Horizon Fitness Treadmills Horsepower Claims Are False, Class Action Says [UPDATE]

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A proposed class action alleges the maker of Horizon Fitness treadmills has “overstated and inflated” the horsepower the products are capable of reaching during normal use. 

The 34-page complaint against defendant Johnson Health Tech North American, Inc. says that although horsepower, i.e. the mechanical output of a motor, is one of the most important considerations for a consumer in the market for a treadmill, the company has “deceitfully” overstated the Horizon Fitness products’ horsepower as a means to induce buyers into paying an inflated price for the machines. 

The case claims that although Horizon Fitness has touted its treadmills as able to operate at a continuous horsepower (CHP) of between 2.5 CHP and 4.0 CHP, depending on the model, all of the company’s treadmills run “well below” those numbers. According to the complaint, it is not possible for Horizon Fitness treadmills to operate at the advertised horsepower when drawing electrical power from the standard 120-volt, 15-amp outlet typically found in residential homes in the U.S. 

“Horizon misled consumers into believing that the Treadmills actually generate and maintain the represented continuous horsepower, even though the horsepower misrepresentations can never be obtained during actual household use by the Plaintiff and consumer Class Members,” the filing alleges, claiming Horizon Fitness charged a premium price for the machines based on the misrepresented capabilities. 

The specific models of Horizon Fitness treadmills mentioned in the lawsuit, alongside their advertised continuous horsepower numbers, include: 

• Horizon 7.0 AT (3.0 CHP);
• Horizon 7.4 AT (3.5 CHP);
• Horizon 7.8 AT (4.0 CHP);
• Horizon T101 (2.5 CHP);
• Horizon T202 (2.75 CHP); and 
• Horizon T303 (3.0 CHP).

From the complaint: 

“Defendant’s Treadmills are rated at 15 amps with a 110-volt circuit, which equates to a theoretical maximum mechanical power output of 1,650 watts or 2.21 horsepower output without taking into consideration the motor’s actual efficiency and power factor losses, which further decrease the motor’s horsepower output. Heat and other factors decrease the motor’s efficiency, and therefore further decrease the power output of the motor while in actual use.” 

After accounting for the effects of the power factor and efficiency losses, the lawsuit says, Horizon Treadmills are capable of providing “only a fraction” of the advertised continuous horsepower. Per the case, Horizon Fitness's CHP representations are based on "an inflated laboratory testing power draw" not possible in a regular household.

“To be true, Horizon’s horsepower representations would have to defy the laws of physics and allow Horizon’s Treadmills to produce more CHP than the Treadmills are actually capable of producing from a common household outlet power source in the United States and for which the Treadmills are rated and marketed,” the case says.

The lawsuit looks to cover all consumers in the United States who bought a Horizon Fitness treadmill during the maximum period of time permitted by law for personal, family or household use and not for resale.

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