STIHL Recalls to Repair Mini-Cultivator Attachments Due to Laceration Hazard
Home product recall 20-193. Announced by CPSC on Sep 30, 2020.
- CPSC: stop using it
Watch and the shortlist are kept with a free account, on every device. Your watch list. CPSC’s own notice is on cpsc.gov.
The short answer
Announced by CPSC on Sep 30, 2020. Copied from CPSC on Oct 19, 2026.
- Stop using it what CPSC tells owners to do now (needs attention)
- Repair what’s offered
- About 185,000 units, as CPSC gives them
- Reported injuries, in the notice (needs attention)
Every line below is in CPSC’s own words, with its source beside it.
What’s wrong with it?
The gearbox could have mistakenly been installed upside down by the STIHL dealer causing the tines to rotate backwards toward the operator, posing a laceration hazard to the user.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
What should you do?
Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled mini-cultivator attachment and take it to an authorized STIHL servicing dealer for a free inspection and free proper assembly.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
- What the company offers to fix a recalled product or vehicle: a repair, a replacement or a refund, as the recall notice says. For a vehicle, dealers make the safety repair free. Follow the notice’s own steps, or contact the company it names. Source: CPSC; NHTSA (49 U.S.C. 30120).: repair.
- How to reach the firm: STIHL Inc. at 800-233-4729 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, e-mail at stihlrecall@stihl.us or online at www.stihlusa.com and click on “Information” and then “Product Recalls” and then “BF-KM recall” for more information.
Which ones are recalled?
The recalled mini-cultivator is one of 15 interchangeable attachments to the STIHL KombiMotor KM model powerheads, which are sold separately. The mini-cultivator is used to break up loose soil. It has four black discs with tines mounted to a gearbox and attached to a metal drive tube with a black deflector. The mini-cultivator attachment should have been assembled by the STIHL dealer and not sold in a box or assembled by the consumer. The recalled mini-cultivator attachments are those with the gearbox installed upside down.
About 185,000 units, as CPSC gives them.
STIHL BF-KM Mini-Cultivator attachments.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
CPSC’s photos
CPSC shows 4 photos on its notice. Hearth Record doesn’t copy them; each opens on cpsc.gov.
- Recalled mini-cultivator (the gearbox is mounted incorrectly and upside down). The axle is above the drive tube when the locating lug for coupling to the powerhead is facing up.
- Recalled mini-cultivator attachment. Close-up of gearbox mounted upside down so that the axle is above the drive tube.
- Proper assembly of mini-cultivator attachment with the gearbox mounted so that the axle is below the drive tube when the locating lug for the coupling to the powerhead at the other end is facing up.
- Properly assembled mini-cultivator attachment with the gearbox mounted so that the axle is below the drive tube.
Who made and sold it?
- Made by STIHL Incorporated, Virginia Beach, VA.
- Authorized STIHL servicing dealers nationwide from January 2005 through August 2020 for about $190.
- Made in United States, as the notice gives it.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
Was anyone hurt?
STIHL Inc. has received 12 reports of incidents, including six reports of lacerations to consumers.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
What the record doesn’t say
- The notice lists no UPCs, so check the model, the description and the photos.
- The notice lists no model numbers in a field of their own; its description may give them.
- How many have been returned or fixed isn’t in the notice.
Hearth Record wrote these lines.
Sources
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U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Recalls API.
Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily. Public domain (U.S. Government work). CPSC asks to be credited, and that no endorsement be implied.
Recalls of kids’ and home products are from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). CPSC does not endorse Hearth Record. Copied on Oct 19, 2026.