SaferProducts incident

Failure type

Overheating

Incident narrative

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20250921-E505B-2147327657. Severity: No Incident, No Injury. Product: Ryobi RY142300VNM (Ryobi 2300psi / 1.2 GPM Electric Pressure Washer. Notable Green color plastic housing with dark color top lid. Pressure washer mechanical is mounted on a 2 wheeled tube style chassis with accommodations for the supplied sprayer gun, hose and power cord to be stored on the chassis with the machine.). Incident: Description of Incident: While operating the pressure washer in a normal pressure-washing process with the supplied trigger wand, the unit suddenly failed in a hazardous manner. A very loud bang occurred, and multiple components of the top housing (including the on/off button assembly) were ejected as high-speed projectiles. Parts traveled more than 10 feet away from the unit. I was standing close to the machine, and while I was not struck, the risk of serious injury was significant. Inspection Findings: Upon removing the housing, I found one of the interior capacitors had ruptured. Its casing was melted, bubbled, and leaking hardened internal material. The adjacent capacitor displayed exterior burn marks, and the surrounding plastic was melted and discolored from apparent heat damage. Relevance to Recall: There is an active recall for this model of pressure washer related to capacitor failures; however, my units serial number is not currently included in the recall range. This incident demonstrates that the same hazardous failure is occurring outside the recall range, posing a risk of severe injury. Outcome: No injuries occurred, but the failure mode was violent and dangerous, and I am concerned about the risk to other consumers whose units may not yet be included in the recall