Major Garmin recall!

[Steven Marshall]

Im passing this on due to the likelyhood that us Chasers have these devices stuck to our dashboard.

From WOIO in Cleveland;

(WOIO) - Garmin Ltd. said Wednesday that it was recalling about 1.25 million Nuvi personal navigation devices because of a potential fire hazard from overheating batteries.

About 796,000 units were sold in the U.S., according to Garmin, the Olathe-based company that is the largest seller of personal navigation devices in North America.

The recall affects five Nuvi models that contain batteries manufactured by a third-party supplier within a defined date code range and a specific printed circuit board design. Garmin said the "interaction of these factors can, in rare circumstances, increase the possibility of overheating, which may lead to a fire hazard."

The overheating problem has been identified in less than 10 cases involving certain Nuvi models, Garmin said. None of the incidents has caused significant property damage and no injuries have been reported.

Only the 200W, 250W, 260W, 7xx and 7xxT (where xx is a two-digit number) models may be affected.

Although sales of Garmin's personal navigation devices have declined this year, the drop has not been as sharp as analysts had expected. Garmin will replace the battery for free. Owners should not attempt to remove or service the battery on their own.

For more information, go to www.garmin.com/nuvibatterypcbrecall, or call 866-957-1981.

 

[Mark Ellinwood]

Thanks for the heads-up. Maybe the new batteries will hold a better charge! *crosses fingers*

 

[Chip Redmond]

From WOIO in Cleveland;

Although sales of Garmin's personal navigation devices have declined this year, the drop has not been as sharp as analysts had expected. Garmin will replace the battery for free. Owners should not attempt to remove or service the battery on their own.

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know why they would expect a decline? Is it because of them flooding the market and everyone having one?

Chip

 

[rdale]

Because everybody with a smartphone or iPad has one embedded for free...

 

[John Erwin]

Thanks for the heads up on this. Although I haven't had any problems with my 260W, it's best to be safe.

As for reasons for decline, I would say there is more competition that just smartphones as a reason. There's a lot of very cheap GPS units for sale these days (not that they're all that great) that is likely taking a chunk out of Garmin's business; not to mention the increasing number of vehicles that come with built-in navigation (offered now on many non-luxury models).