Just months after spending over $1 billion to cover the cost of repairing overheating Xbox 360 consoles and extending the warranty period to three years, Microsoft is now offering a free retrofit to the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel as a "precautionary measure", after being informed of "a very small number of incidents" where a component in the wheel chassis overheats.
Apparently, a component inside the wheel chassis "may overheat and release smoke" when the charger is used during play instead of battery power. The company claims that there have been no reported incidences of fire, personal injury or property damage resulting from the component failure in the wheel, but they are taking no chances when it comes to the Xbox and potential fire hazards.
Xbox users interested in getting the racing wheel retrofit are instructed to visit the Xbox support forum on Microsoft's Web site or call the MY XBOX support line directly to resolve the issue. In the meantime, Microsoft is advising users to operate the wheel using battery power.