Arctic Cat Inc. Recalls Snowmobiles Due to Loss of Steering Control Hazard

Recall Insight

This CPSC action (record #06580) was formally reported on September 19, 2006. It is classified under Moderate severity, with a current status of Active. Arctic Cat Inc., of Thief River Falls, Minn. is listed as the recalling firm. Federal records indicate About 50,500 units are affected.

The documented reason for this recall is: The steering shaft used on certain 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 Arctic Cat snowmobiles can fail at the steering shaft/steering arm attachment. This could cause a loss of steering control of the vehicle, and result in… 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: Consumers should stop using the recalled snowmobiles immediately. Registered owners have been notified about this recall by mail. If consumers are unsure if their snowmobile is affected, they should … — 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 1 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.