Makita has recalled several cordless hedge trimmers (2 models, 4 SKUs) due to missing safety guarding, posing a laceration hazard.
Users are advised to immediately stop using the recalled cordless hedge trimmers and contact Makita for repairs.
Recalled trimmers will need to be shipped back to Makita for free installation of a new blade guard. Makita will provide users with a return label.
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The affected models are: XHU07Z, XHU07T, XHU08Z, XHU08T.
XHU07 is a 24″ trimmer, and XHY08 is a 30″ trimmer, with Z and T suffixes referring to tool-only and kit configurations, respectively.
Approximately 2,600 tools are included in the recall, with affected models sold between February and June 2022.
Certain serial numbers are affected – you can refer to the recall notice for guidance, or conduct a visual check to determine whether the trimmer is missing its teal-colored safety guard.
Recall Number: 22-197
Contact Makita USA at 800-462-5482 8am to 7:45pm ET, Monday thru Friday.
Bonnie
So… Did they just overlook installing that piece at the factory? Or is the teal cover a newly engineered piece intended to fix an engineering mistake?
Jim Felt
Doubt they’ll ever answer this. In NA they’re mostly quiet regards “press” relations.
fred
Some Asians were once pejoratively characterized as “Inscrutable Orientals” by Europeans and other westerners – just another prejudicial racial or ethnic characterization based more on fear and hate than fact.
With Makita NA that newfound inscrutability may be rooted in corporate culture or just employees who are just insensitive to (or wish to ignore) consumer-culture here in the USA. Their lack of communication may have little to do with their parent organization based in Japan – as I have Australian acquaintances who say that Makita is very open with communication in their neck of the woods.
In a similar vein, I sometimes find that Bosch also doesn’t get its North American market’s proclivities as well as it might. On the other hand, it may just be that we (the US consumer) are just crazy or have overboard expectations and that Makita and Bosch are just fine.
Meanwhile, for whatever reason – it’s good that Makita (Dewalt too in Stuart’s prior post) have corrected design issues that have safety implications. Sometimes even the best manufacturers goof – sometimes quietly introducing improvements – other times owning up to problems with recalls.
I am reminded of a letter I received from Ernst Leitz sometime after I bought my M3 Leica – offering to convert its film advance lever from double stroke. That was an age when most everyone mailed in warranty cards. I decided to decline the offer having gotten used to the camera – which was a big improvement over knob-turning film advance. When I bought my M4 – I looked back and wondered “what were they thinking” with the double stroke design – and why hadn’t I converted. My M3 certainly did not represent a safety hazard so there was no imperative to change. But I also suspect that some Dewalt miter saw users and Makita hedge trimmer users may go on using their compromised tools without ever realizing there was a recall.
MM
It appears that they’re simply adding that blue plastic safety guard where there was none before. I’m rather surprised they’re doing a recall for this and not just updating the newer product. At first I thought the guard might have been a legal requirement–which would have justified a recall–but it doesn’t seem to be. For example, if I browse the hedge trimmers on Stihl’s website some of them have that kind of guard but most don’t. If I browse hedge trimmers at Home Depot I only saw two in the top 48 hits which have a guard like that, with one of them being this model and the other was an Echo. So it appears that this style of guard is not a legal requirement.
Sean
Someone probably chopped their fingers off, sued, and doing this was part of the legal settlement.
I get the impression that this sort of thing happens all the time with tool companies (and other types of companies as well, I’m sure) – we just rarely get confirmation since sweeping it under the rug is part of the settlement, we only see circumstantial evidence like this where there seems to be little other logical explanation.
Stuart
Retailers’ product images all show red or teal guarding.
I’d guess the guarding was mistakenly left off and several thousand units shipped before Makita noticed.
Keep in mind that the recall only affects 2 models, specific serial numbers, a relatively short sales period, and a smallish number of units.
When safety guidelines change, new or updated models must meet any requirements or criteria, but existing products are grandfathered in.
TomD
Looks like it came without it based on some product image searches – by design.
Chris
I have this trimmer. I will not be participating in the recall. I don’t want a guard on it.
Stuart
Does it look like it was supposed to have a guard, such as with empty threaded screw holes, or does it look like it wasn’t designed/manufactured for a guard?
Bob
Umm… don’t stick your finger in the choppy part. Problem solved.
Seriously you should never be sticking your finger anywhere near those blades. There’s no reason to have a guard there. Some idiot probably got his finger cut off now they have to spend millions to fix stupid. Well I’m here to tell you: you can’t fix stupid.
The only thing the guard is going to do is get in the way of cutting branches.