SaferProducts incident

Failure type

Explosion / rupture

Incident narrative

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20230720-F7C8F-4293340. Severity: Incident, No Injury. Product: Ryobi RY401017 (lithium ion battery). Incident: This caller is reporting that the lithium ion 40 volt battery on his lawnmower exploded around June 20, 2023. He was in his home around 8:30 PM when he heard an enormous thud sound that shook his house. He dismissed the loud noise as thunder since there were storms nearby. Probably around June 22nd or June 23rd he went to his shed with the intention of taking his lawnmower to his second home. He opened the shed then he saw that the battery on the lawnmower had blown up and was in ashes. When he left lawnmower in the shed; the battery was unplugged, there is no power in the shed. His battery has been replaced by the manufacturer after a month of multiple talks with them. He wanted other consumers alerted to the potential danger and he firmly believes that if he had been in the shed when the battery exploded then he would not be around to have created this report. After a month of speaking with the manufacturer he did receive a replacement lithium ion battery. The lawnmower is running and in use with the new replacement battery.