Deere & Company Recalls Lawn Tractors, Blade Could Operate While Mower Unattended

Recall Insight

This CPSC action (record #06577) was formally reported on August 29, 2006. It is classified under Moderate severity, with a current status of Active. Deere & Company of Moline, Ill. is listed as the recalling firm. Federal records indicate About 16,000 units are affected.

The documented reason for this recall is: A problem in the manufacturing process could cause damage to the circuit in the interlock module. If the interlock module fails, the mower blades will be able to run with no operator on the tractor seat. Consumers could… Distribution information was not included in the agency filing, so consumers should assume broad potential exposure until the firm publishes point-of-sale details. The remedy documented by the agency is: The company is directly notifying those consumers who purchased an affected tractor. Consumers should contact a John Deere dealer for a free repair. — consumers holding this product should act on that instruction rather than relying on general guidance.

To put this record in context, PlainRecalls indexes 83,949 recalls across the FDA, CPSC, NHTSA and USDA FSIS going back to 1995. Within the same product category, the database holds 6 closely related recalls, of which 6 were also issued by CPSC. That clustering is a signal — repeated actions in a narrow category often indicate a systemic quality-control issue, a supplier-wide contamination, or a design defect that has propagated across product lines. This recall is roughly 20 years old; older recalls can remain relevant because many units enter resale, rental, and secondary-market channels where the original warning never reaches the end user. Always cross-check the recall number against the official agency page before relying on any summary.