If you’re using a treadmill to exercise at home, you should make sure it’s not one of the models that are part of the Nautilus treadmill recall. The company issued a recall action after receiving 21 reports of the treadmills starting on their own.
This malfunction can lead to serious accidents, although Nautilus says it has received no reports of injuries so far. There’s an easy fix that’s already available, but you’ll have to wait for the company to ship you a USB flash drive that will patch the software problem.
Nautilus treadmill recall
The company issued the recall this week, with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) posting the notice at this link.
Nautilus is recalling two types of treadmills that can start without being turned on by the user. You’ll have to look for the model number and serial numbers on the exercise machines. The plastic shroud at the front of the treadmills’ walking belt contains the name of the company and the model number. The serial number is on the base frame of the treadmill, beneath the belt.
With that in mind, these are the model numbers and serial numbers you should check for:
- model number T616 and serial numbers 100672PRO21140001 through 100672PRO21171980
- model number T618 and serial numbers 100647PRO21130111 through 100647PRO21183960
Nautilus sold about 7,300 affected treadmills from April 2021 through November 2021. The devices were available from Best Buy, Walmart, and other stores nationwide.
Nautilus also sold them online on its website and on Amazon. Model T616 retailed for $1,150, while the T618 version was slightly more expensive, at $1,500.
What you should do
In case you own one of the two types of Nautilus treadmills in the recall, you should stop using it immediately. You should also ensure that other people in your household are aware of the recall so they avoid using the device until you repair it.
The company advises buyers to reach out to Nautilus to receive a free USB flash drive with a software upgrade. Nautilus will also provide installation instructions.
Customers will have to plug the flash drive into the USB port on the treadmill to apply the software update. Unfortunately, there’s no way to download the software at home and copy the files to a flash drive of your own.
Nautilus will ship the USB flash drive and instructions automatically to customers who purchased the device directly from Nautilus. If you’ve already received the package in the mail, then you should go ahead and update the software of your treadmill.
Finally, make sure you read through the full Nautilus treadmill recall announcement. It’s available at the CPSC and contains contact information for the company.
