The Harbor Freight jack stand recall is specifically related to the Pittsburgh branded 3-ton (Part #56371 & #61196) and 6-ton (Part #61197) jack stands. Discontinue the use of these Harbor Freight jack stands immediately!
1,478,000 of these Pittsburgh Automotive branded jack stands could have defects that can cause complete use failure. Meaning the vehicle supported by the jack stands could drop suddenly and cause major injury or death. If you or your friends might have any of these jack stands, be sure to check them immediately for these part numbers (#56371, #61196, #61197) before using them again.
(UPDATE: Communications Director at Harbor Freight, Craig Hoffman, reached out with this statement- “At Harbor Freight, The safety of our customers will always be our primary concern. Out of an abundance of caution, we tested all the models of jack stands currently being sold and determined they are safe when used properly.”)
Harbor Freight Jack Stand Risk
The safety risks listed in the recall for these Pittsburgh Automotive branded 3 and 6-ton jack stands is: “Under load, with a potential shift in weight, on certain units the jack stand pawl may disengage from the extension lifting post, allowing the stand to drop suddenly, with potential to injure people near or under a lifted vehicle.”
Pittsburgh Automotive Jack Stands Failure
“After ongoing quality testing, inspection and assurance reviews…it was determined that product quality was inconsistent due to aging of the tooling and inconsistent location indexing of the pawl armature hole.” Basically, Harbor Freight has manufactured so many of these ubiquitous jack stands over the years that there manufacturing tooling is worn out. The bad part is that we don’t know how long this production quality issue has been an issue. There have been nearly 1.5-million of these specific jack stands sold.
Full Harbor Freight Jack Stand Recall Information
You can read the full details of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recalls here; 3-Ton Jack Stand Recall and 6-Ton Jack Stand Recall.
Harbor Freight asks that you bring any of these Pittsburgh Automotive 3 Ton and/or 6 Ton Heavy Duty Steel Jack Stands that you own into one of their stores. You will receive a Harbor Freight Tools gift card equal to the retail price (plus applicable taxes). Harbor Freight asks that you do this once shelter at home orders are lifted and stores open back up.
Are More Harbor Freight Jack Stand Recalls on The Way?
Other Harbor Freight Pittsburgh branded jacks stands are also being reviewed for faults. That evaluation process has been delayed due to COVID-19. However, there is no reported history of any customer incidents with these other Harbor Freight jack stands.
