American Honda Motor Corp. Recalls Lawn Mowers Due to Laceration Hazard

Recall Insight

This CPSC action (record #08140) was formally reported on December 19, 2007. It is classified under Moderate severity, with a current status of Active. American Honda Motor Corp., of Torrance, Calif. is listed as the recalling firm. Federal records indicate About 167,000 units are affected, a scale large enough to require multi-state distribution tracking.

The documented reason for this recall is: The cutting blades could rotate under power when the control lever is released. The lawn mowers do not comply with mandatory federal safety standards for lawn mowers. The spinning blade poses a serious laceration hazard… 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 these recalled lawn mowers immediately and contact any Honda Lawn and Garden dealer for a free repair. Registered owners will be mailed a direct notice. — 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 3 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 19 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.