Consumer Alert: Fires Linked to Amazon-sold Dyson Replacement Batteries

Consumers warned to immediately stop using certain non-OEM Dyson replacements.

January 10, 2024, Los Angeles, CA – Consumers are advised to immediately stop using certain non-OEM Dyson replacement batteries sold on Amazon (AMZN). The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is alerting the public to the fire hazard associated with Zautnkn.Inc lithium-ion replacement battery packs linked to three fires and one injury, emphasizing that they do not meet safety standards. The CPSC urges consumers to remove these battery packs from their vacuums and dispose of them according to local regulations.

The lithium-ion ("Li-ion") battery is the everywhere, solve all battery technology with a serious flaw: they sometimes catch on fire. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has broader concerns about the batteries. It is again sounding alarms that these batteries, found in almost any device that needs portable power, can be lethal. Headlines about lithium-ion battery fires originating from e-bikes, electric vehicles, and laptops onboard passenger flights have surged over the last decade and now extend to replacement vacuum battery packs.

Lithium-ion batteries power many common daily-use devices, including phones, power tools, laptops, electric bikes, flashlights, children's toys and, of course, electric vehicles. Seven thousand individual 18650 Li-ion cells power Tesla automobiles. Consumers unwittingly fall victim to tragic accidents, injuries, and death from improper use or simply purchasing fraudulent or replacement batteries.

Consumers who believe they are buying legitimate, safe Li-ion batteries, whether individually or assembled in battery packs, on Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Wish, Newegg, Alibaba, and other online vendors, may be in for a surprise. They are extremely hazardous if misused, damaged, or improperly vented or charged. Overheating and fires turn the batteries into exploding bombs with serious or deadly consequences.

Individual 18650 battery cells are assembled collectively as the core power source of battery packs but are often purchased individually for use in flashlights, vape devices, and toys. Amazon is repeatedly the defendant of lawsuits for direct and third-party sales of the dangerous fraudulent batteries, yet continues to sell the items.

Li-ion batteries' dubious history:

• Amazon and Walmart both ignored legal notice in March 2019 to immediately cease the misleading and deceptive marketing and sales of the fraudulent Li-ion items. Amazon was served with a federal class-action lawsuit in September 2020 as a direct seller of the fraudulent items, yet continues as a direct seller and to facilitate third-party sales. Alarmingly, The Counterfeit Report identified over 130,000 fraudulent items sold by Amazon and over 5,000 sold by Walmart after notification to correct and remedy their fraudulent and deceptive marketing practices.
• The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) warned consumers in January 2021 not to buy or use loose 18650 lithium-ion battery cells. These cells are manufactured as industrial component parts of battery packs and are not intended for individual consumer sale. However, unscrupulous China salvagers separate the battery packs and re-label the recycled unprotected 18650 cells as "new" with wild capacity claims, selling them online.
• New York City alone reported 216 fires, 147 injuries, and six deaths last year from Li-ion batteries. (NBC News Video)
• If you fly, the FAA identified 459 air/airport incidents (fires and smoke) between March 1991 and January 2024 involving lithium batteries carried as cargo or baggage. Three major aircraft accidents were reported where lithium battery cargo shipments were implicated but not proven to be the fire source. Li-ion batteries are often illegally shipped or mailed in improper packaging or without required disclosure to the carrier. Ten people were hospitalized in March 2023 when a Spirit Airlines flight made an emergency landing in Florida due to a Li-ion battery fire.
• The first reported death from a Li-ion battery occurred in May 2018 by the Pinellas County (Florida) Medical Examiner's Office. A 38-year-old Florida man died when an e-cigarette device exploded, causing a "projectile wound to the head" and burning 80% of his body. His home had extensive fire damage.
• If you share or give a Li-ion battery-powered device (especially to children); thousands of reported fire and explosion incidents resulting in emergency-room visits in the U.S. can be found. Many include acute injuries, meaning that the victim required hospitalization and may have suffered the loss of a body part. Batteries are often used close to the user's face or carried in pockets.

Most fakes are easy to spot; there is no legitimate individual 18650 battery with a capacity above 3800mAh, yet batteries with wild capacity claims up to 12,000mAh are common on e-commerce websites. There are also fraudulent 18650 cells below 3800mAh. Walmart and Amazon are direct sellers of the fraudulent and dangerous items in addition to enabling and facilitating third-party sales.

Consumers receiving a fraudulent 18650 Li-ion battery should stop using it immediately. Do not mail, ship, disassemble, or throw the battery in the trash; you may be responsible for an injury or death, and in violation of federal law. Find a qualified recycler for drop-off. Notify the e-commerce website and the seller you received a fraudulent battery and demand a refund, or cancel the charge on your credit card or Pay-Pal account.

You may have additional legal remedies, which vary by state. For example, California's Consumer Legal Remedy Act (California Civil Code §1782) has protections of $1,000 to $5,000, plus damages, for fraudulent items.

The CPSC urges consumers to report problems with lithium-ion batteries to the CPSC at: www.SaferProducts.gov.