On August 18, 2022, some 10,000 motherboards were recalled after reports of them overheating and melting. ASUS issued a recall of the ROG Maximus Z690 Hero Motherboards after the company discovered that a capacitor on the board was installed backwards, causing the products to short circuit, overheat and melt. It also poses a fire and burn hazard, but thus far, no injuries have been reported, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
According to the company, the reverse memory capacitor issue was caused by a problem in the production process and traced to a single production line. The company says the issue is only triggering a debug error code 53 and no other component damage.
The products were made by Lite-On Vietnam in Vietnam and imported by ASUS Computer International in Fremont, California. The motherboards were sold separately for computers at Best Buy and Micro Center stores and online on Amazon and Newegg for only three months for about $600.
Consumers are urged to stop using the motherboards immediately and return them to the company for a free replacement.
The recalled motherboards have part number 90MB18E0-MVAAY0 with a serial number that starts with MA, MB and MC, which indicates that it was made in 2021.
The part number can be found next to the 24-pin power connector on a white label on the bottom side of the motherboard and on the packaging. Hopefully the manufacturer found the root cause of the problem, and turned the capacitors around.
