More than 500,000 hoverboards are being recalled after dozens of reports of fires and spewing smoke.
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The recalled hoverboards, which have two wheels, were sold between June 2015 and May 2016 at retailer stores and online, including Overstock.com. The recall, as anyone familiar with these hoverboard devices will guess, is over potential fire risk. More than 15,000 self-balancing scooters were seized by United Kingdom officials due to safety concerns in December.
The CPSC warns customers against using hoverboards and suggest consumers to contact companies for a full refund, a free fix, or a free replacement-depending on the model.
A home in Nashville which burned down after a hoverboard caught fire on February 8.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is ordering massive recalls for the ever-popular hoverboards.
And if your hoverboard isn’t on the list?
“We’ve all seen pictures of homes destroyed and families that made it out just in time”, Commission Chairman Elliot Kaye told a news conference.
The major manufacturers of hoverboards, including Swagway and Razor, are offering refunds, repairs or replacement hoverboards, depending on the model.
The self-balancing, battery-driven scooters have a disconcerting tendency to burst into flames due to problems with poorly-designed lithium batteries packs overheating.
“I think a lot of [hoverboard makers] are using second-tier battery sources, which are going to have probably a higher rate of defects”, he said.
Whitacre advised consumers not to overcharge their hoverboards, and never to charge them or use them indoors.
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