Nokia may recall 14 million chargers

Nokia said it may replace up to 14 million phone chargers for free. The chargers, which were made by a third-party manufacturer, can  come apart and cause electric shock. The company said it is not aware of any incidents or injuries related to the chargers.

The Nokia-branded chargers are made by Chinese manufacturer BYD, which will assume the cost of the recall, according to Nokia. The handset maker said it was too early to estimate how much the recall would cost.

The chargers affected are the AC-3E and AC-3U models, manufactured between June 15 and Aug. 9, 2009, and the AC-4U model, made between April 13 and Oct. 25, 2009. Nokia said that the plastic covers on the chargers could come loose and separate, exposing the charger's internal components and potentially causing an electric shock if the components are touched while the charger is plugged into a live socket. 

This is not the first time Nokia has had to deal with a large recall of components made by a third party. In 2007, Nokia recalled 46 million defective batteries made by Japanese company Matsushita that overheated because of a short circuit.   

For more:
- see this release [1]
- see this Reuters article
[2]- see this WSJ article [3] (sub. req.) [2]

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Nokia responds to SMS "Curse of Silence" glitch [5]
Nokia offers to replace 46 million phone batteries
[6]