The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the voluntary recall of HP Fax 1040 and HP Fax 1050 machines. The recall affects about 928,000 units in the U.S. and 240,000 machines in Canada and Mexico.
An internal electrical component failure can cause the machines to overheat, creating the risk of fire and burn injuries, the commission said. HP knows of seven instances in which a machine caught fire, according to the commission. One fire resulted in “significant property damage,” and one consumer suffered a minor finger burn, it said.
Some of the recalled machines were replacements for HP Fax 1010 and HP Fax 1010xi models, which were called back in June 2008 over a similar internal electrical component failure. That recall affected more than 450,000 units.
“HP fully stands behind the products it makes,” the company said in a letter to customers. “HP has taken a proactive approach to this situation to ensure the safety of our customers and the integrity and quality of our products.”
The 1040 and 1050 models were available for purchase in stores and online from November 2004 through December 2011, the commission said. They sold for between $90 and $120.
The machines were made in China, according to the commission.
HP told customers to unplug the machines and to contact the company about its rebate program. Affected customers can receive up to $100 toward an HP Inkjet printer, depending on the model selected, the company said.
Also on Thursday, the CPSC announced a recall of more than 8,000 Konica Minolta printers over fears the devices could short-circuit and overheat.
The company has received two reports of overheating, though no injuries have been reported, the commission said. The recall affects four laser color models, all made in China: Magicolor 4750DN, Magicolor 3730DN, Bizhib C35 and Bizhub C35P.
“Although the probability of the issue occurring and causing overheating was determined to be extremely low, out of an abundance of caution we decided to proactively recall the product and replace the component,” Konica Minolta spokesman Kevin Kern said.
He said almost all of the printers in the field had been updated, though about 116 customers had acknowledged they received a letter from Konica Minolta but had not responded to subsequent outreach from the company, and a few others had not responded to the company at all.
All of the printers in the inventory of the company's distributors had been updated, Kern said.
HP, meanwhile, has faced a rash of problems related to overheating products in recent years.
The CPSC announced in January that HP would pay a $425,000 civil penalty to settle the commission's allegations that it knowingly failed to immediately report that its lithium-ion battery packs were defective and could cause serious injury or death.
By September 2007, HP allegedly already knew of 22 incidents associated with the batteries, at least two of which resulted in injuries and one of which sent a consumer to the hospital. Nevertheless, HP did not issue a recall of 32,000 battery packs until October 2008, the commission said.
Between May 2009 and May 2011, HP recalled an additional 286,000 lithium-ion battery packs over concerns that the packs, which were prone to overheating and rupture, posed fire hazards.
In December, HP was targeted with a nationwide class action in California alleging its printers had a software design defect that allowed hackers to install malicious updates that could cause the device to heat up and eventually cause the printer's paper to turn brown and smoke.
--Additional reporting by Lana Birbrair and Megan Stride. Editing by Eydie Cubarrubia.
