by Guy J. Sagi - Monday, April 9, 2018

Smith & Wesson determined that in rare circumstances—using ammunition that produces high levels of felt recoil—the M&P380 Shield EZ Manual Thumb Safety pistol can have its manual safety engaged during firing. Should this occur, owners will not be able to shoot the next round until the safety is reset to its “fire” position.

To ensure every Smith & Wesson handgun meets the company’s standards for reliability and performance, as of April 4, 2018, it has engineered the manual safety so the gun will be less susceptible to the influence of bullet weight, velocity and loads. Any M&P Shield EZ Manual Thumb Safety pistol produced before April 4 is eligible for the no-cost upgrade. To determine if this consumer advisory applies to your pistol, please use the serial number verification tool on the company’s consumer advisory serial number lookup page, which is scheduled to go live on Tuesday, April 10.

If your pistol is subject to this advisory, please call Smith & Wesson at (800) 331-0852 or e-mail MP380EZAdvisory@Smith-Wesson.com. A FedEx return label and shipping instructions will be mailed promptly to facilitate the return of your M&P380 Shield EZ pistol. Any other questions can also be answered by calling the toll-free number.

Smith & Wesson is also reminding owners to follow the warnings in the owner’s manual that advise never using Plus-P (+P), Plus-P-Plus (+P+) or reloaded ammunition in the M&P380 EZ. Always use factory-manufactured ammunition produced to SAAMI specs.

The M&P380 Shield EZ handgun was introduced in early 2018 and is designed for those enthusiasts who often find working traditional semi-automatic pistol slides challenging. It is chambered in .380 ACP and is also available in a model without a manual safety, which does not qualify for the voluntary upgrade.