Nautilus hit by fourth equipment recall since January 2004
Taking steps on its fourth recall of equipment by the Consumer Product Safety Commission in just over two years, Nautilus has announced the voluntary action on its Bowflex Ultimate 2 gyms sold by specialty fitness.
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Taking steps on its fourth recall of equipment by the Consumer Product Safety Commission in just over two years, Nautilus has announced the voluntary action on its Bowflex Ultimate 2 gyms sold by specialty fitness.
There were no injury reports, according to the CPSC, and Nautilus is offering repair kits for any consumers and asking them to stop using the leg extension, squat attachment or abdominal attachment until the kit is installed.
“This recall means we will take the necessary steps to stand behind our products,” said Nautilus spokesman Ron Arp.
The first two in the series of four recalls — one in January 2004 and the second in November 2004 — also involved Bowflex models, although there were only injury reports in the first case. After the first recall, Nautilus had told SNEWS® it had stepped up its own tracking and reporting of possible malfunctions, from which the November 2004 and July 2005 recalls stemmed. This equipment error was reported to the CPSC by Nautilus, Arp said.
The company also in April 2005 was slammed by a CPSC penalty of $1 million, settling allegations that the company failed to give the agency timely reports on serious injuries and safety defects with the nearly 800,000 Bowflex machines affected by the two 2004 recalls. The last recall, in July 2005, affected a Nautilus home exercise bench. (Click here to see that July 5, 2005, SNEWS® story, “Nautilus bench recall third CPSC action in 18 months.”)
In the current action, Nautilus said one end of the leg extension cable can release from the Bowflex Ultimate 2 gym’s guide pulley and swing around, potentially striking the user or a bystander.
“One of our trainers found that a leg extension cable could come off a pulley,” Arp said. “There are no injuries or incidents. We made a slight design change going forward, and proposed a simple fix for units in the field. They agreed, and the parts will be shipped over the next three to five weeks.” Â
The flaw affected 17,000 gyms sold by specialty fitness retail and direct to consumers between June and December 2005 for about $2,300. According to Nautilus, gyms sold after Dec. 10, 2005, should not be affected by the error. The gyms were made in China.
To see a picture of the affected gym, click here.
