John Deere Recalls Gator Utility Vehicles Due to Crash Hazard (Recall Alert)

Recall Insight

This CPSC action (record #18766) was formally reported on September 11, 2018. 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 4,700 (In addition, about 200 were sold in Canada) units are affected, placing this recall in the million-unit bracket that typically triggers nationwide consumer alerts and retailer sweeps.

The documented reason for this recall is: The powertrain hardware can come loose, causing the throttle to stick. This could result in the operator not being able to stop the vehicle, posing a crash 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 immediately stop using the recalled vehicles and contact an authorized John Deere dealer for a free inspection and repair. John Deere is contacting all known purchasers directly. — 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 8 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.