Washington, D.C.— Today, after receiving reports of at least 99 incidents where the battery packs in self-balancing scooters overheated, caught fire, or exploded—burning consumers and damaging property—the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is recalling more than 500,000 of these “hoverboards.” This action comes after months of work by the CPSC, including more than 60 investigations into hoverboard fires, calls from consumer advocates to take action, and numerous bans by universities, airlines and other entities. Ten companies are involved in the recall: eight manufacturers and two retailers.
Consumer Federation of America, Kids In Danger, Consumers Union, Public Citizen, U.S. PIRG and National Center for Health Research issued the following joint statement:
“We applaud this recall announcement. For almost a year, consumers have not had the information they need to best protect their families from hoverboards’ potential safety hazards. The announcement today clarifies that these half a million hoverboards have a design flaw that puts consumers at risk. Consumers should stop using these products immediately and contact the appropriate company to take advantage of this recall. If your hoverboard is not on the list, you are not necessarily in the clear. The Chairman of the CPSC recommends that even for those hoverboards not recalled today, consumers should contact the manufacturer or retailer and request a refund. Amazon, for example, has already agreed to provide refunds for hoverboards bought on their site.
Earlier this year, the safety and testing organization, UL, developed testing requirements to address the battery pack and electrical systems in hoverboards. Since February, the CPSC has urged consumers to use only hoverboards which meet the new UL 2272 standard. Now, today, consumers have clear information about how they can return or repair hoverboards that do not meet this standard. The standards-setting body ASTM International is working on developing a standard to address the fall hazard and other hazards posed by these products. Our organizations are participating in that process to ensure a robust, consumer-protective standard.”
If you have had a safety incident with a hoverboard, please report it to the CPSC at www.saferproducts.gov.
Contact: Rachel Weintraub, CFA (202) 387-6121; Nancy Cowles, KID (312) 595-0649; William Wallace, CU (202) 462-6262; Sonia Gill, PC (202) 454-5135; Ed Mierzwinski, PIRG (202) 461-3821; Diana Zuckerman, NCHR (202) 223-4000
Consumer Federation of America is an association of nearly 300 nonprofit consumer organizations that was established in 1968 to advance the consumer interest through research, advocacy, and education.
Kids In Danger (KID) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting children by improving children’s product safety. KID’s mission is to promote the development of safer products, advocate for children and educate parents and caregivers about dangerous children’s products.
Consumers Union is the policy and mobilization arm of Consumer Reports. Consumers Union works for health reform, food and product safety, financial reform, and other consumer issues in Washington, D.C., the states, and in the marketplace. Consumer Reports is the world’s largest independent product-testing organization. Using its more than 50 labs, auto test center, and survey research center, the nonprofit rates thousands of products and services annually. Founded in 1936, Consumer Reports has over 8 million subscribers to its magazine, website, and other publications.
Public Citizen is a national non-profit organization with more than 400,000 members and supporters. We represent the public interest through lobbying, litigation, administrative advocacy, research and public education on a broad range of issues including consumer rights in the marketplace, product safety, worker rights, workplace safety, financial regulation, safe and affordable health care, campaign finance reform and government ethics, fair trade, climate change and corporate and government accountability. Learn more at citizen.org.
U.S. PIRG serves as the federation of state Public Interest Research Groups. PIRGs are non-profit, non-partisan consumer groups that stand up to powerful interests whenever they threaten our health and safety, our financial security, or our right to fully participate in our democratic society.
NCHR is a think tank dedicated to improving the health and safety of adults and children by using research to develop more effective policies.