On December 19, 2007, American Honda Motor Corporation recalled about 167,000 Honda Walk-Behind Lawn Mowers because the cutting blades can rotate under power even when the control lever is released, and the spinning blades therefore pose a serious laceration hazard to customers. As a result, the recalled lawn mowers do not comply with mandatory federal safety standards.

Recalled lawn mowers have model numbers HRB217HXA, HRX217HXA, and HRX217HMA. Model and serial numbers are printed on a label on the upper rear of the mower deck. The following serial numbers are included in the recall:

• For model HRB217HXA, all serial numbers are involved
• For models HRX217HXA and HRX217HMA, serial numbers 1000001 ? 1513628 are involved in the recall.

Federal safety standards define a walk-behind lawn mower as one that uses an engine or motor to power a blade with a minimum cutting width of 12 inches. The requirements for a blade control system in walk-behind rotary power lawn mowers are that the system must:

• Keep the blade from spinning unless operator starts the control,
• Allow the blade the turn only while operator is holding or in contact with the control,
• Make the blade come to a complete stop within 3 seconds after the operator lets go of the control when it is running at top speed, and
• Stop the blade from turning without stopping the engine.

The recalled Honda lawn mowers are dark gray with a red fan cover, and were sold by Honda Lawn and Garden Dealers and Home Depot stores nationwide. They sold for between $760 and $900 from January 2003 through November 2007.

Customers should stop using recalled Honda mowers and contact any Honda Lawn and Garden dealer for a repair. For more information, consumers may contact Honda at 800-426-7707, or visit the company?s website.

Sources: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Release #08-140, December 19, 2007; U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Office of Compliance, Requirements for Walk-Behind Power Lawn Mowers, 16 C.F.R. Part 1205, retrieved December 20, 2007.