Lime issues its second scooter recall in less than a month

Lime has recalled scooters made by Okai after a rash of handlebars breaking from the riding platform.
The company did not say how many of its scooters were affected or in which markets.
It's the second recall of Lime scooters in less than a month, after it recalled Segway-made models due to fire risks.

Scooter and bike startup Lime has issued its second recall in less than a month, the company confirmed to Business Insider on Monday, after reports that some of its models from Chinese manufacturer Okai were breaking in half "when subjected to repeated abuse."

The Washington Post first asked Lime about the issues on Friday, leading the company to issue a recall. It declined to disclose how many Okai-made scooters are in its global fleet, or in which cities they operated. Still, users on social media in Portland, Denver, Baltimore, Paris, France and more reported encounters with broken Lime scooters in recent days.

In a statement, Lime said safety is its highest priority.

"We are actively looking into reports that scooters manufactured by Okai may break and are working cooperatively with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the relevant agencies internationally to get to the bottom of this. Safety is Lime’s highest priority and as a precaution we are immediately decommissioning all Okai scooters in the global fleet. The vast majority of Lime’s fleet is manufactured by other companies and decommissioned Okai scooters are being replaced with newer, more advanced scooters considered best in class for safety. We don’t anticipate any real service disruptions.”

Broken Lime Scooter instagram

Through a lawyer, Okai pushed back against reports that its scooters are breaking.

"We are very certain that the scooters mentioned in this Washington Post’s news report are not manufactured by Okai at all," said Charles Wu of Grandall Law Firm. "We think it’s very irresponsible and unethical for Lime to associate these scooters with Okai. We are collecting more information on this, and will be in touch again shortly."

Lime previously issued a recall on about 2,000 Segway-made Ninebot scooters on October 31 after reports that some were catching on fire. The company said it was investigating the "unconfirmed" incidents in at least three cities and had removed the scooters from its operations.

After the previous recall, Lime launched a $3 million "respect the ride" campaign, which it touted as multi-pronged approach to rider education, equipping our community with the resources necessary to make each smart mobility trip a safe and enjoyable experience."

The company also gave away 250,000 free helmets.

"I have picked up 5 scooters cracked in half now," one juicer — the company's term for people paid to charge scooters, said on Reddit. "This must be a serious design flaw"

"Did Lime not anticipate that people would be rough with the scooters?," another asked. "Birds aren't breaking. About 1 in 6 scooters I've picked up lately have small cracks on the underside of the deck."

Do you work at Lime? Got a tip? Contact this reporter via Signal or WhatsApp at +1 (646) 376-6102 using a non-work phone, email at grapier@businessinsider.com, or Twitter DM at @g_rapier. You can also contact Business Insider securely via SecureDrop.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Why you shouldn't be afraid to fly, according to a pilot with over 20 years of experience