Peloton today issued a voluntary recall for its Tread and Tread+ treadmills, following an agreement with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The company said that Tread and Tread+ owners can get a full refund for their devices.
This voluntary recall affects the roughly 125,000 Peloton Tread and Tread+ machines, which cost $2,495 and $4,295, respectively. As a result of the recall, neither machine is currently available.
Peloton also issued an apology for fighting back against CPSC's initial warning.
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In April, the CPSC issued a warning in which it found that the Tread+ posed a threat to children, and had resulted in the death of one child and injuries to at least 39 others. That latter figure has since increased to more than 70.
In March, Peloton CEO Mark Foley posted a note on the company's blog referring to the child's death, and offering some safety tips regarding the Tread+ and children. However, the company resisted issuing a recall in April following the CPSC's warning.
Peloton has now reversed course. In a joint statement with the SPSC, Foley wrote "The decision to recall both products was the right thing to do for Peloton’s Members and their families. 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.
"Today’s announcement reflects our recognition that, by working closely with the CPSC, we can increase safety awareness for our Members. We believe strongly in the future of at-home connected fitness and are committed to work with the CPSC to set new industry safety standards for treadmills. We have a desire and a responsibility to be an industry leader in product safety.”
According to a Washington Post story, injuries from treadmills aren't limited to Peloton's machines. As per the Post's story, in 2019, roughly 22,500 individuals were treated at emergency rooms in the U.S. from treadmill-related injuries, including about 2,000 children under 8 years old. The CPSC also received reports of 17 deaths associated with treadmills from 2018 to 2020, though not all were children.
The Post also reported that the CPSC was planning to sue Peloton to compel it to issue a recall when the company approached the commission to work out an agreement.
The joint statement notes that Peloton has discontinued the sale of both treadmills. Federal law bars any person from selling products subject to a publicly announced voluntary recall by a manufacturer or a mandatory recall ordered by the Commission.
Peloton is currently working on a repair to be offered to Tread owners in the coming weeks. If you own either the Peloton Tread or the Peloton Tread+, you can find recall information on Peloton's site.
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