PSA RECALL on 6-Ton Jack Stands from Harbor Freight

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"

 

No laughing matter but please do not attempt this at home....lol

 

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

 

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?"

 

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwcWdKwPvhI

 

Checked my email last night:

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 .

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 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

 

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

https://www.thedrive.com/news/34038/harbor-freight-customers-replacement-jack-stands-immediately-failed-too

 

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 ( ).

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 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. EZ to burn up that store credit on HF disposables, rust converter paint, gloves etc.
Ordered a set of ESCO jack stands which use a pin for more confidence while working under the car.