SaferProducts incident

Failure type

Battery failure

Incident narrative

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20230418-C6B1C-2147348024. Severity: No Incident, No Injury. Product: RYOBI RY408010NVM (RYOBI 40V HP Brushless Whisper Series 21 in. Single-Stage Cordless Battery Snow Blower). Incident: The second time I used a new RYOBI 40V HP Brushless Whisper Series 21 in. Single-Stage Cordless Battery Snow Blower it would not turn off. I had been using the snow blower for a while. It then started struggling to blow snow. I released the bail switch and the machine continued to run. Actuations of the switch would not get it to stop. I had to remove both batteries from the machine to get it to stop. I inserted the batteries again and I was able to switch the machine on and off a few times. The safety issue occurred again a few times, it intermittently fails to switch off. The fact that removing and then restoring the power source can restore the correct functionality indicates it is a software/sensor issue and not a hardware problem with the switch. It also suggests that the safety switch is NOT in series with the power source and they are using the switch as a sensor input to some software to turn the motor on and off. I have contacted their technical support. I expected that the serious nature of the safety issue, would trigger a rapid response and investigation but they suggested I take it to a repair center (Home Depot). Home Depot no longer does repairs for Ryobi and there is no repair center near me. They have not made any effort to inspect the machine to determine the cause of the safety issue. Twin 40V batteries produce a lot of power and having such a machine not switch off could cause some serious injuries.