More than 550,000 Kobalt yard tools are under recall because a USB-C battery can short-circuit and catch fire while charging inside the tool.
Quick Take
- Greenworks Tools recalled about 554,780 Kobalt-branded 24-volt and 48-volt yard tools and batteries.
- The recall followed 34 reports of batteries smoking, sparking, or catching fire during charging.
- The affected products include trimmers, blowers, mowers, chainsaws, pruning saws, and some battery packs sold at Lowe’s.
- Owners should stop charging the batteries through the USB-C port while the battery remains in the tool.
What the recall covers
The Consumer Product Safety Commission said the recall covers Kobalt 24-volt and 48-volt yard power tools that use Kobalt-branded lithium-ion batteries with a USB-C charging port. The affected lineup includes trimmers, blowers, mowers, chainsaws, pruning saws, and related combo kits.
The company also said some 3.0 amp-hour and 6.0 amp-hour batteries were sold separately, which means some owners may have bought the battery without the full tool kit. That matters because the hazard follows the battery, not just one machine.
The key danger is simple and unnerving. Charging the battery through the USB-C port while it is still inserted in the tool can cause a short circuit and create a fire hazard. Greenworks said customers should stop that charging method right away and use the replacement process instead.
Why this recall matters
This recall stands out because it sits at the crossroads of convenience and risk. USB-C is popular because it is familiar and easy to use, but these yard tools ask a small connector to work around high-power battery systems. When that setup fails, the result can move fast from a warm battery to smoke, sparks, and fire.
Greenworks said it received 34 incident reports before the recall. That number is not huge compared with total sales, but it is large enough to show a repeat problem, not a one-off glitch. Regulators often act when a defect can produce serious injury even if no injuries have been reported yet, and that is the posture here.
What owners should do now
Anyone who owns a recalled Kobalt tool should check the battery type first. Only products with the USB-C batteries are affected, and the company said replacement batteries without a USB-C port will be provided through the recall process.
Greenworks listed customer help through its recall page and phone line, and the CPSC notice directs owners to use that process for the replacement battery and return label. For a homeowner, the safest move is not to test the problem, but to stop using the charging setup described in the recall.
⚠️Recall Alert – Greenworks Tools⚠️
Greenworks Tools Recalls 24V and 48V Kobalt Yard Power Tools with USB-C Batteries Due to Risk of Serious Injury from Fire Hazard
Recall Details
Description:
This recall involves Kobalt yard power tools, including trimmers, blowers, mowers,… pic.twitter.com/4mW41io0rc— Consumer Watch (@Consumer__Watch) July 9, 2026
The broader lesson is familiar to anyone who has watched battery tools get smarter and more compact. The more consumer gear borrows laptop-style charging features, the more important it becomes to separate convenience from heat, load, and failure points. This recall shows what happens when that line gets too thin.
Sources:
foxbusiness.com, morningoverview.com, cpsc.gov, greenworkstools.com
