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Harbor Freight officially recalls replacement jack stands due to bad welds

The company is going above and beyond, accepting even nonrecalled jack stands for refund or store credit if a customer feels unsafe.

Kyle Hyatt Former news and features editor
Kyle Hyatt (he/him/his) hails originally from the Pacific Northwest, but has long called Los Angeles home. He's had a lifelong obsession with cars and motorcycles (both old and new).
Kyle Hyatt
2 min read
failedjackstand

Harbor Freight's recall replacement jack stands are now being recalled too.

Mike Galli via Facebook

Harbor Freight has been having problems with its Pittsburgh-branded jack stands lately, with a huge initial recall having been initiated back in May over locking pawls that wouldn't correctly engage and could cause a vehicle to fall. 

Then we saw a report in June that a replacement jack stand issued to a customer failed due to bad welds. Now, according to an announcement Tuesday by Harbor Freight CEO Eric Smidt, those replacement units are getting the recall treatment too, due to a "welding defect in a small number" of them.

That recall officially covers part number 56373, but the company, as part of its announcement, told customers that it would accept any model of Pittsburgh jack stand that a customer felt may be unsafe, and will issue a refund or store credit for them. That's a big deal.

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"I want to apologize to all of our customers," Smidt said in a statement. "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."

The company has concluded an investigation into its other Pittsburgh 3-, 6- or 12-ton jack stands and found no issues, but seeing a company known for selling some of the cheapest tools imaginable standing behind its customers like this is pretty cool.

If you or anyone you know is still using Pittsburgh jack stands, stop immediately and check the SKU located on the label on the jack itself. If it's one of the affected numbers, or if you're not sure, take it back. Saving a buck is cool -- especially these days -- but it's not worth the risk.

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