Peloton Is Recalling Its Treadmills Due To Safety Concerns

May 05, 2021 | 01:00pm

The product has been linked to multiple injuries and one death.

Peloton Is Recalling Its Treadmills Due To Safety Concerns

If you have a Tread or Tread+ Peloton machine, go unplug it right now. The company is recalling all of its treadmills in response to a request by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Customers will be offered a full refund.

Peloton made the announcement of the “voluntary recall” on Wednesday, May 5, but there have been concerns over the product's safety since as early as mid-April, when the CPSC warned users not to use the machine when pets or children are around. That warning came one month after Peloton disclosed that a child had died in an accident involving one of their machines.

Because of the machine's unique construction, there was a risk of children or pets becoming stuck under the base—as happened in a graphic video released by the CPSC—or for objects to get lodged inside the mechanism, threatening the safety of the person working out.

At the time, the company called the agency's claims “inaccurate and misleading” and reminded customers to follow basic safety procedures. Now, they have reversed course. “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+,” CEO John Foley said in a statement. “We should have engaged more productively with them from the outset. For that, I apologize.”

https://twitter.com/USCPSC/status/1389951305054031876

Peloton is best known for its at-home exercise bikes, but has also been selling treadmills since 2018.

In addition to potential issues with the lower part of the machine, NBC reports that the CPSC “has received 18 reports about the touchscreen loosening and six reports of the touchscreen detaching and falling.”

At least one fan of the machine is taking the news hard. Writer Josh Billinson claimed on Twitter to have seen a post on Facebook from someone calling the recall a product of “cancel culture.”