The encyclopedia · Product & Design · Product decision · 2016
Hoverboards caught fire — 501,000 recalled by 10 firms
Uncertified lithium cells made hoverboards overheat and catch fire. 501,000 units from 10 firms were recalled after at least 99 incidents including burns.
Swagway · Keenford · Hoverboard LLC · Razor · Hype Wireless · Overstock.com · 2016-07-06
What happened
The self-balancing scooter — the hoverboard — was the breakout product of the 2015 holiday season, appearing at malls and online retailers almost overnight for $350 to $900. Behind the fad was a supply chain with no safety standard: generic lithium-ion battery packs, assembled into boards by dozens of brands and sold at mass merchandisers nationwide and online from June 2015 through May 2016.
The batteries overheated. By July 2016 the CPSC had collected at least 99 reports of packs overheating, sparking, smoking, catching fire and exploding, including burn injuries and property damage. On July 6, 2016 ten firms recalled about 501,000 units: Swagway 267,000, Keenford 84,000, Hoverboard LLC 70,000, Razor 28,000, Hype Wireless 25,000, Digital Gadgets 16,000, PTX 4,900, Overstock.com 4,300, Boscov's 1,300 and Yuka Clothing 800.
Because the boards came from ten different firms, the remedy depended on the company: a full refund, a free repair or a free replacement. "We've concluded pretty definitively that these are not safe products the way they were designed," said CPSC chairman Elliot Kaye. Consumers were told to stop using the boards immediately.
Why it happened
- A viral product shipped without a safety standard — hoverboards grew from nothing to 501,000 recalled units in under a year, because no one certified the batteries before the fad.
- The industry sold the same generic lithium-ion packs under a dozen brand names — when the cells were bad, ten separate firms had to recall the same failure at the same time.
- The recall was a category event, not a brand event — at least 99 incidents including burns were on record before any firm acted.
The lesson
A fad is not a category. Hoverboards sold by the millions before batteries were certified; after 99 incidents and 501,000 recalls, the boom was over. With lithium cells, the standard is the product.
Aftermath
CPSC recall 16-218 covered 501,000 self-balancing scooters: Swagway (267,000), Keenford (84,000), Hoverboard LLC (70,000), Razor (28,000), Hype Wireless (25,000), Digital Gadgets (16,000), PTX (4,900), Yuka (800) and retailers Boscov's (1,300) and Overstock.com (4,300). Sold at mass merchandisers from June 2015 through May 2016 for $350-$900, the boards' lithium-ion packs could overheat — at least 99 incidents including burns and property damage. Consumers were told to stop using them and contact the recalling firm for a refund, free repair or free replacement.
Sources
- CPSC — Self-Balancing Scooters (Hoverboards) Recalled by 10 Firms Due to Fire Hazard (Jul 2016)
- The Verge — More than 500,000 hoverboards recalled due to fire risk (Jul 2016)
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