Ryobi RY401140US

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20240823-29F0E-2147336974. Severity: Incident, No Injury. Product: Ryobi RY401140US (Ryobi Electric 21 Mower Model RY401140US). Incident: I was mowing my grass with my Ryobi Electric Mower, model RY401140US and, after getting about 1/2 my front yard done when the battery died. I opened the compartment to switch the battery key to the second battery and the compartment was filled with smoke. It smelled very mechanical and electronic. I quickly removed the batteries and moved the mower to my driveway, away from my home. I blew the smoke away and it eventually stopped coming out after a few minutes. I immediately called Ryobi and was told to take it to the nearest repair center, which is over 50 miles from where I live. I called the repair center and they stated they are 12-14 weeks out with over 160 electric mowers awaiting repair. I called Ryobi back and they are now wanting me to ship it to an out of state location but Im responsible for finding a box or co gainer large enough to ship a 21 mower in. Im beyond frustrated that these are the only 2 option available to me. In addition, Im now going to be out a mower through the remainder of this year into the next.