Update of Safety Notice - 6th December 2005
Owners of the Nikon cameras D100, D70 and D50 and users of the Li-ion battery EN-EL3 are asked to carefully recheck their batteries as additional lot numbers were included into the list of possibly defective batteries.

Additional lot numbers to be checked are (51AA, 51AB, 51AC, 51AD, 51AE, 51AF, 51AG, 51AH, 53AA, 53AB, 54AE, 54AF, 54AH). If your battery has one of these lot numbers then follow the instructions below.

Customer Care Notice
Through strict quality control procedures Nikon has detected that on rare occasions some rechargeable Li-ion batteries of the type EN-EL3 for Nikon Digital SLR cameras may become defective, resulting in overheating during recharging. Investigations have clarified that the cause of the defect is not a design fault, but has resulted from a problem in a manufacturing process that occurred during the production of this battery type for a certain period of time only. In the interests of its customers and as a reflection of Nikon’s commitment to safety and product quality, the company has initiated a voluntary recall and replacement program of all EN-EL3 batteries manufactured during this period. The EN-EL3 is provided as a supplied accessory with the D100, D70 and D50 Digital SLR cameras. It is also sold as a separate accessory for these camera models, and can be used in the Nikon D70s.

To date, Nikon has received notification of five occurrences of defective batteries worldwide of which four could be confirmed as being the result of the described defect. No cases of personal injury have been reported; however, the overheating has caused damage to adjacent material during the recharging process, and further use is not advised. Batteries that bear a manufacturing batch identification (see diagram) found in the list below should be returned to Nikon for replacement. Instructions on how to apply for a replacement battery are given below.

If your battery has one of the following batch numbers it should be returned to Nikon for replacement.

How to apply for a replacement battery 
Apply for a replacement battery on-line by registering your EN-EL3 battery with our Support Centre. In the 'Product Registration' area at the bottom of the form add EN-EL3 battery and enter the battery batch number in the 'serial number' field. Failure to register your EN-EL3 battery will result in a replacement not being sent.The postal address you register will be the address to which the replacement battery is sent, check your address if you already have an account. When you have completed registration you will be sent a confirmation email. 
CLICK HERE to create a new account.
To update your existing account CLICK HERE to login, then click the 'My Account' tab at the top of the page and then the 'Profile' button.

Alternatively, call us on one of the following numbers which are charged in country at national rate. The lines are open from 9.00am to 5.00pm local time Monday to Friday.

Should I continue to use my battery?
The likelihood of failure is very low and failures have only occurred during recharging, not during storage or use in a camera. However as a failing battery will become very hot, extreme caution is advised if you decide to continue to use your battery.