Barbie Dream Camper Power Wheels Recalled Over Unintended Acceleration

Vehicle recalls are typically pretty boring, but they usually don’t involve the Barbie Dream Camper.

As noticed by Jalopnik, the RV-inspired electric vehicle is the subject of a recall over unintended acceleration. This sounds pretty absurd, but the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) says Fisher-Price has received 17 reports of the toy continuing to move forward even after children have removed their foot from the accelerator.

No injuries have been reported, but the recall impacts approximately 44,000 Power Wheels Barbie Dream Campers which were sold at Walmart between July 2018 and January 2019. If you’re not sure what a Barbie Dream Camper looks like, the CPSC breathlessly describes them as ride-on vehicles that are “hot pink with blue accents and have the Barbie logo printed on the back.” The listing also notes the Power Wheels have a play kitchen, a fold out grill and a pretend campfire.

Parents are being asked to prevent their children from playing with the $400 (£309 / €351) toy and contact Fisher-Price for a free repair kit. Interestingly, this doesn’t seem to be a simple process as it appears parents will have to take the Barbie Dream Camper to an authorized Power Wheels service center. There technicians will install a new foot pedal and foot switch housing. They will also provide a free safety inspection.

One of the more interesting things about this incident is the revelation that the Barbie Dream Camper has a working radio with an “MP3 jack”. The toy even has a pretend GPS navigation system with directions voiced by Barbie herself.

https://youtu.be/UU2WJYbtSvs