Rad Batteries in British Columbia: Alert

We had previously stayed away from reporting the debacle around Rad Power Bike batteries in the United States. However, we have now heard from CBC News that there are Rad batteries in British Columbia, too. So we feel obliged to report on this issue, as some Canadians may be at risk too.

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Complaint

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a product safety warning on November 24, 2025. Their notice concerns lithium-ion batteries in e-bicycles imported from China, and sold in North America.

The importer is quite a large operation, that has supplied over 600,000 e-bicycles of various models over a number of years. However, not all models may be affected by the CPSC product safety warning.

This CPSC notice advises consumers to ‘immediately stop using batteries for e-bikes from Rad Power Bikes, due to fire hazard; risk of serious injury or death’.

It warns that the ‘hazardous batteries’ can ‘unexpectedly ignite and explode, posing a fire hazard to consumers. Especially when the battery or the harness has been exposed to water and debris.’

The advisory recommends that Rad Power Bike owners immediately remove these batteries, by following hazardous waste procedures. They should, under no circumstances, sell or give these Rad batteries to other people in British Columbia of elsewhere.

More About the Rad Batteries Including British Columbia

There have been 31 reports of fires of which the CPSC is aware. Twelve of these incidents caused property damage amounting to more than $700,000. Some of these fires occurred ‘when the battery was not charging, the product was not in use, and the product was in storage”.

The offending batteries were originally supplied with the following e-bike models: RadWagon 4, RadCity HS 4, RadRover High Step 5, RadCity Step Thru 3, RadRover Step Thru 1, RadRunner 2, RadRunner 1, RadRunner Plus, and RadExpand 5.

The batteries were also supplied separately. The lithium-ion batteries in question should display either ‘HL-RP-S1304’ or ‘RP-1304’ on a label. We caution consumers in British Columbia to treat these Rad batteries with utmost care at all times.