Walmart Recall Nationwide: Customers Told to ‘Immediately Stop’ Using Products
E-bikes sold through major online retailers, including Walmart, are being recalled due to faulty lithium-ion batteries that can overheat and pose fire hazards.
The recall affects thousands of e-bikes produced by VIVI, and customers are urged to stop using them immediately for their safety.
Newsweek reached out to VIVI via email on Friday.
Why It Matters
VIVI’s e-bikes are among the most affordable on the market. The issues with the lithium-ion batteries highlight potential risks associated with buying low-cost e-bike models sold online.
What To Know
About 24,000 VIVI brand e-bikes have been recalled due to faulty lithium-ion batteries.
VIVI has received 14 reports of incidents of batteries overheating, including three fires. However, no injuries have been reported as of yet, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recall notice said.
The CPSC has released a full list of affected e-bike models, along with their battery model number.
The model information can be found on a customer’s sales order documentation and on certain bicycle frames, while battery model information can be found on the battery itself.
Stock image of an electric mountain bike.
Andrey Popov/Getty Images
Those who have purchased any of the affected models should immediately stop using the e-bikes and contact VIVI for a free replacement battery and charger, the recall notice said.
The recalled batteries must be disposed of at household hazardous waste (HHW) collection centers or following local guidelines due to the fire risk.
Customers are advised not to throw these batteries in the trash, curbside recycling, or retail battery drop-off points.
Bikes with the affected batteries were sold through various online retailers, including Walmart, Amazon, eBay, Wish, Sears, Wayfair, Ali Express and VIVI e-bikes’ own site.
The e-bikes affected by the recall were sold between December 2020 and November 2023 and retailed between $365 and $950. The brand is known for selling affordable e-bikes.
The e-bikes were manufactured by Guangzhou Plenty Bicycle Co., Ltd., of China and distributed by Shenzhen Binxin Household Co., Ltd., d/b/a VIVI E-bikes, of China.
What People Are Saying
Micah Toll, a reporter for Electrek, an American news website that writes about electric vehicles, wrote about the recall: “We’ve said it before and we’ll keep saying it: cheap batteries are risky batteries. UL certification isn’t legally required in most places (yet), but if a company isn’t willing to invest in the most basic safety testing, it should raise alarm bells.”
What Happens Next
Customers who have purchased e-bikes with the affected batteries should contact VIVI to be sent a free replacement battery and battery charger.
