Select Dewalt cordless lawn mowers have been recalled due to a laceration hazard.
The recall affects 2024 model year Dewalt mowers:
21″ Push walk-behind mowers
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- DCMWP234U2
- DCMWP600X2
21″ Self-Propelled walk-behind mowers
- DCMWSP256U2
- DCMWSP650Y2
From the CPSC recall notice:
You can find the model number printed on the rear door of the mower.
Look for the date code, which is located just above the left rear wheel. It will be laser-printed in yellow.
The date code is formatted as 20XX YY-58, with 20XX for the year and YY for the week. 58 is the factory code.
Only date codes 2023 32-58 through 2024 13-58 are affected. According to the recall notice, mowers manufactured after March 2024 (2024 14-58) are not affected.
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The recall affects approximately 46,200 units in the USA and 9,600 in Canada.
As for the hazard:
If water gets into the mower’s handle support while the battery is installed, the mower can fail to shut off when the bail handle is released or start without a key, posing a laceration hazard to the user.
There were 10 reports of the mowers failing to shut off when the bail handle was released, and 1 report of a mower starting without a safety key inserted.
The incident with the mower starting without its safety key resulted in a finger laceration that did not require medical attention.
The recall notice says to immediately stop using the recalled mowers if the mower has gotten wet.
Dewalt’s recall information page says:
IF YOUR MOWER IS AFFECTED, DO NOT GET IT WET AND DISCONNECT YOUR BATTERY WHEN NOT IN USE, STOP USING IT IMMEDIATELY.
Anyone with an affected mower should contact Dewalt for a free repair at an authorized service center.
Phone: 800-990-6421 between 8am and 6om ET, Monday thru Friday.
Online Form: Dewalt Mower Recall Page
Recall Number: 24-345 via CPSC
Nate
I heard you’re also not supposed to feed them after midnight.
MFC
I’m shocked the first generation mowers weren’t recalled. I went through three of them. All of them dying in various ways within a month of first use. It would have been comical if it wasn’t so frustrating. I don’t understand how they could have worse mowers than Ryobi, but somehow they managed it. And this is coming from a guy with +$15k in DeWalt tools…
JMJR
I remember my local Home Depot had numerous open box returns of that mower they were trying to clear out at the end of the season. IIRC, all boxes were missing the newly launched 10ah batteries, so they might have been returned due to a bad batch of batteries.
Bonnie
I’ve had mine for years and it’s still going strong. Though I use it less since moving somewhere with a much larger yard.
JMJR
I count these pancake deck mowers as the fourth generation of Dewalt cordless mowers in so many years.
I’ve been tempted to sell my gas Honda and pick up a Dewalt mower to go along with all the batteries I have, but it seems like they still haven’t figured out how to build a good unit.
MM
Mine is a 2nd or 3rd gen, I am not impressed with it. No way would I want to use it if I had to mow a normal size suburban yard. It’s adequate for mowing small areas where my big ZTR won’t fit, that’s about all I can say about it it. If it wasn’t for the fact that I can use the batteries with my other Dewalt tools and I had a very light duty job for the mower I’d have returned it. Many Dewalt tools are pro quality. These mowers are absolutely not.
Jason M
My neighbor is all yellow for tools including steel tool chests in the garage etc. die hard guy. Has the blower and string trimmer as well. Even he uses an Ego mower
Badger12345
Hey Stuart,
Any chance you would be willing to start a new thread on cordless mowers covering the state of the market and allow folks to chime in with experience?
I am looking at buying a cordless mower (reluctantly) because I have been diagnosed with a severe formaldehyde allergy and the exhaust emissions from fuel combustion contain a lot of formaldehyde. It is worse for small engines because they don’t have pollution control devices like automobiles. It has become a big problem for me. My wife has asthma, so she can’t mow either. We want to stay in our house, so my options are to hire a lawn service or switch to a non-gas mower. I’m a DIY guy and it pains me to think about hiring a lawn service. We have about 7,500 sq. feet of lawn to mow of thick bluegrass.
My 17+ year old Toro gas mower is going strong, but alas may need to be retired. The reviews on most cordless mowers are quite bad despite the hefty price tag. They seem like mostly plastic disposable products now and not like the old gas mowers.
Thanks.
Tucker
I have the M18 mower. I like it. It’s pricey but I have enough other M18 tools that it’s worth it to not have yet another battery platform.
I also have some Makita LXT OPE and I generally like it as much or more than my M18. But Makita not seeming to have their act together between LXT and XGT pushed me to try M18.
TomD
Agee that I’ve no problem with the M18 mower but I wouldn’t recommend it if you’re not already in the system.
fred
Back in May, I bought a Makita XGT Mower – the kit that came with 2 8Ah batteries. I already had some XGT tools, so the platform was not foreign to me. I also had some issues with M18 OPE (batteries overheating) – so I was inclined to look elsewhere. I had been using a Honda gas powered mower that needed a major overhaul – so I thought to move to battery-powered. So far so good with my Makita but my use case is not typical.
I have a landscaper who mows my front, side and back lawns. His crew use zero-turn mowers and sometimes a tractor pulling a reel mower with a sickle bar in the front. I mow small lawns in what my wife calls her garden rooms that are dispersed around the back of our property and connected by paths. With such an atypical use-case and short experience – I’m hesitant to recommend the Makita.
Big Richard
Gen I came out in 2018, gen II in 2021, and the gen III just came out this year. So they are on a 3 year refresh cycle. I’ve owned all 3, and every gen is one step forward, one step backward, and two or three steps sideways. I had really high expectations for the latest gen, and while it is better than the gen II, it fell short, imo.
I was hopeful for a future larger 60v model, like a 2x60v 25″, but given the issues they seem to have with their mowers, I think the chances of that are less than zero at this point.
Another Bob
A friend has one. I played with it for a few minutes, was not impressed. Then again all the battery ones I’ve played with I’m not that impressed with. I can understand them wanting to be lightweight for self driving performance, but do not make them flimsy and cheap.
Ironically, black and Decker has made corded electric mowers from 1970 to the mid 90s. Later ones had polymer decks, pretty rugged, many still in service today.
DeWalt: send the engineer intern down to the microfiche library. Slap a battery pack on that design and your better than the recent garbage you designed.
MM
Speaking of older corded mowers, I remember seeing wheel-less corded electric “hover mowers” made by B&D back in the early 1990s in England. My uncle referring to them as “Flymows”, which I think was an entirely different brand making a similar product, sort of like how people might call any photocopy a “Xerox”. I’ve never seen one stateside though.
JMJR
When I worked at a golf course we used Flymows to cut the grass around sand bunkers and water features. That’s an ideal use case for them due to how steep and curved the lawn is, but they’re nowhere near as powerful as regular wheeled lawn mowers due to their tiny blades.
Lloyd Rolston
I remember Flymos in New Zealand.
The reason that they are not available anymore is because of the number of accidents that resulted in decapitated toes
PW
I have one of those polymer deck B&D mowers! I’m it’s 3rd owner (that I know about – could be more).
It’s certainly a durable little mofo. I keep wanting it to die so I can justify a battery powered mower, but it’s probably gonna live forever at this rate.
It is a pretty sad let down to go from that to whatever the heck is happening with DeWalt these days. I agree 100%, dust off the design for that ol guy and figure out a way to strap a 60v battery on it!
Rob
I have a true 1st gen 40 volt mower along with a bunch of other Dewalt OPE. My yard takes a little over an hour to mow. Requires two 7.5 ah batteries to accomplish Overall, I’m very happy with it. Much quieter than gas, if I can see the grass I can mow it. Meaning 5:30 am before the heat gets up and I’m not bothering the neighbors.
All the DeWalt cordless mowers disappeared from my HD about a month ago. This article explains where they all went.
jec6613
This 100%. Dewalt did make one fantastic mower, the old 40V. Simple and just works and cuts better than a Honda. The only downside is it does just eat through battery power… Probably what makes it so good, actually.
Big Richard
The gen I 2x20v and 40v (essentially the same mower, same motor with different battery compartment) were nice for small stuff. I still wish I would have kept mine for my smaller front/side yard as it did a good job and was so maneuverable around the trees/shrubs/edging.
The biggest knock on them was they absolutely chugged battery juice. But as you said, that’s part of what made them good. They ran at high speed full time, not the more battery friendly dual speed many mowers are now (including DeWalt’s gen II and III). This gave them respectable lift and suction.