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Peloton agrees to recall treadmills after safety concerns, death reported to federal safety agency

Peloton-Manufacturing Boost
Posted at 10:48 AM, May 05, 2021
and last updated 2021-05-05 11:38:01-04

Peloton is agreeing to recall their treadmills and says they "made a mistake" in their initial response to concerns from a federal safety agency.

Just a few weeks after the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued an “urgent warning” for certain Peloton Tread+ treadmills, the agency issued two recalls in a joint statement with the equipment company.

Last month, the CPSC issued the warningfor the Tread+ after it became aware of 39 accidents involving the treadmill model, including the death of a child and "multiple reports of children becoming entrapped, pinned, and pulled under the rear roller of the product.”

The CPSC urged owners with children or pets at home to stop using the product immediately. However, it stopped short of a full recall.

Peloton at the time issued a statement sayingthe CPSC's information was "inaccurate and misleading" and refuted the claims.

Wednesday, a joint statement from the CPSC and Peloton issued two recalls for the Tread+ and Tread treadmills.

"I want to be clear, Peloton made a mistake in our initial response to the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s request that we recall the Tread+. We should have engaged more productively with them from the outset. For that, I apologize," reads the statement from Peloton CEO John Foley.

"The agreement, which the Commission voted this morning to accept, requires Peloton to immediately stop selling and distributing both the Tread+ and Tread products in the United States and refund the full purchase price to consumers who wish to return their treadmills," reads a statement from Robert S. Adler, the acting chairman of the CPSC. "The agreement between CPSC and Peloton is the result of weeks of intense negotiation and effort, culminating in a cooperative agreement that I believe serves the best interests of Peloton and of consumers."

The Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a second recallWednesday morning for Peloton’s Tread treadmills, model TR02, saying the “touchscreen on the treadmill can detach and fall, posing a risk of injury to consumers.”

There have been more than a dozen reports of the touchscreens become loose, and six reports of the screens detaching and falling. The CPSC says no injuries have been reported in the U.S. In Canada and the United Kingdom, there have been reports of minor bruises and cuts.

Consumers with this model of Peloton’s treadmill are asked to stop using them immediately and contact the company for a full refund. Peloton is offering people who do not want a refund to get a free inspection and repair to secure the touchscreen.