Yakima Products Recalls Two Bike Racks (rear-of-car)

markjgi-@yahoo.com

2005-10-05



Friends:

 YAKIMA ISSUES RECALL OF TWO BICYCLE RACKS



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Sales of Mighty Joe 2 and Mighty Joe 3 Halted,

Effective Immediately



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*BEAVERTON*, Oregon (October 3, 2005) ? Yakima

Products, Inc. today issued a

product recall of its Mighty Joe 2 and Mighty Joe 3

bicycle racks. Yakima is

voluntarily recalling all Mighty Joe 2 and Mighty

Joe 3 racks (part numbers

8002609 and 8002608, respectively) due to safety

concerns revealed following

extensive product testing. Yakima notified the

National Highway Traffic and

Safety Administration of the recall this morning and

it will cooperate with

the agency in administrating the recall.



These rear-of-car-mounted, strap-style racks began

shipping in the first

quarter of 2005. Yakima has determined that the

latches designed to support

the load arms may appear to be latched when they are

not. In such a case,

the bicycle load arms may collapse while one or more

bicycles are mounted on

the rack, which could cause injury or product

damage. There have been no

reported injuries.



Retailers should cease all sales of these products

immediately and remove

them from the retail floor. Consumers should cease

use of these racks

immediately.



Retailers should not send product back to Yakima at

this time. Detailed

instructions regarding what steps should be taken by

retailers, plus

information about how Yakima will manage

compensation of retailers, will be

issued by Yakima in the next ten business days.

Later in the month, Yakima

will issue notices to consumers, detailing what

steps they should take

regarding the recall to receive compensation.



"We wanted to move quickly to get the word out to

our dealers and retailers

about this recall. We will be working hard to

develop a comprehensive plan

to take the products that have already shipped off

the market and out of

use, and will be communicating with our dealers and

customers in more detail

in the coming days," said Jim Clark, CEO of Yakima.



About Yakima: Yakima is a world leader in the

design and manufacture of

destination hardware for a wide range of vehicles.

Yakima's products include

vehicle racks for bikes, boats, ski equipment and

gear, plus a line of cargo

boxes for a variety of needs. Yakima Products is

headquartered in Beaverton,

Oregon. For more information, visit www.yakima.com

<http://www.yakima.com/>.





Mark J. Ginsberg

Attorney At Law

621 SW Morrison St., Ste. 900

Portland, OR 97204

(503) 542-3000

Fax (503) 227-2530

markjgi-@yahoo.com

www.bikesafetylaw.com









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