Yakima Products, Inc.Reviews of yakima.com

We purchased a fold click 2 bike rack (in itself a very practical product) however it failed on multiple occasions therefore does not perform per the product statements. When Yakima warranty was contacted every problem was made to be ours, the story goes: We originally purchased the product in May 2022 for a long trip in the Australian outback in our campervan/small motorhome, we had 2 x Leitner foldable eBikes and loaded them (without the batteries) as per instructions, weight was well under specs, we also had a cover over them. We traveled from Sydney heading for Queensland and when we reached Roma some 1000klm into our trip noticed the bikes were moving on the rack, inspection revealed that both the "Grabs were missing and the bikes had been moving around and caused considerable damage to the bikes and the attachment bar had begun to crack around the base. Skip to the warranty issues, of course apparently we hadn't tightened the grabs sufficiently or had overtightened them, as they were gone we couldn't prove one way or the other what happened so that turned out to be a Yakima way out, had to be our fault, there were numerous accusations made about the loss, including that the vehicle was not suitable for the product and that we should have noted that restriction on their web site (could not locate the alleged notation anywhere on the web site). Ultimately after some months Yakima, as a 'good will' gesture gave us the replacement parts to repair the rack but would not approve the damage to the bikes (which was substantial). It goes on, we had not used the rack since replacing the parts and planed another trip this time with different eBikes, loaded (without batteries) and as per instructions, well under weight. Given the issues we had had on the previous trip we made sure that everything was as per instructions. We traveled from Sydney to outback NSW, covered approximately 800klms and at one of our stops for coffee noted a familiar part on the road just behind the car, so picked it up and checked the Rack to see if it belonged, affirmative, it was the rack side of the grab, the grab had gone, so (with the original failure firmly still in mind) we retraced the last 5 kilometers of our travels and got lucky, we found the other parts of the grab on the roadway. The parts retrieved proved the problem was a broken grab shaft which then allowed the rest of the Grab to fall onto the roadway, De'ja'vu, it happened again but this time we could prove the problem was Yakima's. When we returned home we made the warranty claim and again the same blame game, same warranty manager with all the accusations that the problem was caused by us. Ultimately after some 2 months we were able to get replacement parts for the missing Grab and compensation for the subsequent damage to the bikes. We travelled exclusively on sealed roads on these trips. Both Warranty experiences were appalling, it was only that we had retrieved the faulty part that they had approved the claim, but they fort hard to prove it was something we did that caused it to break, the previous time we had no proof so were at the mercy of the Warranty manager. Yakima Australia should be ashamed of their customer warranty treatment, its like we are criminals trying on a scam. We will never buy another Yakima product nor would we recommend the company as their customer experience values are non existent.

Ordered sweet roll kit. Yakima sent me the wrong parts…Yakima couldn’t load a bag of groceries let alone a Yakima customer order…..how much pot do you folks smoke before clocking in?

I just purchased my first set of Yakima roofbars, always bought Thule previously. The rubber feet do not stay on the footkit, they keep falling off. So I raised a ticket asking for advice. Their auto-reply states they are very busy and should get back to me in 14-21 business days. Great customer service, NOT. Maybe I should have bought Thule instead. UPDATE. Well, their timescale has just expired and ZERO contact from Yakima. How do they stay in business?

I have purchased many Yakima products in the past and I just purchased their HD rack for my truck. I have called 11 times in 10 days and after 30 minutes listening to hold music, hung up. Their chat bot is the worse that i have ever used. What happened, they had the best customer service years ago, know they are the worse!

After decades of owning Yakima racks,I don't think I'll ever buy another Yakima product again. In June of 2023 I bought a specific-fit roof rack for my 2020 Chevy Bolt directly from Yakima.com for $741. A few months into the summer, I decided to go a different route. All of the items are in the original packaging, boxes, etc, and most of the items have never been touched. I believe that if I had purchased this item through, say, REI, I could have easily returned this item. However, Yakima's policy is 30-day returns. So now I have this $741 worth of Yakima stuff that I'm trying to sell online, and I'll be lucky to get 1/2 of what I paid.

My box i paid over $800 shattered in the interstate and could’ve killed others and the company couldn’t care less. I am so disgusted. I had my yakima box break down in the middle of Wind River reservation in WY after heading home on a trip i took my little sister and dogs on to celebrate her birthday. The box came apart and all of our things flew all over the highway. We are so lucky because it was in a desolate area where no one was behind me but if that would’ve happened on an interstate, it would’ve caused an accident and I guarantee a very serious one. I had a shovel in there that could’ve flowed out and literally killed someone. I reached out to Yakima to tell them what happened. That my little sister and I were on the side of a highway in the middle of nowhere taking everything out of my car to repack it. Then we had to drive 40 minutes out of the way to a small town to buy rope and tie it down to make it home safely, but the entire three hours home I was an Through my sunroof to make sure it didn’t fall apart further and harm anyone. I work for a personal injury law firm for the last eight years and this has been an eye-opening experience because I don’t know if it’s worth it at all to have a product that’s made this cheap on your car making you a liability to really harm another family. I reached out and talked with James and they only take responsibility if it’s contractual. They cannot locate my serial number or register of product so I am left with nothing. No help no empathy. Nothing I will never purchase another product from this company and the lack of responsibility of what could’ve happened and what did happened to me and my family is alarming and disgusting. I have pictures but can’t attach.

I have found Yakima to have good quality components, tons of options for any vehicle size and configuration (SUV, sedan, wagon etc). Replacement parts are available for almost everything they sell.

I bought a HoldUp EVO bike rack. The side of the box stated "compatible hitch size 1 1/4" - so - when I was buying a hitch for my car, I bought a 1 1/4" hitch. The rack doesn't fit. It's a 2" hitch. I tried emailing customer service to find what I was missing, and the auto-responder said they would try to respond in 15-30 days. So - I found a phone number, talked to Jack who was quite rude. I told him that after further examination, the front of the box did have a square with 2" inside of it on the front, but the side definitely said 1 1/4" in the specs, which is what I paid attention to. He said that I decided to ignore the size printed on the front, and looked at the side. And it is compatible if I buy another part. Honestly, I think this was the worst customer service I've gotten from a US-based company pretty much ever. Their label was unclear and inaccuate, and Jack accused me of being too dumb to get the right hitch size. Now, I have to pay to get my hitch uninstalled, and pay to get a new one re-installed. I will return this rack, and I will never buy more Yakima products. Shame on you, Jack.