Ironman 4x4 UCA Recall

spotted this in social media. unsure of the posting date.

https://www.ironman4x4.com/recall/

 

oh, that's why they don't have any for sale on their website. was just checking it an hour ago.

 

Thanks for sharing for the forum members.

Love to see this kind of recalls from other manufacturers. By seeing SPC uca complaints I wish they too think about quality.

 

I dodged that bullet. I was looking hard at the Ironman setup back when I was entertaining an aftermarket suspension.

 

Looks like I dodged a bullet as well

 

Im not sure there’s anything wrong with SPC control arm quality. SPC is an alignment company, NOT an off-road company. Their control arms are for alignment, NOT off-road. As an alignment component, they’re next to none. Unfortunately, too many people see the price point and adjustability, and jump on the cheap option.

 

There's a post on the Tacoma forum showing how the ball joint was torn out of the Ironman upper control arm. In the thread they say it doesn't affect the USA market. I'm guessing the Australian Ironman UCAs are exactly the same as the ones sold in the USA so this could just be part of the process from a regulatory perspective.

Either way, I'm going to call them tomorrow.

 

Yup looks like the batches for the Australian market.

 

I did not face any issues either. Even after the accident the SPC UCA was fine. I met the new owner and she didn't complain either. But many people seems to have issues with SPC.

Right now I'm thinking to try my best to stay with original Toyota UCA as they seems to be the best quality, most reliable, no maintenance option. Since my oil changes are done at the dealership its inconvenient to grease them at every oil change. Wish aftermarket UCA makers can make UCA good as Toyota one.

For the price point I thought SPC is one of the cheapest? If not the cheapest i guess?

Reminds me of this video..

 

What doesn't make sense about that is the recall notice calls out specific part numbers and says "all" multiple times. There is no reference to county or specific geographies in the notice. The part number also is identical to what is sold here in the USA. They even pulled them from the Ironman America Website.

Also, the date range cover several years. That kind of points to a larger design issue vs a batch issue.

Will update once I talk to them today.

 

So I spoke to someone over at Ironman America this morning. Looks as though this recall hasn't been extended to the USA.... yet.

Seems they have limited information and have no direction on taking any action at this point so we are in a wait and see hold. Once they have more clarity or it is extended to the USA, they will start informing customers they know of. Since I purchased them directly from Ironman, I expect that I am on their direct mailing list.

 

Received this in an email today in response to my inquiry a couple weeks ago.

At Ironman 4x4, we strive to deliver high quality products at a great value. Those aren’t just words, it’s what we do. When our products don’t meet our standards, we make it right.

Ironman 4x4 is issuing a voluntary recall on BALL JOINTS in our upper control arms sold in the USA from January 2019 through June 2023 due to premature wear. There is no recall on our upper control arms.

Customers impacted will receive a letter via US Postal Service from Ironman 4x4 USA with details on the no-cost ball joint replacement process.
You may also go to www.ironman4x4america.com/recall and fill out the short form to begin the process for ball joint replacement.

We stand behind all of you who have trusted Ironman4x4 to help you enjoy the great outdoors.

Thank you for being part of the Ironman 4x4 community.

 

Definitely interested in what the actual "replacement process" is.

 

Just send the UCA's back to Australia so they can pop in a new ball joint and post them back in 6 weeks

 

Received the recall notice in the mail today.

Under the heading "What will we do?":

"We will ship your replacement upper control arms free of charge when the part becomes available, which we anticipate will be in October. After receiving your replacement parts, you should have them installed at a local dealer. Please submit your receipt for the installation to recallus@ironman4x4.com for full reimbursement."

I read that as they're replacing the entire arms.

 

That is great news! I've been wondering what they would do. Looks like I'm gonna get to see my alignment guy again this year.

 

Meh I'll keep the new set as a replacement. Nothing wrong with my ball joints as far as I can tell. Not a speck of dirt on the top side thanks to my Dobinsons ball joint covers, and nothing leaking from the boot.

 

Here's the recall notice from the mail.

https://imgur.com/a/Tur9kaY

 

The arms aren't adjustable in any way. If for some reason they aren't a drop in replacement, just get an alignment and send them the receipt. Worst they can say is no. They will pay for the install, but the recall notice didn't specify it had to be done at a Toyota dealership.

 

@Tuco S. Yes, they are not adjustable but an alignment would make sense once you replace them. I plan to send them that receipt.

Also wonder if the new design will include some sort of cover as one of the failure causes is ingress dirt anf water causing excessive wear.

@Lockdown thanks for sharing the letter. Interesting that the page title for the link to fill out the form still says ball joint where's the letter clearly states new UCAs.

 

I received a full refund for my suspension kit ~$1500.

But that was due to other issues I had with Ironman

 

Curious about what your issues were?

 

https://www.4runners.com/threads/ironman-4x4-avoid-at-all-costs.33825/#post-491161

 

I think he was curious about his suspension issues that link only shows the winch problems.

 

Good thing I dragged my feet on installing my UCAs from them (still in dining room). I’ll keep an eye out for their letter, but I also ordered from the US direct to Canada.

 

I filled out the recall form for the uca 2 times first time 7/2/23 and 2 weeks ago & no reply from them so far, I’ll wait another week then i might call them

 

I called today. Looks like it will be about 60 days before the new UCAs begin shipping. Couple of things....

1. Confirmed that they will be sending new UCAs
2. They will reimburse up to $450 for installation and alignment expenses. We will need to submit receipts.
3. The recall form is what you need to fill out to be added to the list

 

Received my replacement UCA’s today. After reading on other forums that people were receiving new arms with Moog greasable ball joints, I was surprised to see KYB sealed ball joints on my new arms. I’m not disappointed they are maintenance-free as long as they’re durable. I haven’t had any issues with the ball joints on my original arms, but they’ve only been installed for 9 months and 10k miles. On the new arms I see v2 and -3 near the model number.

 

Looks good. I’m on the fence ordering a stage 2 Ironman foam cell pro kit with UCAs.

Anyone confirm what new ball joints are coming with the UCA for new updated UCAS?

As I understand it with the recall replacement arms, Ironman scrambled and bought up ball joints from several manufacturers. Why some we got moog, others kyb, etc…

 

Cant tell you exactly what manufacturer are being used for the new ball joints. Mine are stamped with 3712 where the "3" is sideways.