The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced on Thursday that they are working with Sony to pull a number of 73,000 TZ series VAIO laptops from the market because of overheating problems and possible burn danger.

The agency is quoted as saying that “Irregularly positioned wires near the computer's hinge and/or a dislodged screw inside the hinge can cause a short circuit and overheating. This poses a burn hazard to consumers.” In fact there was one case of a user who did experience a minor burn, the CPSC reports, in addition to fifteen other reported cases of overheating.

The precise models to be withdrawn are VGN-TZ100, TZ-200, TZ-300 and TZ-2000. Sony has posted a detailed support page here and users of the affected models are advised to immediately turn off their machine, unplug it, and pull out the battery, after which they should call customer support to have their machines inspected.

The CPSC says that not all units of each series are to be recalled, and users should contact either Sony or the CPSC to check if their unit is on the list. Sony's recall contact number is +1 888-526-6219. The CPSC's recall contact number is +1 800-638-2772.

This is not the first faulty laptop incident that Sony was involved in. In 2006, improper battery testing resulted in Sony marketing laptops with faulty batteries through Apple and Dell. A number of five million batteries were eventually recalled, a move which cost Sony $430 million.