Government orders recall of half-million hoverboards

The federal government has recalled more than 500,000 hoverboards over safety concerns. 

The recall of products from 10 companies with manufacturers in China, announced Wednesday, is due to concerns that the two-wheeled, self-balancing scooters can overheat and catch fire, or possibly explode. 

{mosads}The Consumer Product Safety Commission recall is a long time coming after the agency launched an investigation around last Christmas amid numerous reports of fires. 

Online retailers like Amazon and Overstock removed listings from their websites months ago, and a number of airlines similarly barred travelers from bringing them on planes. 

Regulators have tracked 99 instances where the hoverboards have overheated. They believe the problem is with the lithium-ion battery packs. 

“Consumers should immediately stop using these recalled products and contact the recalling company to return their hoverboard for a full refund, a free repair or a free replacement depending on the model,” the agency said. 

More than half of the recalled hoverboards came from the company Swagway, which sold its X1 model on the company’s website as well as at Target and Amazon up until March for between $300 and $500.

The agency said customers could contact the company to receive a repair or trade it in for a safety-certified model. 

Other major recalls came from companies with names like Hovertrax, iMoto, Powerboard, Hype Roam, Hover-Way and all hoverboards sold on Overstock.com. You can read the full list here.