Sanyo is facing a 1.3 million cellphone battery recall due to a defect that could cause affected units to overheat or even catch fire. The company manufactured the batteries for NTT DoCoMo and Mitsubishi Electric sometime around June 2006. The affected batteries are labeled model D06.

"In rare cases there is a slight deformation of the electrode plate which causes it to come into contact with the insulation sheet and hence the insulation sheet can become damaged," said Richard Sedgwick, a spokesman for Sanyo in Tokyo. "If the battery was also damaged through an outside side, for example if the user dropped the battery, then the problem could occur."

So far there have been 17 reported cases where the batteries have overheated or ruptured, but no serious accidents have been reported. It seems batteries are only vulnerable after serious impacts. The company has already taken necessary measures to ensure the flaw in the production process is corrected.