Walmart recalls Swagtron scooter after it causes a fire in an apartment.
Swagtron has a history of fire-related risks.
Walmart has initiated a recall of nearly 18,000 Swagtron electric scooters due to safety concerns and fire risks associated with their lithium-ion batteries. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), seven incidents have been reported concerning the batteries of the SG-5 Swagger 5 Boost model that have "overheated, smoked, melted, or ignited," including one case of fire that caused burns and "significant property damage" in an apartment building.
The recall affects approximately 17,970 units of the SG-5 Swagger 5 Boost model, which were sold at Walmart and Sam’s Club between May 2018 and October 2024. Customers have been notified via email on how to obtain a full refund. The affected models include SWGR5-V2-SLV, SWGR5-V2-2, SG5 Boost, SG-5S, 96262-2, 96262-9, SG-5S, and 96560-2, which range in price from $175 to $450. The model numbers are located on the side of the scooter deck.
It is noteworthy that Swagtron, which also sold the SG-5 Swagger 5 Boost through its own website, has not issued a product recall. The CPSC mentioned that the company has ignored its requests to conduct a recall and provide information about the product. In its recall notice, the CPSC recommended that consumers stop using and charging the recalled electric scooters immediately, cut the throttle cable, and dispose of the product following local and state hazardous waste disposal procedures.
This recall comes after a previous warning from the CPSC in October, urging consumers to stop using the SG-5 Swagger 5 Boost scooters purchased from Tractor Supply, Best Buy, Walmart, Sam’s Club, Amazon, eBay, and the Swagtron website since 2019. At that time, the CPSC was also informed of 139 additional reports concerning fire or thermal incidents related to other Swagtron products and criticized the company for failing to provide safety information.
Swagtron, which was previously known as Swagway, became more popular for manufacturing hoverboards and began venturing into the electric scooter business in 2016, coincidentally when the CPSC recalled 267,000 of its hoverboards due to fire risks associated with their batteries.