History
The
Power Wheels brand name dates back to 1984, when San Francisco-based toy company Kransco acquired Pines of America, makers of
battery-
powered vehicles for children. Two years later, Kransco renamed the line “
Power Wheels“. By 1990 sales of the
battery-
powered vehicles reached over 1,000,000 per year.
In 1994,
Power Wheels was purchased by Mattel. Following Mattel’s acquisition of Kransco, the
Power Wheels line immediately became part of Fisher-Price
toys out of East Aurora, New York. With the addition of new vehicle licenses the new
Power Wheels by Fisher-Price and Mattel lines did well.
In 1999, Fisher-Price announced the Harley-Davidson Motorcycle
Ride-On which contributed to a year of
record sales for the entire product line.
Power Wheels Vehicles
Power Wheels ride-on
cars, trucks and motorcycles have been sold with over 100 model names.
The latest line of
Power Wheels features small scale versions of popular real world vehicles, including the Jeep Wrangler, Jeep Hurricane, Ford F-150, Ford Mustang, Kawasaki KFX quad, Harley-Davidson motorcycle, Cadillac Escalade EXT as well as Lightning McQueen from Pixar movie,
Cars.
Safety Recalls
Power Wheels vehicles have been the subject of Safety Recalls.
The
first recall in 1991 involved the 18 Volt Porsche 911, in which the contacts in the foot pedal switch could weld together in use. If this were to happen, the motor would remain running and the vehicle would continue moving forward, unable to stop. A new accelerator pedal was fitted that eliminated the possibility of welded contacts.
In 1998, Fisher-Price undertook a monumental recall of up to 10 million
Power Wheels 12 volt and Super 6 volt vehicles manufactured since 1986. The recall and repair program was conducted to replace
battery fuses and strengthen
battery connectors in order to prevent the units from overheating. The main difference of a post recall
Power Wheel is that the
original “H” (or on very early
Power Wheels, “S”) connectors are removed and replaced with the larger, black “A” connectors. If a
Power Wheels ride-on was built in or before 1998 and has the Black “A” connectors, then the recall
work has probably been performed.
Power Wheels Construction Diagrams
Power Wheels Construction Drawings (diagrams), drawings and part lists. For each Fisher Price
Power Wheel type the vendor provides the construction drawing, schematics or diagrams. These technical construction drawings are especially useful when upgrading/changing any parts of the
Power Wheels type you own. All available parts or your
Power Wheels is obtained in a part list. There are many popular modifications that can be accomplished
using these schematics.
References
Power Wheels
External links
Official
Power Wheels Website
Power Wheels Discussion Forum
Fisher-Price
Power Wheels Store
Power Wheels Games and Activities
Power Wheels Recall Information
Power Wheels & Peg Perego upgrades, Modifications, how to fix
v d e
Fisher-Price brands
Little
People Power Wheels Geotrax Imaginext Planet Heroes
Smart Cycle View-Master Rescue Heroes
Categories: Toy
cars and trucks |
Electric vehicles | Fisher-PriceHidden categories: Articles lacking sources from April 2008 | All articles lacking sources | Articles to be expanded from January 2007 | All articles to be expanded
