Garmin Recalls Certain Nüvi GPS Navigation Devices

Garmin announced today that they are voluntarily recalling approximately 1.25 million nüvi personal navigation devices. The company sold about 796,000 nüvi GPS navigation devices, that are affected by the recall, in the United States.

Even though only the models 200W, 250W, 260W, 7xx and 7xxT of the Garmin nüvi GPS device are affected by the recall, the stock price of GRMN is tumbling, as investors lose confidence in the company. In inter day trading the stock price was down 1.17%.

The devices are recalled because the battery that was produced by a third-party supplier can have overheating issues. The overheating problem is related to the design of the printed circuit board (PCB) within these devices. As the company stated, there are only rare instances where a combination of different factors can cause the possibility of overheating, which could lead to a fire hazard.

There were only ten instances of this overheating problem with certain nüvi models reported so far. None of these incidents has led to any injuries and property damages were very limited. Notwithsatnding these facts, Garmin is recalling the units to make sure that there are not even the slightest potential fire hazards.
Continue reading on the next page.

If you own or operate a Garmin nüvi, you should go to the nüvi Battery PCB Recall web site and check whether your device's number is listed there. Only the nüvi 200W, nüvi 250W, nüvi 260W, nüvi 7xx and nüvi 7xxT are affected from the recall. Once you are on that web site, you enter the serial number of your device and if your device is affected by the recall, you will then receive instructions on how to return your GPS and get a new one free of charge.

While Garmin hopes that this recall has no adverse effect on its results of operations, financial position or cash flows, it is likely that this recall will affect the stock price of Garmin (NASDAQ: GRMN), at least short-term.