PSA RECALL on 6-Ton Jack Stands from Harbor Freight

[aggrex]

Not exactly a review but this is important:

Working under your vehicle can be a rewarding experience and jack stands should be major part of the tools needed to work safely under a vehicle. This is a PSA in case you own a pair of these HF 6-ton jack stands with part# 61197. Present a copy of the pdf to speed the reimbursement process.

Description of Defect :
"For certain units, the ratchet teeth on the jack stand lifting extension post may inconsistently engage the pawl to a sufficient depth"

 

[aggrex]

NOTE: there has been a Harbor Freight RECALL UPDATE that adds model# 56371, 61196, and 61197

 

[aggrex]

Quoted from Jalopnik:

"Moral of the story here though: If you’ve got Harbor Freight jack stands that were recalled, check in on the above-linked cases to figure out what to do. If you have other Harbor Freight jack stands, I’d strongly recommend ditching them or relegating them to non-life-preserving duty. Being crushed by your car because a cheap jack stand failed would be such a deeply awful way to be killed or maimed, why risk it to save a few bucks?"

 

[slomatt]

Woah, I almost bought a pair of these a month or two ago since I needed taller jack stands they were well reviewed on multiple sites. Instead I ended up buying a pair of US made stands with a higher rating and a double locking setup, glad I did. Thanks for posting about the recall.

 

[aggrex]

Slightly out of focus youtube video but gets right to the point

 

[aggrex]

Woah, I almost bought a pair of these a month or two ago since I needed taller jack stands they were well reviewed on multiple sites. Instead I ended up buying a pair of US made stands with a higher rating and a double locking setup, glad I did. Thanks for posting about the recall.

Can you post what brand you bought as that will keep many diy Overlanders safer. Anybody have suggestions on safer or locking pin design jack stands they recommend?

 

[USStrongman]

As for the HF part numbers... the number changes for each manufacturer they hire to make them. If you look at some HF products, they can have as many as 8-10 part numbers that all cross reference to the same product. The numbers don't vary by much. The longer they have sold the item, the greater potential for multiple part numbers. I guarantee they had leftover boxes from the previous generation stands and put the new stands, from a new manufacturer and new part number, in the old part number box.

And for clarity sake, Pittsburgh is a HF BRAND. HF is not a reseller of that brand. They own it. Much like most everything they sell. They design it here and have it manufactured in China, primarily. Each brand - Chicago Electric, Bauer, Earthquake, Hercules, Warrior, Drill Master all are owned by HF.

Great demo video BTW.

 

[grubworm]

yeah, i have the same HF stands and have had issues with them not holding a load. they were cheap, so i just welded brackets on them and use them to support logs i'm slabbing. there are other brands of this design, but i just rather spend a few bucks more and get the stands that are pinned at the desired height and not use the pawl and teeth design to hold something i'm crawling under. an extra $40 is worth it to keep my skull from getting crushed. i LOVE harbor freight, but not for tools where my life is dependent on them

 

[MuckSavage]

Yeah, HF makes some good stuff, some stuff junk. 12 years ago, I was installing a lift on my wife's Ramcharger using Craftsman 10 ton jackstands. I had just climbed out from under the truck to wash up/ grab lunch when the passenger side rear crashed to the ground, coming to rest on the brake drum. When I jacked it up, put the wheels/tires back on, I saw that the pawl on the jackstands broke off. I took them back to Sears & they told me "you purchased them 14 months ago, they have a 12 month warranty"

Soooo, its not just HF that can fail

 

[Macky]

Thankfully mine were manufactured before January 1st!

 

[aggrex]

View in Browser​ Checked my email and found this: IMPORTANT SAFETY RECALL NOTICE​ May 19, 2020 NHTSA Campaign I.D. Numbers: 20E-016 and 20E-027 Dear Sir or Madam, This notice is sent to you in accordance with the requirements of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act. Harbor Freight Tools (“HFT”) has decided that a defect which relates to motor vehicle safety may exist in certain Pittsburgh Automotive 3 Ton Heavy Duty Steel Jack Stands (models 61196 or 56371) and 6 Ton Heavy Duty Steel Jack Stands (model 61197). Our records reflect that you purchased at least one of these pairs of Jack Stands. What is the Condition? For certain units of the Pittsburgh Automotive 3 Ton and 6 Ton Heavy Duty Steel Jack Stands there is a potential, while under load and with a shift in weight, for the pawl to disengage from the extension lifting post, allowing the stand to drop suddenly. This condition could cause serious injury for people near or under a lifted vehicle, and/or damage to property. As a precautionary measure, we request that you discontinue use of the jack stand(s) identified below immediately. Jack Stands included in this recall campaign include: Item Number Item Description​ Sale Date Range 61196​ Pittsburgh Automotive 3 Ton Heavy Duty Steel Jack Stand​ January 2013 to March 2020 56371​ Pittsburgh Automotive 3 Ton Heavy Duty Steel Jack Stand​ March 2020 to April 2020 61197​ Pittsburgh Automotive 6 Ton Heavy Duty Steel Jack Stand​ June 2013 to March 2020 No other Item Numbers are involved in this recall. The 61196 and 61197 jack stands can be identified by checking the item number found on the yellow part of the label on the base of each jack stand. The 56371 jack stands can be identified by checking the item number found on the label on the top of each jack stand. What will Harbor Freight Tools do? To all customers who participate in the Recall by returning their pairs of 3 Ton or 6 Ton Jack Stands item numbers 56371, 61196, and/or 61197, Harbor Freight Tools will provide a gift card equal to the retail price of the jack stands you originally purchased. Along with providing the gift card equal to the retail price of the jack stands you originally purchased, Harbor Freight Tools is providing a 20% one-time use coupon; see bottom of this notification. This coupon may be used toward the purchase of new jack stands, or toward the purchase of any other item in the store not subject to the coupon limitations. To use, customers must hand the coupon to the store cashier to scan. What should you do? Following the lifting of any applicable “Shelter At Home Orders”, please bring your 3 Ton and/or 6 Ton Heavy Duty Steel Jack Stands, item numbers 56371, 61196, or 61197, to your local Harbor Freight Tools store to receive a Harbor Freight Tools gift card equal to the retail price of the jack stands you originally purchased (plus applicable tax). You do NOT need to provide a receipt; you only need to return your pair of Jack Stands. Directions to your nearest Harbor Freight Tools store can be found on our website at www.harborfreight.com. Customer Service Help: If you believe that you returned your jack stands and the store failed to provide you with a gift card within a reasonable period of time, please contact: Recalls@HarborFreight.com Harbor Freight Tools Attn: Customer Service P.O. Box 6010 Camarillo, CA 93011-6010 800-444-3353 If you still believe that HFT failed to remedy the issue described above without charge and within 60 days of the date of this notice, you may file a complaint with: Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590 Or call the toll free Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-9153) or go to http://www.safercar.gov Thank you for being a Harbor Freight Tools customer. We regret this inconvenience but hope you understand that our concern for your safety is paramount. Sincerely, Harbor Freight Tools​

 

[slomatt]

Can you post what brand you bought as that will keep many diy Overlanders safer. Anybody have suggestions on safer or locking pin design jack stands they recommend?

The new set I bought are made by US Jack. They offer several different sizes of jack stands, are a military supplier, and get good reviews on sites like garagejournal.com.

 

[aggrex]

THE DRIVE just released an article about the new replacement HF jack stands

Harbor Freight Customer's Replacement Jack Stands Immediately Failed Too

 

[Offroadnutz]

scary...

 

[USStrongman]

Thats hilarious. HF has become complacent. Its a great place for garden hoses, mid level hand tools, odds and ends. I'd never buy a generator, air compressor, any pneumatic and clearly, no jack stands. Their 1-4 ton floor jacks work fine, but the seals tend to blow out prematurely and leak like piss. I worked PT at one locally and let me tell you, its scary seeing the returns come back. If you are not sure if HF is for you, look for the corkboard with the recall notices. SO many things on it.

 

[SkyZero]

Oh man, I have a pair of those and just got done with front end service on my Mini where it was up on 4 standsfor a week or so. Thanks for the heads up, going to take them in and get another pair from another store.

 

[aggrex]

PSA UPDATE: Looks like we can return more HF jack stands.....


To the Harbor Freight Community:

I'm writing to apologize. I often reach out to tell you about Harbor Freight's commitment to quality and all the investments we've made to deliver quality tools at the lowest prices. Your trust matters deeply to me and I'm proud of how far we've come. So when we have a product recall, it hurts.

A few months ago, we recalled our Pittsburgh 3 ton and 6 ton steel jack stands (SKUs 56371, 61196 and 61197) due to a manufacturer's defect. We asked customers to return them and receive a gift card that could be used to purchase replacement jack stands. I felt terrible about that recall because you should never have a concern about the safety of any of our products.

Today, I feel even worse. I'm disappointed and embarrassed because we've identified a welding defect in a small number of the Pittsburgh 3 ton steel jack stands (SKU 56373) that replaced the recalled jack stands. We're now adding these jack stands to our recall. Unfortunately, this defect wasn't discovered during the initial recall investigation. If you own these jack stands or any of the jack stands in our original recall, whether or not you have had an issue with them, please stop using them immediately and bring them back to your local Harbor Freight Store for a full cash refund or store credit (see details here).

We have investigated all of our other Pittsburgh 3 ton steel jack stands (SKUs 56371, 56372 and 57308) as well as the Pittsburgh 6 ton steel jack stands (SKUs 56368, 56369 and 56370) and Pittsburgh 12 ton steel jack stands (SKUs 56374 and 56375) and did not find the defect. Although none of these other jack stands are being recalled, if you own any of them and have any concern whatsoever, please bring them back and we'll give you a full cash refund or store credit for those as well.

I want to apologize to all of our customers. While we've dramatically grown our team of engineers and inspectors, and intensified our tests and inspections, I assure you that the lessons learned from this will drive further improvement.

As the owner and founder of Harbor Freight, I want you to know that we stand behind every product we sell and that safety will always be our top priority.

Sincerely,

Eric Smidt
Owner and Founder
Harbor Freight Tools

 

[aggrex]

Just got my $60 store credit for non-recalled orange 3-ton and grey 6-ton jack stands. No questions asked after I showed them ERIC's latest email. Ordered a set of ESCO jack stands which have a pin for more secure lifting while working under the vehicle.

 

[KenDF]

PSA UPDATE: Looks like we can return more HF jack stands.....


To the Harbor Freight Community:

I'm writing to apologize. I often reach out to tell you about Harbor Freight's commitment to quality and all the investments we've made to deliver quality tools at the lowest prices. Your trust matters deeply to me and I'm proud of how far we've come. So when we have a product recall, it hurts.

A few months ago, we recalled our Pittsburgh 3 ton and 6 ton steel jack stands (SKUs 56371, 61196 and 61197) due to a manufacturer's defect. We asked customers to return them and receive a gift card that could be used to purchase replacement jack stands. I felt terrible about that recall because you should never have a concern about the safety of any of our products.

Today, I feel even worse. I'm disappointed and embarrassed because we've identified a welding defect in a small number of the Pittsburgh 3 ton steel jack stands (SKU 56373) that replaced the recalled jack stands. We're now adding these jack stands to our recall. Unfortunately, this defect wasn't discovered during the initial recall investigation. If you own these jack stands or any of the jack stands in our original recall, whether or not you have had an issue with them, please stop using them immediately and bring them back to your local Harbor Freight Store for a full cash refund or store credit (see details here).

We have investigated all of our other Pittsburgh 3 ton steel jack stands (SKUs 56371, 56372 and 57308) as well as the Pittsburgh 6 ton steel jack stands (SKUs 56368, 56369 and 56370) and Pittsburgh 12 ton steel jack stands (SKUs 56374 and 56375) and did not find the defect. Although none of these other jack stands are being recalled, if you own any of them and have any concern whatsoever, please bring them back and we'll give you a full cash refund or store credit for those as well.

I want to apologize to all of our customers. While we've dramatically grown our team of engineers and inspectors, and intensified our tests and inspections, I assure you that the lessons learned from this will drive further improvement.

As the owner and founder of Harbor Freight, I want you to know that we stand behind every product we sell and that safety will always be our top priority.

Sincerely,

Eric Smidt
Owner and Founder
Harbor Freight Tools

Thank you. I appreciate your honesty and know it must be a difficult situation for you. Just want you to know integrity matters and yours has shown through.

 

[madcratebuilder]

I just read that the replacement stands are also being recalled.