SaferProducts incident

Failure type

Fire / ignition

Incident narrative

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20260512-2E21C-2147319470. Severity: No Incident, No Injury. Product: SCAG SZL-42H-22-KT (SCAG Liberty Z 42-inch zero-turn riding lawn mower used for residential lawn mowing. Model SZL-42H-22-KT. The mower is equipped with a 42-inch cutting deck and Kohler gasoline engine. Color is primarily orange and black. Product includes a plastic fuel tank with fuel shutoff valve and rubber mounting bushing. The mower was purchased new on 06-14-2024 for residential use. The reported incident involved the fuel shutoff valve and bushing pulling out of the fuel tank during operation, causing gasoline to leak and splash near the hot engine.). Incident: I am reporting a safety incident involving my SCAG Liberty Z 42-inch zero-turn mower, model SZL-42H-22-KT, serial number 1000592, equipped with engine serial number 5304404793. On a hot and windy day while mowing a residential lawn under normal operating conditions, the fuel shutoff valve and rubber bushing unexpectedly pulled out of the fuel tank while the mower was in operation. The fuel tank was full at the time of the incident, causing gasoline to splash and leak out of the tank near the hot engine and exhaust components. I was the operator and was using the mower as intended for residential grass mowing. The sudden fuel leak created a serious fire and safety hazard because gasoline was spraying and splashing onto and around a hot running engine during windy conditions. There was significant risk of ignition, fire, burns, or explosion. No physical injuries occurred, but the defect presented a serious consumer safety concern. The mower had been purchased on 06-14-2024 from Empire Seed Turf and Irrigation and was being operated normally at the time of the incident. I believe the fuel tank connection, shutoff valve mounting, or retaining bushing may be defective and could present a fire hazard to other consumers. Product information: SCAG Liberty Z 42-inch Model: SZL-42H-22-KT Mower Serial