They're actually willing to take back all jacks... no questions asked. Regardless if they're recalled or not.
Cash or store credit.
Cash or store credit.
Recall! Harbor Freight Jack Stands (1 Viewer)
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This is the email we got...
"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"
"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"
Just bringing this back to the top. I had missed that they were taking any of their old jackstands.
I printed this out and took it in, but my local store seemed pretty knowledgeable about the whole process. Others have commented about stores not knowing the credit over cash price, though, so YMMV. I'd have the list handy.
From here: js-details - https://www.harborfreight.com/js-details
Mine were the 6-ton 38847 versions (Pittsburgh), so some of the oldest ones on the list. I'm not sure what versions there were before that or if those are the "original" ones?
Currently, their Inside Track Club also has the 3-ton and 6-ton jack stands on sale in all colors:
So, if you take store credit on them and turn around and use the ITC discount, you can get a brand new pair of 3-ton or 6-ton jackstands for $10 and change (the recall refunds sales tax as well).
I took two pair of my HF jack stands I've had for ages in last night. The paint was faded; there was rust on the teeth, cradle, and bases; and two of them were missing their labels. No problem. Put them in a shopping cart, push them over there, processed the refund onto a gift card, grabbed another shopping cart, picked out two boxes of new ones, got a couple other things while I was there, and checked out using the gift card and paying the additional balance.
I've never had any issues with them, but I have to say that the new design is nicer and the locking pin and braces and feet at the bases give you some more peace of mind over the old ones. For $10 and change a pair, it seems like a no-brainer.
Now I have to swap the news ones for the ones that are currently under my project so that I can take those in and get them replaced as well.
iptman
SILVER Star
Worth a watch...
Devilmans Hand
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How did i miss this, i have like 10 of these things.
Diff Kraken
SILVER Star
I went in to look at these new ones over the summer and had trouble getting the pin out... kept tugging on it until the column came down in a hurry and the saddle crushed my thumb. LOL... I walked straight out of the store high on adrenaline. While my body went into some level of shock I walked into the Aldi, stuck my thumb into a bottled water from a display case and walked out. Bled a lot and lost most of that nail. Drove down the road a mile and bought some stands elsewhere. YMMV.
ace10
Another one bites the dust!
They don't look like a "normal" jackstand, but they're damn good.
Diff Kraken
SILVER Star
They *(edit: the new HF stands) looked like they'd work well- good craftsmanship on the column teeth and the pawl had solid engagement, but I was mad at em after they smashed my thumb - only reason I got different ones.
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ace10
Another one bites the dust!
I'm using the aluminum Big Reds.
Diff Kraken
SILVER Star
Ah ok- those looked like they did well in the video test but don’t reach as high
iptman
SILVER Star
Almost 3 years on, I have no complaints about my US Jack stands.
The video is interesting - particularly the issues of failure strength of the whole jack and the latching mechanism. That a single jack, rated at 3000# in all cases exceeded 9000# before catastrophic failure is pretty impressive (although a 3x safety factor is fairly standard for things). On top of that I use 6-ton (and just purchased a set of 10-ton) jack stands more for their additional height and stability for the trucks and SUVs I work on than their capacity - which also factors into his concerns about tipping.
That said, I never had any issue with the old Pittsburgh jack stands I've been using for about two decades. I do realize there were issues with the newer ones - and the older ones could likely wear over time. I appreciate his concerns, but some of them are more an issue of personal responsibility. I make sure that my equipment is in good condition before using it, that I'm using them on stable surfaces, and make sure that they're set up in a way that limits the chances of tipping (wheel chocks, for one). Granted, accidents happen, but I also see some pretty sketchy setups out there that are just asking for failure - not to mention a lot of people under cars with only a hydraulic jack.
Overall, be careful when you're lifting a vehicle, make sure it is supported securely, and be aware of the dangers.