Certain Nautilus Treadmills Recalled Due to Fall Hazard
Nautilus has received reports that certain T616 and T618 treadmills can start on their own, posing a fall hazard to the user
By Kevin Loria
On June 9, Nautilus issued a recall for approximately 7,300 of its treadmills that were sold in the U.S. The company has received reports of treadmills self-starting, posing a fall hazard to users.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recall notice states that Nautilus has received 21 reports of treadmills starting on their own. In most of those cases, no one was using the treadmill when the belt began moving, according to information provided by Nautilus.
No injuries have been reported. The recall covers certain T616 and T618 models with specific serial number ranges. All were sold in 2021.
The affected models are T616 model treadmills with serial numbers 100672PRO21140001 through 100672PRO21171980 and T618 model treadmills with serial numbers 100647PRO21130111 through 100647PRO21183960.
The T616 treadmill is included in our treadmill ratings. Our engineers did not experience this issue while evaluating the machine in our labs.
“While this is an unusual situation and treadmills don’t normally start on their own, if you’re on the belt you should be prepared for when it starts or stops to reduce the chance of losing your balance,” says John Galeotafiore, who oversees CR’s treadmill testing.
If you own one of the affected models within the specified serial code ranges, you should immediately stop using it and contact Nautilus (contact info below). The company will send you a USB flash drive with a software update and installation instructions to remedy the issue at no cost to you.
“The cause of the issue is a defective microprocessor chip that can compromise the electronics in the motor on/off segment of the treadmill,” Alan Chan, chief legal officer at Nautilus, Inc., told CR via email. “There were a small number of defective chips present in the factory during the dates of manufacture listed in the recall. We immediately stopped shipping units that were made in this timeframe once we identified the issue.”
“This was a voluntary recall,” he added. “Our engineering team worked quickly to develop a simple, effective solution for this small subset of impacted customers.”
Details of the Nautilus Treadmill Recall
The recall: The recall includes T616 model treadmills with serial numbers 100672PRO21140001 through 100672PRO21171980 and T618 model treadmills with serial numbers 100647PRO21130111 through 100647PRO21183960. Nautilus and the model number are printed on the plastic shroud at the front of the treadmill’s walking belt. The serial number is on the base-frame of the treadmill, beneath the belt.
The risk: Treadmills can self-start, posing a fall hazard to users.
Incidents/injuries: Nautilus has received 21 reports of treadmills self-starting, with no injuries reported.
How many: About 7,300 units sold in the U.S.
Where and when sold: The affected machines were sold at Best Buy, Walmart and other stores nationwide and online at Nautilus.com and Amazon.com from April 2021 through November 2021 for about $1,150 for Model T616 and about $1,500 for Model T618.
The remedy: Stop using the recalled treadmills and contact Nautilus to receive a free USB flash drive with a software upgrade and installation instructions. If you purchased your treadmill directly from Nautilus, the company will automatically ship the USB flash drive and instructions at no cost to you. The instructions will direct consumers to plug the flash drive into the USB port on the treadmill to upload the software upgrade.
Contact information: To get your machine repaired, call Nautilus at 800-266-2108 from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT Monday through Friday. For more information, view the recall notice online here (PDF) or visit www.Nautilus.com and click on “Recall Notices” at the bottom of the page.
Report a hazardous product: Call the CPSC hotline at 800-638-2772 or go to SaferProducts.gov.
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