this post was submitted on 30 Sep 2023
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Future Motion, the maker of the Onewheel electric skateboard, is recalling every one of them, including 300,000 Onewheel self-balancing vehicles in the US. Alongside the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the company now seeks to remedy the products after four known death cases — three without a helmet — between 2019 and 2021.

The recall comes a year after Future Motion took issue with the CPSC’s calls for recall and claimed that it tested and found nothing wrong with the Onewheels. At the time, the company issued a press release in objection to the CPSC and called the agency’s statements “unjustified and alarmist.”

Now Future Motion is moving forward with a voluntary recall it chose not to do almost a year earlier. The company is asking owners to stop using their Onewheels until they take appropriate action. For the newer Onewheel GT, Onewheel Pint X, Onewheel Pint, and Onewheel Plus XR, a software update with a new warning system is the remedy.

For early adopters, however, the CPSC and Future Motion are telling owners to stop using and discard the original Onewheel and Onewheel Plus. We asked Onewheel chief evangelist Jack Mudd in an email how many of the original units are affected, but Mudd refused to answer. Mudd also wouldn’t tell us why the company claimed there were no issues and publicly resisted issuing a recall back in 2022.

Mudd did say that the software update for the other models is rolling out worldwide, not just in the US.

Some crashes occurred due to Onewheel skateboards malfunctioning after being pushed to certain limits. The Onewheel GT, Onewheel Pint X, Onewheel Pint, and Onewheel Plus XR will receive a firmware update that will add a new warning “Haptic Buzz” feedback that riders can feel and hear when the vehicle enters an error state, is low on battery, or is nearing its limits and needs to slow down.

“This update is the culmination of months of work with the CPSC,” reads the company’s recall website. Last November, it called the CPSC’s warning about Onewheels “misleading” but stated it would “work to enhance the CPSC’s understanding of self-balancing vehicle technology and seek to collaborate with the agency to enhance rider safety.”

To install the update, owners must connect their Onewheels to the accompanying app and run a firmware update — the process is fully explained in a new video.

For early adopters, however, owners can receive a “pro-rated credit of $100 to the purchase of a new board,” according to Mudd. The credit will only be issued after owners confirm that they have disposed of the old model.

Alongside Future Motion’s blink on the decision to recall Onewheel, the company shared a new video on YouTube highlighting the new Haptic Buzz feature as well as best practices when riding. “We’ve been working closely with the CPSC for over a year in order to develop this new safety feature,” Mudd says in the video. He adds that ignoring pushback or Haptic Buzz “can result in serious injury or death.” It took engineers a while to whip up Haptic Buzz; perhaps it’s something that would not have been ready in a timely fashion after CPSC’s first whistle last year.

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[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (7 children)

Four deaths per 300,000 boards? Hoo-boy! Wait until the CPSC hears about cars!

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (6 children)

It's really only one death since 3 idiots weren't wearing helmets.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (5 children)

Not sure how not wearing a helmet makes it okay to be killed by a faulty product.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Because if you die from not wearing proper PPE, that's on you.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

No its not and I cant believe I even have to say this lol. If I shoot you with a gun its on you for not wearing kevlar right? If your car explodes out of nowhere thats also on you for not wearing a seatbelt I suppose?

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Correct, you don't recall the windshield of a car for being faulty if they're breaking because people not wearing seat belts keep flying through them. Deaths from not utilizing required protection should be considered differently.

If it was suddenly a TikTok fad to not wear bicycle helmets while riding in traffic and bicycle-related deaths went up, would you suddenly consider bicycles themselves more dangerous?

No.

These were "recalled" because people were pushing them beyond their designed and stipulated limits leading to fatal accidents, especially for people not wearing helmets.

All they were required to do was add haptic feedback indicating "you're doing what you're not supposed to," which, if you ride one, you would know that was already pretty clear.

The fact that they weren't required to change anything about the design or function of the OneWheel itself should tell you something.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

You wouldnt recall the windshield because thats not the part malfunctioning. If a car keeps braking randomly while going 120 on the highway, it doesnt matter if you use a seatbelt or not, the car is faulty and thats what would get recalled.

I reread the text passage, it says pretty clearly 'the Onewheel was malfunctioning'.

Just because you didnt follow the instructions to wear a seatbelt doesnt make it okay to be killed. Thats like saying running over pedestrians is alright if they are jaywalking, they dont count as traffic casualties. If the only deaths counted are those where every party involved perfectly obeyed all rules and acted 100% correctly, there wouldnt be many left. Cars would be considered completely safe.

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