My Yakima "Front Loader" bike rusted & split in half. Turns out Yakima placed FOAM inside the metal rails which created the rust as "designed obsolescence" in order to boost sales (unethical business practice). Yakima would NOT refund nor replace my rusted bike rack. Horrible company = horrible people
Response from Yakima Products, Inc.Sep 28, 2026
Hi, we’re sorry to hear about your experience with your FrontLoader. Foam inside the rack is not part of the product’s intended construction, and we understand why finding that alongside rust would be concerning.
When rust compromises the structure of a product, that’s something our Warranty team would want to review. They may ask for photos of the issue and proof of purchase so they can better understand what happened and determine the best way to help.
Please give us a call at 888-925-4621. Our team is available Monday–Thursday, 7:00 am–4:00 pm PT, and Friday, 7:00 am–11:00 am PT, and we’d be happy to look into this further.
MI
Michael
What a rubbish product
What a rubbish product.
I bought a swing away bike rack thinking it was a good product.
The rack and tube bars failed within the first month.
Support from Yakima non existent.
This rack failed carrying 2e bikes totalling 34kg
Response from Yakima Products, Inc.Sep 28, 2026
Hi, thank you for taking the time to share your experience. We’re really sorry for the frustration caused by the product failure and the support experience that followed.
Warranty cases do need to be reviewed based on the specific product, setup, and circumstances, which can affect the options available. We understand how disappointing it is to be left without a resolution that feels satisfactory.
If you’d like us to take another look, please give our team a call at 888-925-4621.
HF
Harry F.
Terrible service for such an expensive
Terrible service for such an expensive
Product one simple cry for help and you don’t hear anything it’s been about 4 weeks now 👎
BM
Barry M S.
BUYER BEWARE!!
I bought a Yakima HoldUp 2" bike rack and trailer hitch from Rack Attack in Toronto in 2016. It's been great. I bought a new car recently and installed a new 2" hitch. When I went to install my HoldUp it wouldn't fit. The tongue was too high. I tried several other tongues and they all fit. I went to Rack Attack to have it checked out. They suggested that it didn't fit because I had used touch-up paint on it. As I had only applied a dusting of paint to cover some cosmetic scratches, and had done that about 5 years ago, I told them there was no way that that could stop the tongue from fitting into the new hitch. They sent a warranty request to Yakima with the notation that I had painted the tongue. Unsurprisingly it was denied. I then contacted Yakima directly and spoke with James. He said it shouldn't be a problem sending me a new tongue but he would just have to co-ordinate with Rack Attack. I then got an email saying "I cannot help you at this point as we have had two different entities determine that your tongue fit other hitches by testing it. I have provided a link to the tongue that you can purchase, but we won't be moving forward with a replacement."
The only hitch that my original tongue fit into was my original hitch provided by Rack Attack. This leads me to conclude that that hitch was oversized to accommodate variations in Yakima racks. My new hitch is well within specs for a 2" x 2" tongue.
Below is my final attempt to have James at Yakima fairly address my situation:
James,
Since my last correspondence I have done some further investigation. First, I see that my situation is not an exception, but the rule. I found these reviews on Trust Pilot. It seems Yakima is well known for finding any excuse to avoid making good on warranty claims.
Yakima Racks is rated "Poor" with 1.9 / 5 on Trustpilot
Do you agree with Yakima Racks's TrustScore? Voice your opinion today and hear what 25 customers have already said.
Next, I managed to find a new Yakima HoldUp 2" Hitch Bike Rack at a Canadian Tire store near me. The manager in the store was very helpful. He helped me pull the box down from the shelf, open it up and measure its tongue, both horizontally and vertically. I took pictures of the digital caliper readings. They were 2.010" and 2.007" respectively. I then used the same digital calipers to measure my original tongue. Those measurements were 1.989" and 2.048". I also measured the horizontal and vertical measurements of the opening on my new hitch. (See pictures)
The excuse Rack Attack came up with doesn't hold water. A dusting of paint 5 years ago does not account for a difference of 0.041", not that any of that paint is still there. As well, why would it only add thickness to the vertical dimension?
If you still refuse to send me a replacement tongue (2" x 2") I will simply be posting a detailed summary of all of my interactions with Rack Attack and you at Yakima, on Trustpilot and others. I won't have to embellish anything. The facts and the pictures will be sufficient to get the point across. Yakima will do whatever it takes to avoid making good on their (Very) Limited Lifetime Warranty.
Either way, please reply.
Barry
As James did not reply, and as he closed my "ticket" immediately, I can only assume that I am yet another dissatisfied Yakima customer left to fend for himself!
DE
Derek
Don't waste time with their Support 'Bot
The products may be well made but my first experience with their customer support or support Bot was a waste of time.
I provided a part number and my personal contact information in the AM. I want to buy an available part. The response was an auto generated e/m with a ticket number to reference if I decide to call. Towards the end of the day, frustrated that I didn't get a reply to a simple question, I called. The auto answer greeting stated Customer Support was in a meeting, no voice mail pretense of courtesy, just try again later.
JJ
John Johnston (.
faulty products and cheaply made AVOID,
Ordered a product, $750+ Yakima roof rack. Used for one trip and complete failure. All assembly and installation correct, Yakima refused to cover even a replacement or issue refund. Yakima will find any loophole they can to exclude warranty coverage. Do not give them your business. Yakima will abandon customers at the first sign of cost to them. Find a well reviewed rack on Amazon, they take returns and do not fight for faulty construction. Products are made outside the US and are the very same quality. Should have used amazon to start with. If your product fails, do not provide them with any info except a basic photo, they will use anything they can to avoid a costing them $$. Yakima products have terned to complete garbage along with many other brands who are trying to lower the costs of manufacturing. The 2 stars average makes sense, get a thule. Yak is right.
CW
CHRIS W.
Do not buy the Holdup bike rack
Do not buy the Holdup bike rack. Bought one, loaded two bikes on it and drove 20 miles. When I got home, and after unloading them, my wife noticed one of the cups was cracked as well as the hold down cable was broken. They are pretty simple to use/load so the bikes weren't loaded incorrectly.
... ok no biggie.... they have a warranty. I contacted their support channel and after a little bit of back and forth they did send me the parts to fix the cable but I was told the cup was on back order.
Here I am now nearly 4 months with no cup. The thing has sat in my side lot collecting dust
I did email them back in June and got the same response.
What good is a warranty if you can't get parts for it? They must have a bigger issue if they can't get parts.
What a bunch of b. s.
Don't buy from them! I never will again. Probably cheap Chinese parts anyhow (and maybe this is the problem).
AJ
A J G.
Justclick2 fold down failure
We have a Justclick2 tow bar mounted bike rack. While travelling at about 60mph along a motorway we were alerted by a passing motorist that there was a problem with the bike rack. The fold down mechanism had opened and the bikes, nearly horizontal to the ground, had ground down the handle bar, brake lever and saddle. The fold down mechanism failed. It should only operate when the car is stationary as a means of accessing the boot space by pressing down the rear lever with a foot. We only use the bike rack now by securing all of the bikes and the rack with strong straps to the roof rack.