WASHINGTON, July 7 (UPI) — More than a half million hoverboards face a recall because of potential fire hazards in their lithium-ion batteries, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced Wednesday.
The recall of the self-propelled, self-balancing wheeled platforms includes products from eight manufacturer/importers, as well as 4,300 from Overstock.com and 1,300 from the Pennsylvania store Boscov’s. Of the manufacturers, 267,000 are from the Indiana-based firm Swagway, with 70,000 from Arizona’s Hoverboard LLC.
The hoverboards in question are all Chinese-made, and were largely sold online at prices ranging from $350 to $900. The CPSC said customers should stop using the machines and contact the retailer for a full refund, a free repair or a free replacement.
A spokesman for Overstock.com said the company stopped selling hoverboards in December 2015, citing safety concerns. The spokesman added the company offered all customers a full refund. Another online retailer, Amazon.com, was not mentioned in the recall; it worked with the CSPC in February to provide refunds to any customer who chose to return the product.