Peloton recalls all treadmills after a child’s death and 70 injuries

About 125,000 treadmills are included in the recall. The CPSC said that there has been one child death and 70 other injuries tied to the treadmills. But when the federal safety agency issued a warning about the dangers last month, Peloton took the unusual step of refusing to recall them.

The reversal comes more than two weeks after the US agency issued an “urgent warning” for users of the machine. At the time, the CPSC said it was aware of at least 39 accidents involving the treadmill, including “multiple reports of children becoming entrapped, pinned, and pulled under” the device.

The CPSC released a video showing a small child playing with a powered-on treadmill while it lifts off the ground and the child becomes pinned under it. The agency released details of other incidents, including a child being injured when an adult was using it and “pets and objects” also being sucked beneath the treadmill suggesting “possible harm to the user if the user loses balance as a result.”

Peloton refuted the agency, saying at the time its warning was “inaccurate and misleading.” In a stark reversal, Foley admitted Wednesday that decision was a mistake.

Foley said Peloton will work with the CPSC to “set new industry safety standards for treadmills” because the company has a “desire and a responsibility to be an industry leader in product safety.”

In response, Consumer Reports said the recall is “welcome news,” but the delay left customers in danger.

“The CPSC took a strong and principled stance for safety, and clearly that’s what made Peloton come to the table and agree to offer a full refund,” said William Wallace, Consumer Reports’ manager of safety policy, in a release. “It shouldn’t have required so much time and effort to get this product recalled.”

The nonprofit consumer watchdog group initially called Peloton’s response, or lack there of, “outrageous.”