BowFlex Adjustable Dumbbells Recalled After More Than 100 Injuries, Including Concussions and Broken Toes
Hundreds of consumers have reported that the heavy plates can dislodge from the dumbbells while they're in use. Almost 4 million units are being recalled.
Johnson Health Tech Trading, which owns the BowFlex brand, is recalling two models of its adjustable dumbbells, the 552 and the 1090, a total of 3.8 million units. The recall comes after reports of the weight plates dislodging from the handles and causing more than 100 injuries, including broken toes and concussions.
The recalled dumbbells have been on the market since at least 2004, and were still being sold as recently as this past May. The dumbbells were sold in stores (including Best Buy, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and Johnson Fitness and Wellness) and online (on Amazon and the BowFlex website). The 552 model offers a weight range from 5 to 52.5 pounds, and the 1090 model offers a range from 10 to 90 pounds of weight.
What Consumers Should Do
Consumers who have one of the recalled products can fill out a claim form on the BowFlex website. For more information, you can call Johnson Health Tech Trading at 800-209-3539 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or send an email to recall@bowflex.com. More information is also available on BowFlex’s product recalls page. You can find the specific serial numbers of recalled products to check to see whether yours is included on the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s recall alert page.
Johnson Health Tech Trading is offering refunds in the form of a voucher or a replacement product if you bought your dumbbells on April 23, 2024, or later. If you bought your dumbbells prior to that (before Johnson Health Tech Trading owned the brand), the company is offering a prorated voucher in addition to a yearlong membership to JRNY’s digital fitness platform.
That’s not enough, says Gabe Knight, a senior policy analyst on CR’s safety policy team. “Consumers should be able to receive their money back in full, no strings attached,” she says.
Still, Knight encourages everyone who has purchased either of these products to stop using them and participate in the recall, especially given the severity of the injuries consumers have reported. “Even if you haven’t experienced any issues with these products so far, it’s still possible you could in the future,” she says.
A History of Problems
This isn’t the first time BowFlex adjustable dumbbells have been recalled. In 2012, Nautilus issued a recall for its 1090 model of adjustable dumbbells because the weight selector dial could fail, causing the weight plates to fall when the dumbbells were lifted from their cradles. That recall occurred after 16 reports of problems that resulted in three injuries.
CR asked Johnson Health Tech Trading about this earlier recall, and what changed with the 1090 product that allowed it to remain on the market after the 2012 recall. It told us that at the time, a repair kit, approved by the CPSC, was made available to users to fix the problem with their product.
Still, since then, BowFlex adjustable dumbbells have racked up a number of safety complaints in the CPSC’s SaferProducts.gov database. For example, in 2023, a user who owned the 1090 model reported that a dumbbell fell off its handle, landing on his foot and causing bleeding and severe swelling. In 2021, a user of the 552 model reported that one of the dumbbell plates had fallen on his eye, causing bruising and pain.
We also asked the company why it took so long to issue this recall, given the number and severity of the injuries reported.
“Following our acquisition of certain BowFlex assets from Nautilus, Inc., about a year ago, we became aware of incident reports involving these dumbbells,” Johnson Heath Tech Trading told CR. A spokesperson said that the recall process is not an overnight decision, and that after learning of the reported safety incidents, it began conversations with the CPSC and conducting research and testing to determine the appropriate steps to take. “We have jointly issued this voluntary recall in cooperation with the CPSC,” the company said.
Correction: This article, published June 5, 2025, has been updated to reflect the fact that Johnson Health Tech Trading’s parent company purchased only the BowFlex brand, not the Nautilus company.
