In support of our of our Major City Goal on Climate Action the City is sharing this information in partnership with the San Luis Obispo County Integrated Waste Management Authority.
The City of San Luis Obispo is sharing an urgent safety notice from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Consumers are advised to immediately stop using lithium-ion batteries for Rad Power Bikes e-bike models RP-1304 and HL-RP-S1304.
If you have any batteries with these model numbers, please remove them from your e-bike immediately and dispose of them through approved hazardous waste channels. Please refer to Rad Power Bikes’ Support Assembly webpage for instructions on proper removal.
Please don’t throw these batteries in the trash or curbside recycling.
Disposal Options Available
- Your local Best Buy store (no cost to drop off)
- County Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) locations
- Nipomo Hazardous Waste Facility,
509 Southland St., Saturdays 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. - Cold Canyon Landfill San Luis Obispo
2268 Carpenter Canyon Rd., Fridays & Saturdays 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. - Morro Bay Hazardous Waste Facility
160 Atascadero Rd., Saturdays 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. - Chicago Grade Landfill, Templeton
2290 Homestead Rd., Saturdays 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. - Paso Landfill, Paso Robles
9000 CA Hwy. 46 East, Saturdays 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
- Nipomo Hazardous Waste Facility,
Additional disposal options may be added as IWMA continues working with regional partners. For the latest information, please read the full IWMA Rad Power E-Bike warning.
For information about battery replacements please contact Rad Power Bikes.
Also Read
- SLO District Attorney Issues Statement Regarding Protests and Calls for “ICE-Free Zones”
- Commercial Structure Fire on S. Higuera Street in San Luis Obispo
- San Luis Obispo Plans Upgrades to Broad and Monterey Streets
- Resources For Unhoused Individuals in San Luis Obispo
- Update to San Luis Obispo Neighborhood Enhancement Projects
Yikes, this is concerning.
Sure is! I haven’t heard anything about this. Hard to imagine it’s specific to SLO… (I’m kidding)
“The importer, Rad Power Bikes Inc., of Seattle, Washington has refused to agree to an acceptable recall. Given its financial situation, Rad Power Bikes has indicated to CPSC that it is unable to offer replacement batteries or refunds to all consumers.”
The notice should be read and shared.
Name of Product:
Lithium-ion batteries for Rad Power Bikes e-bikes
Hazard:
The hazardous batteries can unexpectedly ignite and explode, posing a fire hazard to consumers, especially when the battery or the harness has been exposed to water and debris.
Consumer Action:
CPSC urges consumers to immediately remove the battery from the e-bike and dispose of the battery following local hazardous waste disposal procedures. Do not sell or give away these hazardous batteries.
Product Safety Warning Date:
November 24, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is warning consumers to immediately stop using lithium-ion batteries for Rad Power Bikes e-bikes, model numbers RP-1304, RAD-S1304Y, and HL-RP-S1304, because the batteries pose a risk of serious injury and death.
The hazardous batteries can unexpectedly ignite and explode, posing a fire hazard to consumers, especially when the battery or the harness has been exposed to water and debris. CPSC is aware of 31 reports of fire, including 12 reports of property damage totaling approximately $734,500. Some of these incidents occurred when the battery was not charging, the product was not in use, and the product was in storage.
CPSC urges consumers to immediately remove the battery from the e-bike and dispose of the battery following local hazardous waste disposal procedures. Do not sell or give away these hazardous batteries.
The importer, Rad Power Bikes Inc., of Seattle, Washington has refused to agree to an acceptable recall. Given its financial situation, Rad Power Bikes has indicated to CPSC that it is unable to offer replacement batteries or refunds to all consumers.
The batteries were sold with the following Rad Power Bikes e-bike models and as replacement batteries: RadWagon 4, RadCity HS 4, RadRover High Step 5, RadCity Step Thru 3, RadRover Step Thru 1, RadRunner 2, RadRunner 1, RadRunner Plus, and RadExpand 5. The battery model number (HL-RP-S1304, RAD-S1304Y, or RP-1304) is printed on a label on the back or rear of the battery. The batteries were sold on RadPowerBikes.com and at Best Buy stores and independent bike shops nationwide for about $550 (replacement batteries) or between $1,500 and $2,000 (when sold with e-bikes).
The batteries were manufactured in China and Vietnam.
CPSC is issuing this public health and safety finding to expedite public warning about this product because individuals may be in danger from this product hazard.
Note: Do not throw this lithium-ion battery or device in the trash, the general recycling stream (e.g., street-level or curbside recycling bins) or used battery recycling boxes found at various retail and home improvement stores. Hazardous lithium-ion batteries must be disposed of differently than other batteries because they present a greater risk of fire. Your municipal household hazardous waste (HHW) collection center may accept this lithium-ion battery or device for disposal. Before taking your battery or device to a HHW collection center, contact it ahead of time and ask whether it accepts hazardous lithium-ion batteries. If it does not, contact your municipality for further guidance.
Upon the request of Rad Power Bikes, Inc., CPSC is including with this warning the comments of Rad Power Bikes Inc., to the extent permitted by and subject to the requirements of Section 6(b)(1) of the CPSA:
“Rad’s Safe Shield batteries and semi-integrated batteries are not subject to the agency’s statement. Rad had the batteries re-tested by third-party labs as part of this investigation; the batteries passed these tests again. Nonetheless, in an effort to partner with the CPSC, Rad proposed multiple solutions to the agency in good faith. Rad informed the agency that its demand to replace all batteries, regardless of condition, would immediately put Rad out of business, which would be of no benefit to our riders. Rad is disappointed that it could not reach a resolution that best serves our riders and the industry at large. Rad reminds its customers to inspect batteries before use or charging and immediately stop using batteries that show signs of damage, water ingress, or corrosion, and to contact Rad so we can support our riders.”
Incidents/Injuries:
CPSC is aware of 31 reports of fire, including 12 reports of property damage totaling approximately $734,500. Some of these incidents occurred when the battery was not charging, the product was not in use, and the product was in storage.
I didn’t know RAD was in such bad shape.
This statement seems reasonable:
The Rad Power Bikes Battery Recall, Explained (Without the Panic)
https://www.reddit.com/r/RadPowerBikes/comments/1pj94h7/the_rad_power_bikes_battery_recall_explained/
Ok, my rad runner 2’s battery SN matches. I called Rad corp just now and had a nice chat. While there have been reported issues on a few batteries, when over 500000 have been sold, the amount affected are a fraction of less than 1%. I even pointed out that I didn’t trust the current governments assessment on anything related to green energy, they also concurred it seemed to be a manufactured incident. They and a few other ebike manufacturers have been targeted by the Trump admin in recent months. I have had my battery/bike for 3 years with no issues and highly doubt there ever will be an issue.
I spoke to several people in a few departments. This isn’t a concern. This is hyped up by the feds. Rad didn’t accept their findings and are fighting back. I’m not too surprised to hear all of this TBH
Selling a Rad e-bike will be quite a challenge even if it does not have one of the so-called “bad” batteries. We had a Rad Runner and a Rover, which we luckily sold a couple of months ago (replaced with a couple of Lectric long-range units).