacturing, e.g. 2011-12-16 as shown in the example below. If the letter following that is either an E or an F, that battery is recalled.</p><div></div>

<p>Yeah. This is why OEM batteries are to be preferred over aftermarket versions. Both are equally likely to melt your camera, but the 'official' ones give you some recourse. IIRC, though, battery warranties (OEM and third-party) usually exclude consequential damages. IOW, if your Genuine Nikon™ battery blows up in your USD 6,000 camera, Nikon will replace the USD 50 battery, whereas cheapchinesebatteries.com will not replace their USD 20 battery,</p>

<p>For Europe: http://nikoneurope-en.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/52326</p>

<p>While this is extremely unlikely, an overheating battery can potentially cause a fire that may burn down your office or house and cause injury and/or death. Clearly there can be liability issues. As any responsible company would and also for its own self interest, Nikon is replacing those EN-EL15s.</p>

<p>As someone brings up, the shortage of EN-EL15 may be causing the shipment delay of D800/D800E, D7000 and V1 cameras.</p>

<p>I wonder if this is why the D800/D800E is late. Recalling and opening all the boxes to replace the batteries would be time consuming.</p>

<p>LG, you and I posted almost at the same time. Opening the boxes to replace the batteries is not that big a deal. The problem is whether you have sufficient good batteries for replacement and the new D800 from the factory.</p>

<p>See my image above. The bad EN-EL15 sample seems to be from last December. Potentially Nikon may have to replace batteries from the last 3, 4 months. All you need is one missing part and your brand new D800 cannot ship.</p>

<p>Just for a perspective on the time range of these recalled batteries, I just today got in the mail my D7000 that I bought from a friend. He bought it new in the US on 4/6/12, and yes, it has one of the recalled batteries.</p>

<p>Lisa, just curious, what is that "serial number" on your battery that is being recalled?</p>

<p>Shun, it's: 20120223FA02_ _</p>

<p>My new D7000 is also sporting a recalled battery. The worry is now that I have reported to Nikon and they verified my recall number, they give you no acknowledgment or a clue as to when the new one will be delivered. You must have the old one to hand over to the UPS person. i'll have to take my battery to work everyday now as that is the only place I can have it delivered.</p>

<p>Shun, that's quite a coincidence. I was mainly thinking if they needed to ship them back to Japan, but you are probably right it's a battery shortage. They could probably do the battery swap at the local distributers, if they had batteries in hand.</p>

<p>I have a C - Phew!</p>

<p>Michael, Nikon is saying 7-10 days for replacement. Hopefully that timeframe is accurate.</p>

<p>Now i do have my D800, but will not be able to use it because of the battery, that belongs to the bad series......<br>

Life is great ......<br>

Nikon promised to deliver a new battery within 5 days after May 1st.<br>

On April 30 we celebrate the birthday of our queen with huge parties ... it will be tempting to use the D800 on that day ... The chance that something happens with the battery is very little, but better safe than sorry ...</p>

 

<p>A voluntary recall would seem to indicate that there's minimal safety issue, just one of reliability or QC. Whatever, this just shouldn't happen if Nikon's outgoing inspection and incoming QA departments are doing their jobs properly. Makes you wonder where the extra 400% cost over a third-party battery is justified. I was considering replacing a tired En-EL3e, but Nikon UK's ridiculous asking price of £67 (= about $100 US) provokes a response somewhere between laughter and apoplectic angry indignation.</p>

<p>This recall clinches it. I'm buying off-brand.</p>

<p>Thanks Lisa. I am just trying to figure out how many EN-EL15 batteries maybe affected.</p>

<p>It looks like the serial number has this format: yyyymmdd, followed by two letters and five digits. It seems obvious that the first part is the date of manufacturing. In that format, there are 26x26x10000 serial numbers after the date part, and perhaps up to 2x26x10000 batteries are affected. That is like 520,000 or up to about half a million. And those batteries were manufactured at least from around December last year to February, based on Lisa and my samples. The actual time range is probably longer.</p>

<p>It sounds like a lot of batteries are affected and it will take a few months to manufacture replacement batteries, even though they should be speeding things up. Expect EN-EL15 shortage for a few months and that may indeed affect the delivery of the D7000, V1, and D800/D800E.</p>

<p>I just did a quick check. The D7000 is once again out of stock at B&H and Amazon, but the V1 is available. The D7000 was not available for months after the Thai flood; finally it was back in stock about a month ago and now it is out again. Oh well.</p>

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<p>Makes you wonder where the extra 400% cost over a third-party battery is justified.</p>

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<p>Rodeo Joe, guess who is paying for this recall? I am sure Nikon's earnings will take a hit, but eventually it is us customers who are paying for it. That is partly why Nikon batteries are more expensive. You'll probably never see a recall on those "no name" batteries anyway.</p>

<p>Here in the US, when the EN-EL3e was the current battery, the price was below $30 a couple of years ago. I thought that was quite reasonable. I wonder why it is so much more expensive in the UK and Canada.</p>

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<p>I wonder why it is so much more expensive in the UK and Canada?</p>

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<p>Me too! The UK is badly recession-hit at the moment, and it makes me wonder if Nikon UK are living on the same planet as the rest of us. When times are hard, prices usually fall in line with what people can afford - not so with the pricing policy of Nikon UK, apparently. Shun, I hear what you're saying about customers paying for the recall, but the point is that if Nikon's QA and QC were all that they should be, then there would be no need for this loss to be absorbed by anyone. You would expect a reputable company to check these simple things <em>before</em> they get to market.</p>

<p>I also just looked up the price of a CA10 GPS cable. This is a 1ft length of 8 core cable with two small moulded connectors. The UK price? Around£45! That's nearly $70 US. The most expensive GPS "dongle" I could find for a computer was about £50. Nikon's price for the GP-1? £200; and that's discounted from the RRP of nearly £250. There's making a healthy profit and then there's pure profiteering. Have Nikon not heard of the law of diminishing returns?</p>

<p>Unfortunately, sometimes problems do not show up until later on after actual usage. Nikon did not provide a lot of details on the exact issue, but back in 2005, there was an EN-EL3 recall also with overheat issues.</p>

<p>I believe it is actually Sony that makes the Nikon batteries. See the Sony brand name on the EN-EL15. Back in 2005, a lot of Sony Li-ion batteries were recalled, including those for laptop computers, etc. But in any case, Nikon is still responsible for batteries they sell. If the problem is caused by the actual battery manufacturer (maybe Sony), perhaps Nikon can get some compensation.</p>

<p>BTW, it looks like I may have one of the earliest EN-EL15 batteries. Recall that I bought my D7000 as soon as it was available in November, 2010. The battery that came with it is a 20101006 with serial number AA1744.</p><div></div>

<p>On April 26, Thom Hogan has additional comments on the EN-EL15 recall: <a href="http://www.bythom.com/">http://www.bythom.com/</a></p>

<p>According to Nikon USA's web site: <a href="http://www.nikonusa.com/Service-And-Support/Service-Advisories/h0ndzaip/EN-EL15-Battery-Recall-Service-Advisory.html">http://www.nikonusa.com/Service-And-Support/Service-Advisories/h0ndzaip/EN-EL15-Battery-Recall-Service-Advisory.html</a><br />That is the same link Dieter provided earlier, in the US, you need to call an 800 number. Nikon will notify UPS to send a person to your location (home, office, neighbor's house, etc.) to pick up the recalled battery and give you a new one. You don't ship it as any damaged Lithium ion battery is considered hazardous:</p>

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<p>To return and receive your new EN-EL15 battery pack, <a href="https://www.nikondealernet.com/ENEL15/" target="_blank">click here</a> or call toll free 1-800-645-6687. Nikon will then send a UPS courier to the address provided, bringing a new EN-EL15 replacement battery at the same time. At this time, UPS will collect the recalled battery for safe return to Nikon. Your EN-EL15 battery pack will be replaced free of charge within approximately 7-10 days of our receipt of your request for a new EN-EL15 battery pack.</p>

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<p>You can see Nikon is going through a lot of trouble to make sure that the recalled batteries are handled correctly. That is partly why genuine Nikon batteries are a lot more expensive.</p>

<p>Thom Hogan reports that some of the replacement EN-EL15 batteries delivered by UPS are themselves on the recall list. Some Nikon customers e-mailed Hogan about that and all of a sudden, UPS delivered Hogan a replacement that is on the recall list itself. Apparently there is some mix up on Nikon USA's part.</p>

<p>So if you are in the US and are getting a replacement EN-EL15, double check the replacement's serial number.</p>

<p>I can confirm problems with shipping the correct replacement batteries. I tracked mine from New York to my town in Michigan. On the scheduled delivery day (today), UPS received a Delivery Intercept request from Nikon, and returned the battery before I received it. I called Nikon to inquire and they said the correct replacement battery was already on its way.</p>

<p>Has anyone here actually received their replacement battery yet? I logged my "claim" with Nikon within an hour of Thom's posting the info on his blog. When I filed at Nikon they said I'd get the new one within a week to ten days, today is day 9.</p>

<p>How are you able to track your batteries progress? Nikon did not even acknowledge that they received or processed my claim. I did mine online.</p>