SONY HAS OFFERED owners of its Bravia LCD televisions a safety inspection following a series of melting incidents in Japan.

Earlier reports indicated that the electronics maker was set to recall up to 1.6 million television sets as there have been reports of faulty components causing smoke emissions and melted parts in 11 different sets across Japan.

However, the company said it is not issuing a product recall in Europe.

Although all the incidents of faulty inverter transformers have been in Japan, a small number of sets are believed to be affected on a global basis.

“A limited number of products might contain a component affected by a quality issue, which in a rare number of cases might over-heat and ignite inside the television and possibly result in the melting of the upper casing of the television,” Sony said in an emailed statement, adding that no injuries to any people or damage to other property were reported in any of the 11 incidents.

In a note to customers, the firm said:

As a precaution, Sony is voluntarily initiating a programme to perform a free inspection and, if necessary, a free repair to reassure you that these products meet your expectations of our high standards for quality and safety.”

Owners of the affected models have been asked to contact one of the firm’s service centres.

According to Bloomberg, the Japanese trade ministry has instructed Sony to issue a recall.

The models involved include five sets that have been sold in Ireland since 2007: KDL-40D3400, KDL-40V3000, KDL-40W3000, KDL-40X3000 and KDL-40X3500. Three others, KDL-40D3500, KDL-40D3550 and KDL-40D3660, are not available on the Irish market.

-Additional reporting by AP

For more information, see the Sony website>