Greenworks Tools is recalling 554,780 Kobalt-branded yard power tools sold across the United States after 34 units caught fire. The affected products, which include 24V and 48V trimmers, blowers, mowers, chainsaws, and pruning saws equipped with Kobalt USB-C lithium-ion batteries, can short-circuit when charged through their USB-C port while the battery remains inserted in the tool. The recall covers a wide range of equipment that has been available at retail for years, putting hundreds of thousands of homeowners in a position to check their garages and sheds immediately.
USB-C charging flaw behind 554,780 Kobalt tool fires
The core hazard is specific and reproducible: charging a Kobalt 24V or 48V tool through its USB-C port while the lithium-ion battery stays seated in the device can trigger a short circuit. That short circuit has led to fires in 34 reported incidents, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. No injuries have been publicly documented, but the agency classified the risk as a serious injury hazard from fire.
The failure mode points to a design-level problem rather than a random manufacturing defect. USB-C ports on battery-powered yard tools are a relatively recent feature, and the recall suggests the charging circuit does not adequately protect against current flowing through both the USB-C path and the battery-to-tool connection at the same time. That distinction matters for anyone who owns cordless outdoor equipment with USB-C charging: the convenience feature itself is the ignition source when used in a way many owners would consider normal.
Greenworks is offering free replacement batteries to all affected owners. Consumers should stop charging the tools through USB-C immediately, remove the battery from the tool before any charging, and contact Greenworks to arrange a replacement. The recall applies to products sold from January 2020 through July 2025, meaning some of these tools have been in active use for more than five years.
What 34 fire reports and half a million units leave unanswered
The CPSC oversight office and public complaint databases list the aggregate incident count but do not publish detailed narratives of the 34 fires. That gap leaves several questions open. How many of the fires occurred during active charging versus shortly after? Were certain product categories, such as mowers with larger battery packs, disproportionately involved? Did any fires cause property damage beyond the tool itself? The recall notice does not break down the incidents by product type, battery voltage, or severity.
Greenworks and Lowe’s, the exclusive retailer for Kobalt-branded tools, have not released public statements explaining what internal testing revealed about the short-circuit mechanism or when the company first identified the pattern. The recall notice describes the remedy as a battery replacement, which implies the fix is in the battery hardware or firmware rather than the tool body. Whether the replacement batteries will still support USB-C charging, with improved circuit protection, or will eliminate the USB-C option entirely has not been clarified.
For owners of affected tools, the first step is to treat the equipment as a potential ignition source until the battery has been swapped. That means unplugging any USB-C charging cables, storing the tools away from flammable materials, and following the recall instructions even if their particular unit has never shown signs of overheating or malfunction. Lithium-ion fires can escalate quickly, and the absence of previous issues is not a guarantee of future safety when a design flaw is involved.
The recall also underscores how quickly new convenience features can introduce unfamiliar risks. Integrating USB-C into high-capacity battery packs blurs the line between consumer electronics and power equipment, yet the consequences of a failure are more severe when a pack is driving a motor instead of a smartphone. Owners may reasonably assume that if a tool offers pass-through charging, it has been engineered to handle simultaneous charging and standby use without hazard. The CPSC’s findings suggest that assumption was not justified in this case.
Regulators and safety advocates have long warned that lithium-ion batteries require careful design around charging, discharging, and thermal management. In sectors as varied as power tools, e-bikes, and consumer electronics, recalls often follow the same pattern: a small number of documented fires prompts a large-scale response once a systemic issue is confirmed. Here, 34 incident reports were enough to trigger action across more than half a million units, reflecting a low tolerance for fire risk when products are used in homes, garages, and yards.
The scope of the Kobalt recall may also draw attention to how companies communicate with customers about product safety. In addition to formal notices and press releases, manufacturers frequently rely on retailers, email lists, and service networks to reach owners whose tools may have changed hands or been in storage for years. Comparing that outreach with disclosure practices in other regulated industries, such as broadcast stations that post detailed public file reports, highlights how uneven transparency can be from one sector to another.
For now, the most practical step for consumers is verification. Owners should check model numbers against the recall list, stop using USB-C charging on any affected Kobalt 24V or 48V tools, and request replacement batteries as soon as possible. Until those new packs arrive and guidance is updated, the safest assumption is that charging through the USB-C port with the battery in the tool is unsafe, even if it appears to work normally. The recall is a reminder that when it comes to high-energy batteries, design convenience must always yield to proven safety.
