The batteries that power Rad Power Bikes’ e-bikes “pose a risk of serious injury and death” and owners should stop using them, according to to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission.
The warning, which was issued on Monday by CSPC, due to the risk of ignition or explosion of the batteries. The CPSC has linked the batteries to 31 fire reports so far. Twelve of those incidents caused property damage, and some of them happened even when the batteries weren’t charging, according to the commission.
“Hazardous batteries can unexpectedly ignite and explode, posing a fire hazard to consumers, especially when the battery or belt has been exposed to water and debris,” the CPSC writes.
The battery fire and CPSC warning come at a particularly bad time for Rad Power, which told employees earlier this month that the company would shut down for good in January if it doesn’t find new financing.
The CPSC said Monday that Rad Power “refused to agree to an acceptable recall” and claims the company said it was “unable to offer replacement batteries or refunds to all consumers” because of its financial situation.
Rad Power told TechCrunch that it “firmly supports our batteries and our reputation as a leader in the ebike industry, and strongly disagrees with the CPSC’s designation of certain Rad batteries as defective or unsafe.”
The company said it “offered multiple good faith solutions to address the company’s concerns,” including upgrading customers to its latest batteries, which are not subject to the official warning. “The CPSC rejected this opportunity. The significant cost of the all-or-nothing demand would have forced Rad to close its doors immediately, leaving no way to support our riders or employees.” (The Verge reported for the first time Rad Power’s dispute with the CPSC.)
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Rad Power claimed that its batteries comply with “the highest industry standards” and said that “the battery-related incident rate in the CPSC notice is a fraction of one percent.”
“While this number is low, we know that even one incident is one too many, and we are devastated by any report involving our products,” the company told TechCrunch in an email.
Owners can find out if they have batteries covered by the warning in the CPSC warning page. The commission tells customers not to throw away lithium-ion batteries or take them to traditional recyclers. Instead, they should take the batteries to the “household hazardous waste (HHW) collection center[s].”
