Otis Elevator Company Recalls to Inspect Private Residence Elevators Due to Entrapment Hazard; Risk of Serious Injury or Death to Young Children
Home product recall 21-056. Announced by CPSC on Dec 17, 2020.
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 Dec 17, 2020. Copied from CPSC on Oct 19, 2026.
- Repair what’s offered
- About 5,000 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?
Children can become entrapped in the space between the exterior landing (hoistway) door and the interior elevator car door or gate, and suffer serious injuries or death when the elevator is called to another floor.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
What should you do?
Consumers should disable or block children’s access to any Otis or CemcoLift private residence elevator and contact Otis to schedule a free inspection and the installation of space guard(s), if necessary.
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: Otis at 800-233-6847 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or online at www.otis.com and click on “IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION - PRIVATE RESIDENCE ELEVATORS” for more information.
Which ones are recalled?
This recall involves Otis private residence elevators purchased before 2012 and CemcoLift private residence elevators purchased from 1999 to 2012. The elevators are used in consumers’ homes.
About 5,000 units, as CPSC gives them.
Otis and CemcoLift Private Residence Elevators.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
CPSC’s photos
CPSC shows 2 photos on its notice. Hearth Record doesn’t copy them; each opens on cpsc.gov.
- Typical Private Residence Elevator with Exterior Landing (Hoistway) Door and Interior Elevator Car (Accordion) Door
- Typical scenario depicting a child trapped between an exterior landing (hoistway) door and an interior elevator car door. The exterior door locks the child in the space between the doors when the elevator is called to another floor, putting the child at risk of being crushed or pinned by the elevator car.
Who made and sold it?
- Made by Otis Elevator Company, Farmington, Ct.
- Made by CemcoLift Elevators Systems, formerly, Hatfield, Pa., a former subsidiary of Otis Elevator Company.
- Otis private residence elevators and parts were sold to independent third-party contractors and, occasionally, directly to consumers through 2012. Otis sold CemcoLift private residence elevators and parts to independent third-party contractors, and occasionally, directly to consumers from approximately 1999 to 2012. Otis and CemcoLift private residence elevators cost approximately $20,000 to purchase and install.
- Made in United States, as the notice gives it.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
Was anyone hurt?
Otis is aware of at least four incidents involving an Otis or CemcoLift private residence elevator that resulted in a crushed spine and abdomen, fractured hip, broken arm and feet, and bruising to the face and chest.
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.