Recalls and safety alerts

Household Products

GE digital coffeemakers

Coffeemaker can overheat, posing risks of fire and burns.

Products: 900,000 GE 12-cup coffeemakers sold at Walmart from March 2008 through January 2010 for $30. Models included in the recall are 169164 (black) and 169165 (white). Wal-Mart has had 83 reports of overheating, smoking, melting, burning, and fire, including three reports of injuries, and reports of significant property damage.

What to do: Stop using the coffeemaker and return it to any Walmart for a full refund. Call Wal-Mart at 800-925-6278 or go to www.walmart.com for details.

Dishwashers manufactured by Maytag

Heating element failure could result in a serious fire hazard.

Products: 1.7 million dishwashers labeled Maytag, Amana, Jenn-Air, Admiral, Magic Chef, Performa by Maytag, and Crosley brands with plastic tubs and certain serial numbers, sold by home builders and at retail stores nationwide from February 2006 through April 2010 for $250 to $900.The company has received 12 reports of failures resulting in fires and dishwasher damage.

What to do: Stop using the dishwasher, shut down electricity to the unit, and contact Maytag for a repair or other remedy at 800-544-5513 or go to www.repair.maytag.com.

Target woven storage trunks

Lid can drop suddenly when it’s released, posing a strangulation hazard to children when they’re opening or reaching into trunks.

Products: 350,000 trunks sold at Target and online from February 2009 through April 2010 for $50 to $130. Recall includes 14 models of trunks made of woven rattan, abaca, or banana leaf. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has received two reports of injuries to children when the trunk lid closed on them, including an 18-month-old who reportedly suffered brain damage as a result.

What to do: Stop using the trunk and return it to Target for a refund or replacement product. Call Target at 800-440-0680 or go to www.target.com for details.

Conair BaByliss Pro 052 Series compact hair dryer

Spinning fan in hair dryer can break apart, hitting dryer’s plastic shell, which might shatter and cut user.

Products: 291,000 Conair hair dryers sold at salons and online from June 2006 through May 2010 for $20 to $30. Models recalled include BaByliss Pro Mighty Mini, Nano Titanium, Porcelain Ceramic, TT Tourmaline, and TT Tourmaline Titanium. Conair has had 16 reports of the fan breaking and shattering the plastic shell, as well as reports of sparking and smoking. Eight injuries have been reported.

What to do: Stop using the dryer and call Conair at 800-687-6916 or go to www.babylissus.com/recall052 to get a free replacement dryer.

Automobiles

’09 -’10 Lexus LS 460/600

In certain vehicles manufactured from August 20, 2009, through May 13, 2010, when the driver fully turns the steering wheel in one direction then quickly tries to turn it back to the center, that causes an error in the steering system’s engine control unit. If those motions are done while driving, that error can leave the steering wheel in an off-center position, which increases the risk of a crash.

Models: 3,800 ’09-’10 LS460/460L and ’10 LS600H/600HL.

What to do: Toyota will notify owners and replace steering system’s engine control unit free of charge. Call 800-331-4331 for details.

Children’s products

McDonald’s “Shrek Forever After 3D” drinking glasses

The designs on the glasses contain cadmium, a metal that can cause adverse health effects with long-term exposure.

Products: 12 million glasses in four designs—Shrek, Fiona, Puss n’ Boots, and Donkey—sold at McDonald’s restaurants nationwide from May 2010 into June 2010 for about $2.

What to do: Stop using the glasses and call the company at 800-244-6227 or go to www.mcdonalds.com/glasses for refund information.