Another hoverboard is being recalled due to fire risk. According to a notice on the US Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) website, the 42-volt Jetson Rogue is being recalled because the lithium-ion battery packs in the hoverboards can overheat.
A fire marshal in Pennsylvania determined that a Jetson Rogue was the point of origin for a fire that killed two children, the CPSC’s notice says. The parents of the children are suing Jetson and Target, where they say they purchased the hoverboard, alleging the two companies should have known of the risk of fire-related injuries due to the design of the Jetson Rogue. (The parents originally sued Walmart, but amended their complaint to sue Target.)
The CPSC also says that “there have been multiple other reports of the recalled scooters / hoverboards burning, sparking or melting, several of which involved reports of flames.” Both the CPSC and Jetson are urging customers to stop using and charging their Jetson Rogues and to get in touch with Jetson for a refund.
There have been a lot of reports of hoverboards catching fire or even exploding over the years, and the CPSC has issued large hoverboard recalls in the past due to fire risk. UL does offer a safety certification program for hoverboards, but although the affected Jetson Rogues were UL certified (you can see the badge in the hoverboard’s manual), they are still being recalled.
The Rogue recall affects about 53,000 units for hoverboards sold by Target from August 2018 through June 2019 and on Jetson’s website from January 2019 through November 2021. If you have an affected unit, you can contact Jetson through the instructions on the CPSC’s notice or on Jetson’s website, which includes pictures that could help you identify if you have one of the recalled models.
Other Jetson hoverboard models are not part of the recall, and are still on sale.
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Jay Peters