HARBOR FREIGHT ISSUES JACK STAND RECALL OVER COLLAPSE CONCERN

Everybody knows a gear head with one. And you can’t go a day at the track without seeing them. Two Harbor Freight jack stands have just been recalled over concerns that they could collapse from a shift in weight, causing the, “pawl to disengage from the extension lifting post.” This would result the jack suddenly collapsing, and could result in series injury or even death. If you have any Harbor Freight jack stand, the company says to stop using it now and read on to see if your model is listed in the recall, per The Drive.

Harbor Freight says their Pittsburg model three- and six-ton jack stands with item number 56371, 61196 and 61197 are the recalled models. Item 56371 is the three ton model, and the item number can be found on the label on the top of the stand. Item numbers 61196 and 61197 are the six ton stands, and the item number can be identified on the yellow part of a label on the lower base of the stand.

The NHTSA filling says the recall affects 454,000 jack stands made between 2013 and 2019, with 5 percent of them expected to be defective. If you have a jack stand that has a matching item number, bring it in to your nearest Harbor Freight Tools store and you will receive a gift card matching the original value of the part.

If you have any Harbor Freight jack stand, we urge you to check the item number to see of yours is one affected in the recall. If it’s the same one, bring it into the store soon. Although NHSTA only expects 5 percent of the jack stands to possibly fail, that’s still a massive 22,700 jack stands that could be potentially fatal. It’s simply not worth the risk to yourself and others. Even if you don’t own a jack stand of any kind, think about spreading the word to those you know that may have one. You could save a life.