Peloton Tread Plus Child Safety Recall Class Action

In May 2021, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Peloton announced a recall of 125,000 Tread+ treadmills due to a critical child safety hazard. The treadmills had an excessive gap underneath that allowed children, adults, and pets to be pulled beneath the running belt during operation, resulting in one confirmed child death and dozens of reported injuries. This design defect had been documented in incident reports dating back to 2018, yet the product remained on the market and in homes without adequate safety warnings or safeguards.

The Tread+ recall became one of the most serious fitness equipment safety issues in recent years. A child in the New York area was killed when pulled under the treadmill belt, and at least 29 children sustained injuries before the recall was issued. Beyond the physical harm, the incident revealed that Peloton had received complaint reports about the entrapment hazard years before taking action, leading to legal consequences and a class-action lawsuit. The recall sparked widespread outrage among consumers and led to investigations by the CPSC, lawsuits against Peloton, and significant financial penalties. Owners of affected Tread+ treadmills became eligible for compensation, repairs, or refunds through various legal actions and settlements.

Table of Contents

• What Was the Peloton Tread Plus Recall About?
• Design Flaws and the Entrapment Hazard
• The Human Cost—Injuries and the Child Death
• Legal Action and the $19 Million Penalty
• The Class-Action Lawsuit Against Peloton
• The Safety Fix—Rear Guard Repair
• What Consumers Should Know and Do

What Was the Peloton Tread Plus Recall About?

The Peloton Tread+ recall centered on a fundamental design flaw: the treadmill had too much clearance between the deck and the front of the machine. This gap, which measured several inches in height, created an entrapment hazard where anything—including a child, pet, or even an adult—could slide underneath the running belt. When the belt was in motion, the friction and speed could pull whatever was beneath it toward the motor housing, causing severe injuries or worse. The recall affected all Tread+ treadmills sold before the redesign was implemented.

Peloton had sold these machines directly to consumers and through select retailers, with prices ranging from $2,500 to $4,000. Many buyers had installed them in home gyms and family rooms, often in houses with young children present. The danger was not immediately obvious to users—the gap appeared to be simply part of the machine’s design—making it particularly insidious as a safety hazard. Peloton initially resisted the recall, arguing that users should maintain awareness of their surroundings and keep children away from the machine while it operated. However, the CPSC determined that the design itself was inherently unsafe, especially for children who might not understand the danger or could be curious about the machine’s moving parts.

Design Flaws and the Entrapment Hazard

The core design flaw in the Tread+ was the unusually large undercarriage clearance compared to other treadmills on the market. Most treadmills have minimal space beneath the running deck, but the Peloton’s design left a gap that was wide enough for small bodies to fit underneath. This was not an accident or oversight that occurred during manufacturing—it was built into the machine’s original design specifications. Peloton’s engineers should have anticipated this hazard during product development and testing. The company conducted preliminary safety assessments, but those assessments failed to adequately evaluate the entrapment risk, particularly for children.

Industry safety standards for exercise equipment do address entrapment hazards, yet the Tread+ design did not meet these standards adequately. This limitation in the design meant that even attentive parents could not completely protect their children from the risk without physically barring them from the room where the treadmill was located. What made the situation worse was that incident reports documenting this exact hazard had been filed with Peloton as early as 2018—nearly three years before the recall was announced. Users reported instances of children and pets getting pulled under the machine. Peloton received these reports but did not take sufficient action to address the problem or warn consumers of the specific danger.

The Human Cost—Injuries and the Child Death

Between 2018 and May 2021, the CPSC received at least 72 reports of injuries related to the Tread+ entrapment hazard. Of these, 29 injuries involved children. The injuries ranged from minor abrasions to severe lacerations, broken bones, and internal injuries. By the time the rear guard repair was approved in 2023, the total injury count had risen to 90 reported cases. One child death—a tragic and preventable loss—was directly attributed to the Tread+ design flaw. The child who died in New York was pulled underneath the treadmill belt while playing or crawling near the machine.

The case became a rallying point for consumer safety advocates and prompted increased scrutiny of Peloton’s safety practices. The parents of the deceased child became advocates themselves, pushing for stricter safety measures and full accountability from Peloton. Their case demonstrated that this was not a hypothetical danger but a real threat that had already claimed a life. Injuries to adults were also reported, though less frequently than injuries to children. In some cases, adults had reached under the machine to retrieve a dropped item or had accidentally gotten their hand or foot too close to the belt. The entrapment hazard affected the entire family, not just the youngest members of the household.

Legal Action and the $19 Million Penalty

Following the recall, the CPSC launched an investigation into Peloton’s conduct and found significant violations. The agency determined that Peloton had failed to promptly report known defects to the CPSC, as required by federal law. Additionally, Peloton had continued to distribute and sell Tread+ units even after complaints about the entrapment hazard began arriving, without adequately warning consumers or taking corrective action. In January 2023, Peloton agreed to pay $19 million in civil penalties to settle the CPSC charges. This was one of the largest penalties ever imposed on an exercise equipment manufacturer.

The penalty reflected the severity of the violation: knowingly allowing a dangerous product to remain on the market and in consumers’ homes while failing to properly report and address the hazard. Beyond the financial penalty, Peloton was required to cooperate with the CPSC on safety repairs and to implement better defect-reporting procedures going forward. The $19 million penalty, however, did not fully compensate the victims. That amount was paid to the federal government, not directly to injured consumers or the family of the child who died. This is why the class-action lawsuit became so important—it provided a mechanism for individual owners to seek compensation for their losses.

The Class-Action Lawsuit Against Peloton

Shannon Albright filed a class-action lawsuit against Peloton, alleging violations of consumer protection laws and claiming that Peloton knew or should have known about the design defect before selling the machines. The lawsuit argued that the Tread+ was inherently dangerous for children and that Peloton had failed in its duty to disclose this risk to consumers at the time of purchase. The class-action complaint centered on two key arguments: first, that the treadmill’s design was “uniquely dangerous” for children compared to other treadmills on the market, and second, that Peloton had received reports of the hazard years before the recall and did nothing to address it.

The plaintiffs sought compensation for the purchase price of the treadmills, the cost of repairs, and damages for injuries sustained by class members. The lawsuit remains active and ongoing. For owners of Tread+ treadmills who were injured or who purchased the machine before the recall, joining the class action provides a potential path to compensation beyond what Peloton offered through its formal recall program. The status of settlements and the amounts awarded have evolved as the litigation progresses.

The Safety Fix—Rear Guard Repair

In 2023, the CPSC approved a rear guard repair kit designed to address the entrapment hazard. The repair consisted of a breakaway shield that would detect contact with the treadmill’s belt and automatically stop the machine. This solution acknowledged that the original design could not be safely retrofitted without a significant modification. Peloton offered the repair to all owners of recalled Tread+ units at no cost.

The company arranged for certified technicians to install the rear guard kit, which involved removing the back panel and adding the new safety component. The installation typically took less than an hour. For consumers who did not want to keep the machine, Peloton offered refunds or replacement options as part of the recall remedy. However, the fact that such a fix was necessary years after the machines were sold highlights the importance of thorough safety testing before products reach consumers. The rear guard repair was a band-aid solution to a fundamental design problem.

What Consumers Should Know and Do

If you purchased a Peloton Tread+ treadmill before May 2021, you should verify whether your unit is included in the recall by checking Peloton’s recall page or the CPSC website. Even if you did not personally experience an injury, the recall affects you—the machine in your home poses an ongoing risk to family members and guests.

You have several options: accept the free rear guard repair, request a full refund, trade in your unit for a newer Peloton model, or join the class-action litigation if you suffered injury or financial harm as a result of the defect. If children or pets have been in contact with your Tread+, documenting any incidents or injuries is important for potential claims. The statute of limitations for filing a claim varies by state and by the type of action, so reviewing your options sooner rather than later is advisable.

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