Recall Issued for 400,000 Solar-Powered Umbrellas Sold at Costco for Fire Risk

Figure 1: Photo credit – usnewstoday – https://bit.ly/38oqcli

On Thursday, June 23, 2022, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a recall for 10-foot SunVilla Solar LED Market Umbrellas because of reports that the lithium-ion batteries in the umbrella’s solar panel can overheat, which presents fire and burn hazards. These umbrellas were made by Sun Villa and sold at Costco.

The recall affects 400,000 of these solar-powered umbrellas that were sold at Costco in the United States. Canada has also issued a recall for approximately 33,000 of these umbrellas that were sold in Canada. The umbrellas were available for sale online and at Costco warehouses from December 2020 through May 2022. 

The umbrella was sold in a variety of colors and has LED lights that run along its arms and a black solar panel puck at the top with a cover that reads “YEEZE” or “YEEZE 1.” Owners of these umbrellas are advised to remove the black solar panel puck and store it away from the sun or combustible material. Consumers are also advised to not charge the batteries with an AC adapter.

To date, there have been at least 6 incidents where the lithium-ion batteries overheated.  In 3 cases, the solar panels caught fire. In 2 cases, the umbrella caught fire. There has been 1 smoke inhalation injury tied to the umbrellas as well.

If you or a loved one has been injured or damaged as a result of a Sun Villa Solar LED Market Umbrella, please contact an attorney at Abraham Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner by calling 713-222-7211 or toll-free at 1‑800-870-9584.