Jetson Rogue Hoverboard Recall Issued After Fires Linked to 2 Childrens’ Deaths

Federal safety officials have announced a recall impacting more than 50,000 Jetson Rogue hoverboards, following multiple reports of the lithium ion batteries overheating and catching on fire, resulting in multiple burn injuries and at least one house fire that killed two young girls.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced the Jetson Rogue hoverboard recall on March 30, instructing consumers to stop using the devices, and immediately unplug the hoverboard from the charger, due to the potential for the lithium ion batteries to overheat, spark and catch on fire.

One of the recalled Jetson Rogue hoverboard has been blamed for causing an April 2022 house fire in Pennsylvania, which killed a 10-year old girl and her 15-year old sister. An investigation by the local Hellertown Borough Fire Marshal determined that a 42-volt Jetson Rogue hoverboard was the point of origin of the fire that spread quickly throughout the home.

CPSC officials indicate they are also aware of multiple other reports involving problems with the Jetson hoverboards burning, sparking or melting, several of which involved reports of flames.

The recall includes approximately 53,000 42-volt Jetson Rogue hoverboards equipped with two wheels with hubcaps that illuminate. The hoverboards were sold in a variety of colors including black, blue, red, pink, and purple with a black colored platform.

The hoverboard scooters have “Jetson” printed on one side of the body, on top of the footpads and are labelled with a UL certification and serial number on the bottom of the hoverboard.  The affected hoverboards do not have a barcode on the bottom and have a charging port with three pins to the left of the power button. Hoverboards with a barcode or a single pin charging port to the right of the power button are not affected by the recall.

The recalled Jetson Rogue self-balancing scooters were sold nationwide at Target stores and online at www.target.com from August 2018 until June 2019, and at www.ridejetson.com from January 2019 until November 2021 for $100-$150.

Jetson Rogue Hoverboard Recall Disposal Warning

CPSC officials are warning the lithium-ion batteries cannot be disposed of regularly in the trash, recycling or in battery recycling boxes found in retail and home improvement stores. Officials encourage consumers to dispose of their recalled lithium-ion batteries properly, in accordance with their local or state protocols.

Consumers are being urged to never leave products with lithium-ion batteries unattended while charging, use only the manufacturer supplied charger, and use caution while the products are in use.

Consumers can contact Jetson Electric Bikes, LLC for a full refund by visiting http://www.ridejetson.com/rogue-recall and following the instructions to submit photographs and to confirm that the recalled hoverboard is disposed of in accordance with local or state laws pertaining to lithium-ion battery disposal. Photographs can also be submitted by email or through the U.S. postal mail.

For more information on the recall, consumers can contact Jetson at 800-635-4815 from 10 A.M. to 6 P.M. ET, Monday through Friday, and online at http://www.ridejetson.com/rogue-recall, or https://ridejetson.com and click on “Safety & Recall” at the top of the page.

Lithium Ion Battery Hoverboard Fires

While not all hoverboards manufactured with lithium-ion batteries have been deemed dangerous, many of the imported batteries have been found to become faulty from damage to the battery, high heat exposure, recharging the battery too fast and from charging the battery with aftermarket universal charging cables.

Since hoverboards gained  popularity around the 2015 holiday season, hundreds of problems have been reported involving lithium-ion battery explosions, including reports of severe burns, property damage and multiple fatalities. This resulted in several hoverboard recalls and concerns over the safety of the batteries.

In May 2017, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) released the LayZ Board Hoverboard fire warning after evidence linked the product to a tragic fire that occurred in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, killing two young girls, Ashanti Hughes and Savannah Dominick.

Despite first responder efforts to save the two children, Ashanti Hughes was pronounced dead on the scene and Savannah succumbed to her severe burn injuries just days after. Savannah had reportedly suffered severe first and second degree burns to 95% of her body when she was removed from the fire.