SPX OTC floor jack "Marathon Lifetime Warranty" problems

[Schurkey]

Bought a Made-In-USA 2-ton floor jack model 1717, produced by OTC. I paid $433.88 plus tax in November of 2004. Still have the NAPA receipt.

The jack was sold with a "Marathon Lifetime Warranty". I'm no longer a professional, so this jack was strictly "homeowner" duty from then until now, maintaining my own vehicles and the occasional tire change or brake job for friends. Almost 15 years of (occasional) use, and the decal is still legible.

Well over a year ago, I'm lifting the back end of an 89 K1500 to do rear brakes. The jack handle/yoke breaks off in my hands. It gave me zero indication of any problem until the thing completely and suddenly failed.

I contact OTC to get a new handle/yoke assembly. Not serviced separately. Entire jack must be shipped to the Service Facility where it will be "inspected" prior to replacement under warranty. OTC did send a prepaid shipping tag. I spent a day locating a small pallet, and then strapping the jack and the handle to the pallet for shipping. If I had realized that it was going to a nearby town instead of thinking it was going back to Owatonna, MN, I'd have just driven the damned thing to the service center. It would have taken way less time to drive it there than to find the pallet and get it ready for commercial transportation. That's my fault, I guess.

About this time, I figure out why the handle is not serviced separately. The jack is welded together, you can't install a new handle assembly without cutting welds apart.

So the jack eventually ends up at the semi-local service facility, they "inspect" it, and determine that they will honor the warranty...

...except that they have no replacement jack available. The 1717 has been out-of-production for years. They promise me a low-profile 2-ton, model 5200, but that's out-of-stock, expected "in about a month". They will send me a cheap-junk Chinese jack as a "temporary" until the low-profile unit is available. I tell them to keep the cheap-junk Chinese jack, I'll put my 1717 back together until the proper replacement arrives. The OTC rep agrees to this course of action. I went to the service facility with the permission of the OTC rep, reclaimed my 1717, brazed and bolted the handle back together. It looks like Frankenstein's Monster. But it works and it's not a Communist piece of ****.

I've been waiting for that replacement jack since April of 2018. A year and four months. And counting--'cause they've made it clear that they're never going to send it.

The last I heard from the OTC representative, the 5200 was off the table, apparently they're never going to get another shipment of them. Or they might, but they're not going to spend the money on me. I was offered "only" the piece-of-**** "Stinger" Made-in-China jack as a substitute for my expensive, two-stage American unit. (I refused.)

BEWARE OF OTC TOOLS. Their warranty is worthless. They repeatedly lied to me about the time it would take to get replacement jacks in stock. Every time I'd contact them, they were "just a couple of months out..." And in the end, after taking that option off the table, their "final solution" was to replace my expensive jack with a dirt-cheap disposable jack--the same one they offered to me as a "temporary" replacement. I believe--but cannot prove--that they never intended to give me the 5200. I was going to end up with a "temporary" jack until the end of time. The only thing I have going for me is that I took photos and still have the broken jack as evidence. If I had allowed them to keep my jack while I got the "temporary" unit, the evidence would be gone.

I don't expect help with this...I'm just warning folks about the reprehensible business/warranty policies that OTC has decided are "good enough". I believe OTC went straight downhill the moment they were bought-out by Bosch.


https://www.otctools.com/service-and-support
As of today, the OTC web site claims:

When you choose and commit to OTC, we commit to bringing you the utmost level of service and support. We strive to bring "best in class" levels of support that ensures that your trust is never compromised. Don't worry, we've got your back.

They've "got your back", alright. So they can shove a knife in the customer while he's facing the other way.

 

[visionguru]

..... I was offered "only" the piece-of-**** "Stinger" Made-in-China jack as a substitute for my expensive, two-stage American unit. (I refused.)
.....

OTC doesn't make or service a 15 year old jack anymore, and you are not accepting a replacement from their current products. What exactly do you want them to do? At least OTC didn't fault you for using a 2-ton jack to service a truck, to deny your warranty claim. I would only use 3+ ton jacks to service a much lighter car.

Look at your picture, that kind of failure seems rare for any floor jack (cheap or expensive): metal failure. Why do you want the same, expensive, American made garbage?

 

[Professional Tool User]

I don't know. What do you expect? OTC hardly makes anything in the US these days. Most jacks these days come with a 1-2 year warranty, so I'm surprised they even offered an inferior replacement. There are loads of other cheaper Made in China options out there these days. It's time to move on.

 

[B_Bimmer]

I am sorry they didn't follow through for you, OTC is not the company they used to be. That said they still do make some dang nice tools, which I only buy deeply discounted and with the understanding I am on my own. Their big pullers are a joy to use, and the hydraulic king pin press, definitely for more than just king pins.

 

[reader2580]

What do you expect OTC to do? Should they have warehoused hundreds of the jacks for warranty purposes when production shut down? They don’t have a way to make the identical jack in the USA.

It is not acceptable to have taken a year for them to get you a replacement.

I am sure the warranty says nothing about a replacement being made in the same country as the original. OTC is honoring the warranty by replacing with another jack of the same functionality. Your problem is your prejudice against the country of origin. I much prefer USA made items, but I understand that some stuff is almost unobtainable if not from overseas.

 

[CobraRed]

Read the original warranty, I'm sure it's being honored. It always mentions "or equivalent model" or something along those lines.

Their warranty isn't "guaranteed customer satisfaction" for life because that's impossible.

 

[reader2580]

Most customers expect that lifetime warranty means if the item fails for any reason it will be replaced or repaired. However, most warranties only state that the item is warranted against defects in workmanship and materials. Granted, often times companies will replace items that don't truly meet warranty requirements.

Was there a material defect that caused that jack part to fail after 15 years, or did it simply wear out? If a bushing wears out, or a hole in the metal that wears to unusable a warranty defect, or did the item simply wear out? Unless the metal didn't meet the manufacturer's original specs you're probably out of luck.

Craftsman is different. They have a lifetime satisfaction guarantee which does mean a new item if it breaks for any reason.

 

[RKA]

That really ***** that they couldn’t or wouldn’t follow through. But at least now you know where not to spend your tool budget.

 

[trackwelder]

What do you expect OTC to do? Should they have warehoused hundreds of the jacks for warranty purposes when production shut down? They don’t have a way to make the identical jack in the USA.

It is not acceptable to have taken a year for them to get you a replacement.

I am sure the warranty says nothing about a replacement being made in the same country as the original. OTC is honoring the warranty by replacing with another jack of the same functionality. Your problem is your prejudice against the country of origin. I much prefer USA made items, but I understand that some stuff is almost unobtainable if not from overseas.

He bought a top of the line OTC jack. It failed and has a lifetime warranty. Why should he accept a low grade replacement when a better grade replacement is a available in the same size.

 

[kythri]

That's not a "top of the line" OTC jack, today or in 2004.

It might have been manufactured in the US, but a Chinese-manufactured OTC Stinger is anything but a "low grade replacement".

 

[vssjim]

I"m going to go along with the people that have stated that OTC is not the company it was ever since the germans bought it. Bosch killed off Vermont American and now OTC and others I"m sure.

 

[3baygarage]

In the old time OTC catalogs, they offered to replace tools lost in a fire.

 

[Schurkey]

At least OTC didn't fault you for using a 2-ton jack to service a truck, to deny your warranty claim. I would only use 3+ ton jacks to service a much lighter car.

That's just silly. Jacks are not like jack stands, where unethical sellers rate them by the pair instead of individually.

A 3-ton (6000 pound) jack would come near to lifting that entire vehicle, (assuming you could balance the thing so it didn't tip over) never mind lifting only the rear end of the pickup which is relatively light.

Look at your picture, that kind of failure seems rare for any floor jack (cheap or expensive)

most warranties only state that the item is warranted against defects in workmanship and materials... ...Was there a material defect that caused that jack part to fail after 15 years... ...Craftsman is different. They have a lifetime satisfaction guarantee which does mean a new item if it breaks for any reason.

This jack, so far as I can tell has the design flaw that the casting "ears" which get drilled for the pivot pin are not thick enough. Not enough "meat" around the side of the hole where the casting cracked. Rare failure? Maybe. No way for me to know, because my sample size is N = 1. Statistically worthless. I suppose OTC would know the failure rate of this model, but they're not likely to tell me, are they?

The larger point is, IT DOESN'T MATTER, because the Lifetime Warranty replacement was specifically APPROVED BY OTC. THEY AGREED TO COVER IT...and then made promises to me that they subsequently chose to not keep.

That really ***** that they couldn’t or wouldn’t follow through. But at least now you know where not to spend your tool budget.

Yup. I've had other problems with OTC on purchases made after this jack...so I already knew I was likely to get hosed. But suspecting it and feeling them too-close behind me are two different things.

He bought a top of the line OTC jack. It failed and has a lifetime warranty. Why should he accept a low grade replacement when a better grade replacement is a available in the same size.

Thanks. Part (but not all) of the problem is that there "isn't" a better-grade unit available from OTC. They've apparently exited that market. The Model 5200 is shown on Amazon, for instance, but there's none actually available.

That's not a "top of the line" OTC jack, today or in 2004.

Tell me the model number of the "better" 2-ton jack that OTC had for sale in 2004. I don't know what it would be, because so far as I knew, the 1717 is/was the best they had in that category at that time. Two stage pump (quick-lift), lifetime warranty, made in USA.

In the old time OTC catalogs, they offered to replace tools lost in a fire.

The funny part here is that this OTC jack was purchased because my Long-Frame 2-ton Walker 882 went through a garage fire. I couldn't find another long-frame jack to replace it--so I ended up buying the OTC.

What exactly do you want them to do?

What do you expect?

What do you expect OTC to do?

What I WANT is for OTC to send me at least a 2-ton (I'd accept greater capacity but not less capacity) replacement jack having quality construction, a similar lifetime warranty, and a retail price roughly equivalent to the jack I bought. Substituting a bottom-feeder $170 jack as a replacement for a top-quality $400+ jack is not acceptable.

I'd have taken the 5200...but obviously that's not going to happen now. OTC is apparently done with that market segment.

Realistically, I think they should send me AN APOLOGY and a check for my purchase price. OTC does not have a comparable model, and they can't supply parts to put this one right. They know what I paid, because I had to dig up and submit a copy of my receipt to get the warranty process started. That's not going to happen, either.

Again, I didn't expect to get help in this thread. I know that I am S-O-L. I am merely warning potential customers to stay away from OTC because of their horrid customer service/warranty policies.

 

[L.Cheapo]

Thanks for the warning, OP. I learned that OTC really means Outsourced To China long ago so I don't buy their stuff anyway.

 

[DSLTRK]

I'd fab and weld up some 1/4" plate with a handle retaining tube to replace the obviously brittle iron casting.

Doesn't seem that difficult to do based on the part in question. I dumped $150 bucks into a 20 buck blown Milwaukee because I hate Chicom jacks. ( Even though most are well made today, it's principle)

Or you could have a machinist make a new one. But $$$$$...

 

[kythri]

Warning ignored. More jingoistic nonsense.

 

[toolenthusiast]

This sounds like a Communist Plot. Bear with me... but the only way that a dang ol’ made in ‘murica floor jack could every fail like that is if a Communist agent infiltrated the OTC factory and sabotaged the castings. And it’s OBVIOUS that the people working the phones are Collectivists of some sort, because they’re trying to prevent you from accruing personal property (such as beautiful, star-spangled, Minnesotan floor jacks).

I can only conclude that their goal is to FORCE you to get a Chinese floor jack, and everyone knows that a Chinese floor jack is so bad it won’t even be able to lift the *** end of a ‘89 K1500!!! (Hey, wait a minute...)

 

[WittHay]

For a while OTC just had made in Japan 2 ton jacks with a 1 year warranty. I have a 1502 2 1/4 ton Japan jack that still works great. Then they came out with the 1525, 1717 and 1739 USA jacks that were heavier and had parts availability on the pumps plus a lifetime warranty

My understanding was that these jacks were more assembled in the US than 100% made in America.

If it was me I would have asked for a Stinger 3 1/2 ton jack and kept the old 2 ton jack. Probably fabricated some brackets for the handle. The saddle and pump on the old jacks are a lot better than the current Stingers

OTC 1525 2 ton jack

 

[Retroman]

I don't blame the OP he paid good money back then for a quality jack with a lifetime warranty and should be replaced with a like quality product. Is the Chi-com jack like quality I don't know.
China is capable of producing quality products just look at high end pocket knifes there are 3 or 4 Chinese companies that produce the fit and finish quality with high end steel of any maker in the world.
I also get his wanting an American made product.

 

[Handyandy23]

What about the 5303 / 3 ton model? Looks like that is available, at least showing on OTC's website. If they don't have a 2 ton anymore then they'll have to offer something to replace it.

The time it's taken so far seems ridiculous, although by the sounds of it they've made offers to the OP of jacks that he's turned down, so you can't really count that as "time waited". If they said it would be 2 months for the original jack, then realized they couldn't get it anymore and called up and said "how about this one instead?" and OP says no, what are they supposed to do?

Also I'm assuming whatever jack they send as replacement is still covered under this "lifetime" warranty? If so, then who cares whether it's a slightly lower quality? If it ends up breaking then you still get another free replacement.

The unfortunate fact is there aren't really many jacks on the market that don't come from China anymore. Thank the consumers that all go for the cheapest options on that one. You can't really expect a company to continue manufacturing and selling something that loses money just to keep lifetime warranty customers appeased.

There's also some irony to me in refusing other replacements due to them being too low of quality, while the issue with the current jack is that it appears to have been made from low grade steel to begin with. I know OPer paid top dollar for it, but for both sides of that handle to break at the same time seems like it's just cheap material. You'd think if one side had a casting defect or hairline crack it would just be the one side of the pivot that fails. It was also designed in a way that made the handle non-serviceable. Just because it was "Made in the US" didn't seem to help this one for quality.

There's millions of HF Chinese-made jacks out there, and I'm sure if this same failure mode popped up on one of those, there would be a "don't buy cheap Chinese jacks!" thread pop up about how horrible and porous their steel is, and how poorly designed it was.

 

[TJP]

Several years back went through a similar ordeal with the 3 ton "floor boss" OTC jack. they had it shipped to a repair facility twice for leaking and both times within 2 or so months it would begin leaking again. The service rep at OTC became a bit of a jerk so I walked up the ladder and got ahold of a lady VP. She sent a new current model jack overnight, rechargeable lights that were quite pricey, and two replacement cylinders (one was wrong). While installing the replacement cylinder I found the root cause of the issue. The roll pin that holds the roller for the jack plunger had broken (Circled in picture). The roller was now at an angle side loading the pump piston. I replaced the roller with 2 small sealed bearings and a hardened solid pin. been fine since So while it was a PITA they definitely stepped up to the plate once I reached the right person. I would've loved to have been a fly on the wall when SHE "talked" to the service rep. I doubt he was able to sit down for a week or more LOL. Sometimes one has to use the corporate ladder to their advantage if possible. I have also found that posting on a companies Facebook page can get some immediate response
To The OP I hope the situation has been resolved

 

[Schurkey]

I'm sorry that I'm not the only one that OTC tried to screw. I'm glad it worked out for you.

Someday, I may see if there's a ladder to climb at OTC. I have no idea who else to contact there, outside of writing to the company president or some-such. Do you have the name or the title of the person you contacted?

The issue has been "resolved" in that I brazed and U-bolted a reinforcement to the broken cast iron handle yoke. I still use this jack occasionally; mostly I've moved on to an ancient USA-made Walker 4-ton long-frame. I don't need four tons of capacity, but I just love the size--it's even bigger than the 2-ton long frame that the OTC jack replaced; and like the Walker 2-ton, it has the 3-position handle so the handle can be pumped when the jack is crammed way under the vehicle.

 

[TJP]

Several years back went through a similar ordeal with the 3 ton "floor boss" OTC jack. they had it shipped to a repair facility twice for leaking and both times within 2 or so months it would begin leaking again. The service rep at OTC became a bit of a jerk so I walked up the ladder and got ahold of a lady VP. She sent a new current model jack overnight, rechargeable lights that were quite pricey, and two replacement cylinders (one was wrong). While installing the replacement cylinder I found the root cause of the issue. The roll pin that holds the roller for the jack plunger had broken (Circled in picture). The roller was now at an angle side loading the pump piston. I replaced the roller with 2 small sealed bearings and a hardened solid pin. been fine since So while it was a PITA they definitely stepped up to the plate once I reached the right person. I would've loved to have been a fly on the wall when SHE "talked" to the service rep. I doubt he was able to sit down for a week or more LOL. Sometimes one has to use the corporate ladder to their advantage if possible. I have also found that posting on a companies Facebook page can get some immediate response
To The OP I hope the situation has been resolved

Bringing this post back up for a couple of reasons.
1. The Roller bearing fix on the pump piston is still functioning. Any one with one of these jacks should keep a close eye on theirs or do the mod.
2. I know a local independent tire store owner. The business was started in the late 40's by his father and it is still open. Only 1 location. They only do Tires and a few wheels but mainly tires. No Shocks, brakes, inspections, headlight fluid or other upsell.
Most all of the tires are done outside regardless of weather. Because of this they use A LOT of Floor jacks. he was getting about 2-3 years out of Snap Off jacks (~ 1K ea). He happened to be in Horror freight and was looking at their fairly new (at that time) Daytona Floor Jacks, the store manager started a discussion with him. He said if it fails for any reason at any time I'll refund or replace it and I'll put that in writing. That was about 5 year ago. He now has 10 or so and has yet to have one fail. IF you could see the use these jacks get 6 days a week you would shake you head. I told him he should start a side business testing floor jacks .
3. The square cushioned pad that drops over the lifting psaddle on my OTC 1739 3 ton jack is starting to come apart and was wondering if anyone knew of a source for a replacement. It's not shown in the above pic but is listed in the parts section of the manual. But the part number 220972 brings up an extension.
I've looked for a substitute but haven't found one yet. The lifting saddle is 5.25 square TIA