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Thread: Harbor Freight auto fuse recall

  1. #1

    Default Harbor Freight auto fuse recall

    http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll...709050366/1148

    Suspect car fuses recalled

    Chinese-made parts could overload, damage wiring

    David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau

    WASHINGTON -- A California-based auto parts seller plans to recall as many as 295,000 Chinese-made fuse sets that could be linked to electrical fires, another in a rash of safety issues involving products made in China.

    Harbor Freight Tools told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in an Aug. 10 letter obtained by The News that the company planned to quickly recall 295,000 aftermarket auto fuse sets sold over a two-year period.

    Late Tuesday, the company said the recall could be narrowed to as little as a tenth of the original number, but its investigation is continuing.

    The decision by Harbor Freight, based in Camarillo, Calif., comes after four customer complaints "in a very short period of time" around Aug. 4, along with questions it received from General Motors Corp. NHTSA has also received two complaints.

    Harbor Freight said in the NHTSA letter, called a "defect report," that it is aware of property damage caused by the fuses, but not any injuries.

    The planned recall is one of a series of safety incidents with Chinese-made goods in recent months, and is the second involving auto parts, more of which are being imported from that country. Last month, New Jersey importer Foreign Tire Sales said it would recall 255,000 Chinese-made tires because they lack a safety feature. Other Chinese products that have either been recalled or banned from import because of safety concerns include pet food, toothpaste, seafood and toys.

    In a telephone interview, Harbor Freight's general counsel, Marc Friedman, said Tuesday the company had sent employees to China to learn what was wrong with the fuses in question.

    "We are still investigating," he said, declining to identify the Chinese manufacturer. NHTSA also doesn't know the name of the manufacturer.

    The Harbor Freight fuses, which were supposed to be 5-30 amps, apparently had the wrong amperages, which can lead to damage to a vehicle's wiring system. Harbor Freight stopped selling the fuses earlier this month, but still has not publicly disclosed the problems with the items. The fuse sets can still be purchased on eBay.

    The "fuse element of one size was not blowing at the point it should" causing the "wires to fry," Friedman said. No vehicle fires have been reported, but some had "melted fuse boxes." The reason the company is considering reducing the recall population "is because of the relatively few complaints," Friedman said.

    The letter from Harbor Freight said it had planned to start the recall on Aug. 15 "depending on NHTSA approval," and it included a planned two-page recall announcement. NHTSA said it wasn't holding up the recall.

    Millions of suspect fuses sold

    Between August 2005 and August 2007, Harbor Freight sold 295,000 fuse sets -- each with 120 fuses -- which means as many as 35 million fuses could be involved. The kits sold for between $3 and $10.

    "Equipment recalls are always more difficult than vehicle recalls," said Rae Tyson, a NHTSA spokesman, because often it is difficult to track down the vehicles that contain the suspect parts.

    "If you took your car to the shop, you probably have no idea if they used these fuses," she said

    Harbor Freight suggested it may be difficult for vehicle owners who didn't directly buy the fuses to identify them in their vehicles. The fuses are color-coded by amps and have no serial numbers or date codes.

    The company plans to notify anyone who purchased the fuses from the company's Web site, as well as mail-order customers, and will post recall notices in retail outlets. It will give customers a $5 gift certificate for returning the items, in addition to a refund.

    GM notified dealers of fuse issue

    Last month, GM sent an internal bulletin to dealers discouraging them from using the fuses and reminding them that they were not GM parts, spokesman Alan Adler said. It did so after it contacted Harbor Freight raising "casual concerns" about the fuses, Adler said. On Tuesday, GM was unaware that Harbor Freight planned to recall the fuses.

    Harbor Tools had sought to limit public disclosure of the matter. The four-page defect report from Friedman was marked "Confidential Communication" and asked NHTSA "to protect Harbor Freight Tools' information and that the information otherwise be exempt from disclosure in the event that a request for disclosure is made pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act."

    Friedman said late Tuesday the company no longer is seeking to limit public information about the recall.

    For more information about the recall, call (800) 444-3343. The parts expected to be recalled: Storehouse 120 pc. Automotive Fuse Set, Mini Blade Type, Item No. 92939 and Storehouse 120 pc. Automotive Fuse Set, Blade Type, Item No. 92940
    DP

    Man invented the slowest form of transportation - the sailboat, Then decided to race them.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Port Orchard, Wash.
    Posts
    4,572

    Default

    I tell ya....

    You see, in China, when the family jalopy caught fire, the survivors wouldn't investigate the incident and determine what caused it and fix it. No, they'd go to their favorite fortune teller who would thoughtfully determine that their "bad luck" was caused by grandfather's tomb being positioned in the wrong location or in the wrong direction. Bad feng-shui, don't ya know? So they'd spend all their energies on getting that taken care of instead.

    For those of you who think I'm joking, I ain't. I actually have a freakin' bachelor's degree in this stuff! (BA in Asian studies.) That's why I sell chicken cages. Heh, heh, heh....

    Be sure to think of this the next time you buy your Made in China parts! That's pretty much the thought process going on behind the production of your parts.
    -- Tim Taylor


  3. #3

    Default

    Thanks for the report. I will be sure to spread the word and steer clear.

    Looks like im back to rolling my own out of tin foil

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Southern Indiana
    Posts
    246

    Default

    Is there anything currently coming in from China that is NOT crap?

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Northern Colorado
    Posts
    324

    Default

    If you go to HF's website and type in RECALL in the search box, the recalls will come up. They are ONLY recalling the ATC (IIRC) standard blade and mini-blade fuses. My block is the old tube fuses, so I guess I can keep that batch.... ...maybe...

    For everyone who's p*ssing and moaning about cheap stuff (from anywhere), there's a simple solution: DON'T BUY IT. Quit shopping @ Sprawl-Mart and go back to you local stores. Money talks.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Covington, (the other) LA
    Posts
    60

    Default

    Is anybody surprised about these recalls?

    Since the pet food scare, my wife has started shopping at the local doggie boutique/health food store. Yes, we have one of those in rural Louisiana. Shameless plug: it's called "Good Dog, Naturally". The prices aren't bad, and the dogs have more energy now.

    The little old lady that runs the place is a real hoot. She packs a 229 Sig Sauer (and she's highly skilled with it!) Her take was that China won't be invading us soon. They want our money first. She's boycotting Wally World.

    Remember-when your factory workers are political prisoners, quality control becomes a nightmare. It didn't work for the Axis Powers, either.

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