Garmin Recall Nuvi GPS Devices - Latest Information Released

Garmin, a leading designer and manufacturer of Global Positioning System (GPS) devices and systems for consumers, has announced a voluntary recall of up to 1.25 million personal GPS navigation devices marketed under the product name ‘nuvi’, regarding an overheating issue caused by the batteries. The batteries are manufactured by a third party, and around 800,000 of the Nuvi personal GPS navigation devices affected by the recall were distributed in the US.

Garmin issued the following statement through its website regarding the recall: “Garmin is voluntarily recalling certain nuvi devices that contain a specific battery that was manufactured by the battery supplier within a limited date code range. Garmin has identified potential overheating issues when certain batteries manufactured by the third-party battery supplier within a limited date code range are used in certain Garmin nuvi models with a specific printed circuit board (PCB) design. It appears that the interaction of these factors can, in rare circumstances, increase the possibility of overheating, which may lead to a fire hazard. Although there have been no injuries or significant property damage caused by this issue, Garmin is taking this action out of an abundance of caution.”

Only around 10 cases of this problem have been recorded, and Garmin has undertaken to fix the problem and return the units to their owners free of charge. The repair will involve the replacement of the battery and the insertion of a small spacer between the battery and the PCB. Consumers may visit the Garmin website and enter the serial number of their nuvi device to see if it is affected by this recall.