Harbor Freight Tools power drills
6 reports to CPSC, the latest made Mar 21, 2021. A report isn’t a recall.
Watch and the shortlist are kept with a free account, on every device. Your watch list. CPSC’s own search is on saferproducts.gov.
At a glance
From SaferProducts.gov, released Oct 25, 2026.
- 6reports to CPSC
- Mar 21, 2021the latest report was made
- Aug 4, 2015the earliest
- 0with the company’s comments
- Brand
- Harbor Freight Tools
- Maker
- Harbor Freight ToolsMakers, importers or sellers, as the reports name them
- Product
- Power drillsPortable, and their accessoriesCPSC’s product type: Portable Power Drills and Accessories (code 855), in Home Maintenance and Structures: Tools & Hardware
Other ways the reports write the brand (2)
“Harbor Freight” and “Harbor Frieght”
By month
The numbers, as a table
| Month | Reports |
|---|---|
| March 2021 | 1 |
| October 2019 | 1 |
| April 2019 | 1 |
| January 2019 | 1 |
| July 2016 | 1 |
| August 2015 | 1 |
How badly anyone was hurt
- Seen by a doctor or nurse 1 CPSC: Injury, Seen by Medical Professional
- Hurt, no treatment 1 CPSC: Injury, No First Aid or Medical Attention Received
- No one hurt 4 CPSC: Incident, No Injury
As each report says it, in short words; CPSC’s own words are under each.
The reports, as CPSC published them
Reports people made to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. CPSC publishes each one after sending it to the company named, and doesn’t guarantee they’re accurate. A report isn’t a recall.
Each report is the words of the person who made it, as CPSC published them. The company’s comments, where CPSC published any, are set apart as the company’s own.
CPSC, SaferProducts.gov public database export. Released Oct 25, 2026. Updated daily.
-
Seen by a doctor or nurse Made Mar 21, 2021, sent to the company Mar 29, 2021, published by CPSC Apr 12, 2021
The product, in the report: Harbor Freight Tools Item 62295 Cobalt High Speed Steel Drill Bit Set. Manufacturer is reported by the store manager as Harbor Freight Tools, Camarillo, CA
I purchased Item 62295, Cobalt High Speed Steel Drill Bit Set from Harbor Freight Inc. They state that they are also the manufacturer of the product. On 2 occasion, while drilling into steel pipe, the drill bit broke. One was a 1/2 inch and the other a 25/64 inch, and they were drilling straight without any sideways torque or angulation; one incident occurred when using a drill press, so the bit was unambiguously going straight down. On that occasion, since I was pressing down on the drill press handle, the broken end of the bit continued down and I suffered a severe injury to my thumb. These drill bits are hazardous and should not be for sale.
- Model
- 62295
- UPC
- 92363 62295
- Serial number
- None
- Bought from
- Harbor Freight Tools Inc., New Mexico
- Bought
- Apr 11, 2020
- Where
- ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico: Home/
Apartment/ Condominium - Who was involved
- Age 70, Male
- The reporter’s relation to them
- Self
- As this report names them
- Brand Harbor Freight Tools, made or sold by Harbor Freight Tools
- How badly, in CPSC’s words
- Injury, Seen by Medical Professional
-
No one hurt Made Oct 21, 2019, sent to the company Feb 19, 2020, published by CPSC Mar 4, 2020
The product, in the report: Harbor Freight Tools model # 62383, Hammer Drill
Side handle of drill unexpectedly came loose and cannot be tightened securely anymore. Harbor Freight tools Model # 62383
- Model
- 62383
- Where
- Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey: Home/
Apartment/ Condominium - Who was involved
- Age 60, Male
- The reporter’s relation to them
- Self
- As this report names them
- Brand Harbor Freight Tools, made or sold by Harbor Freight Tools
- How badly, in CPSC’s words
- Incident, No Injury
-
Hurt, no treatment Made Apr 15, 2019, sent to the company Jun 7, 2019, published by CPSC Jun 21, 2019
The product, in the report: close quarter drill
(04/02/2019) The consumer was holding the drill. Suddenly it started spinning full blast and caught his left hand between the thumb and first finger. The palm of the consumer left hand was lacerated.
No medical attention was required.
The consumer stated that he later opened the product and saw that the power wires are very close.
- Model
- Item #92956
- Bought from
- unknown
- Where
- Buffalo, New York: Home/
Apartment/ Condominium - Who was involved
- Age 75, Male
- The reporter’s relation to them
- Self
- As this report names them
- Brand Harbor Freight, made or sold by Harbor Freight Tools
- How badly, in CPSC’s words
- Injury, No First Aid or Medical Attention Received
-
No one hurt Made Jan 18, 2019, sent to the company Feb 28, 2019, published by CPSC Mar 15, 2019
The product, in the report: Cordless Drill
The consumer indicates that he charged the battery to his cordless drill for approximately forty-five minutes and then proceeded to install the battery. The consumer placed the drill on top of a hat that was sitting on a chair afterwards. About four hours later, the consumer woke up to the smell of burning wires. When the consumer checked around his home, he noticed that the drill had caught fire. The consumer quickly picked up the hat the drill was in and threw it on his front yard. Ten minutes later the consumer removed the battery from the drill; the consumer states that the drill was still hot. The consumer notes that the drill had a hole in it approximately one inch in diameter.
The consumer states that the smell of burning wires still lingers in his home.
The consumer indicates that he has another one of these drills in his vehicle that he has since removed the battery from in fear of another fire.
The consumer indicates that, prior to the incident, the unit was used once or twice per month.
- Model
- 68287
- Serial number
- 370471428
- Bought from
- Harbor Freight Tools, New York
- Bought
- Jun 15, 2013, about then
- Where
- Kirkville, New York: Home/
Apartment/ Condominium - Who was involved
- Male
- The reporter’s relation to them
- Unspecified
- As this report names them
- Brand Harbor Freight Tools, made or sold by Harbor Freight Tools
- How badly, in CPSC’s words
- Incident, No Injury
-
No one hurt Made Jul 12, 2016, sent to the company Jul 20, 2016, published by CPSC Aug 12, 2016
The product, in the report: Harbor Freight cordless drill with battery and charger
Charged the Harbor Freight cordless drill while I was working on my new house. Before leaving I took the battery off the charger and put it on the drill. I ran the drill for a few seconds to check that it was charged and then left it on a table and left. The next day when I arrived at the house there was a strong odor of burnt plastic when I first opened the door. I checked all thru the house and then saw the drill. It was melted at the middle of the handle and bent in half. The top of the plywood it was setting on was slightly scorched leaving the outline of the battery. This could have very easily burned the unoccupied home !!!!!
- Bought from
- Harbor Freight, New York
- Bought
- Jul 1, 2014, about then
- Where
- Rome, New York: Home/
Apartment/ Condominium - Who was involved
- Age 59, Male
- The reporter’s relation to them
- Self
- As this report names them
- Brand Harbor Frieght, made or sold by Harbor Freight Tools
- How badly, in CPSC’s words
- Incident, No Injury
-
No one hurt Made Aug 4, 2015, sent to the company Sep 2, 2015, published by CPSC Sep 17, 2015
The product, in the report: Power Drill Serial# 370471351
To whom it may concern:
We received the enclosed electric drill as a consumer complaint. The drill was purchased at Harbor Freight Tools, Salem Oregon. The drill was used approx. 6-8 times over a six month period.
As you can see the obvious reason we are sending it to your attention.
The consumer stated that he had used the drill the night before and in the morning he stated there was a foul burning smell emitting from the battery and the drill it’s self-had begun to melt. The drill was located on the battery pack; however it was not plugged into the wall.
Thank You
---------------------------------------------------------
Drill was purchased approx.4-6 month ago at Harbor Freight Tool in Salem Oregon.
I believe I paid somewhere around 25.00 for it.
Used it again on May 27th. On May 28th my wife ask what was wrong with the drill as it appeared to have melted. The battery charger was emitting a powerful burning smell. The power pack was not plugged in to the wall outlet but the drill was on the battery pack overnight.
I feel this could have been a health hazard and possible could have started a fire if it had gone unnoticed.
- Serial number
- 370471351
- Bought from
- Harbor Freight Tools, California
- Where
- Salem, Oregon: Unspecified
- Who was involved
- Male
- The reporter’s relation to them
- Unspecified
- As this report names them
- made or sold by Harbor Freight Tools
- How badly, in CPSC’s words
- Incident, No Injury
CPSC’s disclaimer
Disclaimer: CPSC does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the contents of the Publicly Available Consumer Product Safety Information Database on SaferProducts.gov, particularly with respect to information submitted by people outside of CPSC.
Word for word, from the disclaimer in CPSC’s export.
Sources
Sources
-
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, SaferProducts.gov public database export.
Released Oct 25, 2026 and checked Oct 25, 2026. Updated daily. Public domain (U.S. Government work). CPSC asks to be credited, and that no endorsement be implied.
Reports of harm are from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), on SaferProducts.gov. CPSC does not endorse Hearth Record.