We get the call at least once a month: an EV specialty shop opening up along the Iowa-Illinois corridor calls us needing forward auto lift parts for a drive-on lift they inherited or bought used, and they’ve already been told two or three wrong things about the brand before they ever talked to us. Forward Lift has a long history in the American lift industry, and that history means a lot of half-truths have piled up around parts availability, ownership, and who actually stocks what. As an Iowa-based installer and parts distributor, we want to clear up what’s fact, what’s outdated, and what actually matters when you’re trying to keep a low-clearance oil change lift running for battery-pack service.
Give us the model and serial number and we’ll confirm the correct part, lead time, and whether it ships direct or through our shop in Ames.
Myth #1: Forward Lift Is a Discontinued Brand With No Parts Support
This is the biggest myth we hear, usually from a shop that bought a used lift at auction and assumed it was orphaned equipment. Forward has gone through ownership changes over the decades, and that history gets twisted into “the company doesn’t exist anymore” in shop-floor conversation. In reality, forward auto lift parts are still manufactured and distributed, and models like the Forward F-12 remain common in independent shops across Iowa and Illinois precisely because parts support has held up.
Where this myth causes real damage is when an EV shop owner assumes a bad valve or worn arm restraint means the whole lift is junk. We’ve walked into shops where a perfectly serviceable drive-on lift was being priced out for replacement because nobody bothered to call and ask about forward auto lift parts availability first. Lead times move around depending on the specific casting or hydraulic component, but “discontinued” and “slow to source” are two very different problems, and confusing them costs shops money they don’t need to spend.
Myth #2: Any Cable or Cylinder Will Fit If It’s Close Enough
EV service bays put unusual stress on lift equipment. Battery packs are heavy, weight distribution is different from a combustion engine, and shops doing oil changes and fluid service on hybrids and EVs are cycling their lifts constantly. That means cables, cylinders, and pulleys wear faster than shop owners expect, and we regularly get calls asking us to just send “a cable that’s close enough.” That approach backfires almost every time.
Forward auto lift parts are built to specific tolerances for a reason, and a generic cable or seal kit that’s slightly off in length or diameter can bind, stretch unevenly, or fail early under repeated EV lift cycles. We’ve had customers waiting on custom cable orders because a vendor has to build to exact spec rather than pull something off a shelf. It’s frustrating when you’re mid-schedule, but it’s far better than installing a mismatched part and having it fail with a vehicle in the air. When we quote forward auto lift parts, we confirm dimensions against your serial number first, every time, before anything gets ordered.
Myth #3: You Can Just Buy the Part Without Getting It Installed
We understand the instinct. A shop with its own techs, sometimes split between two states, wants to diagnose the problem themselves and just order the part. We’ve had calls where a shop tech identifies a bad air valve on a lift, gets us the model number and a picture, and asks to buy the component outright without scheduling install labor. Sometimes that’s exactly the right call, especially for a shop with capable in-house maintenance staff.
But we have to be upfront that not every part sale is straightforward when we didn’t do the original install or don’t have service history on that unit. Hydraulic components tied to lock release systems, for example, interact with the lift’s safety mechanisms, and getting the wrong reseal or improperly torqued fitting on a lock cylinder is not a small mistake. We’ll sell forward auto lift parts directly when it makes sense, but we’ll also tell you plainly when a part needs to go in with a tech present, particularly on anything touching the locking or lowering system on a lift carrying EV battery weight.
Myth #4: Lead Times Are the Same for Every Component
Shops assume that because one part took two weeks, everything will take two weeks. That’s not how it works with forward auto lift parts or with most lift manufacturers, honestly. Seal kits tend to move faster because they’re smaller and more commonly stocked. Larger structural pieces, sliders, and certain hydraulic arms can run considerably longer, and back-ordered components can sit in limbo for weeks before a firm ship date even shows up.
We’ve had customers wait through Memorial Day shipping slowdowns for a pump, wait weeks on a slider for a below-ground system, and wait even longer on an arm that was back-ordered from the start of an order. The honest answer, every time a shop asks us how long forward auto lift parts will take, is: it depends on which part, and we’ll check the actual current lead time rather than guess. For an EV shop that can’t afford a lift down during peak fluid-service season, we build that lead time into scheduling up front instead of promising a date we can’t back up.
Myth #5: EV Shops Don’t Need Anything Different From a Standard Bay
Some shop owners moving into EV and hybrid service assume their existing drive-on or two-post setup just works without modification. Mostly true, but not entirely. Weight capacity matters more with battery packs, and lift point clearance for battery service can differ from what a shop was used to on gas engines. When we’re asked about forward auto lift parts for a shop pivoting toward EV fluid and coolant service, we ask about the vehicles first, not just the lift.
A lift rated fine for a decade of combustion oil changes can be right at the edge of its capacity with certain EV platforms, and pulleys, arm restraints, and cables that were adequate before are working harder now. This is where routine inspection matters more than shops expect. We’d rather catch a worn pulley or a stretched cable during a scheduled check than have a shop find out mid-lift with a vehicle in the air. Ordering forward auto lift parts proactively, based on cycle count and vehicle type rather than waiting for failure, is the difference we push customers toward.
Myth #6: Buying Direct From the Manufacturer Is Always Cheaper or Faster
We hear this from shops trying to shortcut the process, especially ones without an existing account. Manufacturers like Forward work through distributor networks for a reason, and going direct doesn’t automatically mean better pricing or faster turnaround. Account setup alone can add delay, and a shop calling in cold often waits longer for a callback than one working with a distributor who already has an account number and order history on file.
We keep active accounts with the manufacturers whose forward auto lift parts we sell, which means we can place an order same-day in many cases rather than starting from an application form. We also know which components typically sit in regional stock versus which ones get built to order. For a shop along the Iowa-Illinois corridor trying to minimize downtime on an EV service bay, working through a distributor who already has the relationship in place is usually the faster path, not the slower one.
Myth #7: One Bad Experience Means the Brand Is Unreliable
We’ve talked to shop owners who had one rough experience years ago, a recall part that didn’t get fully addressed or a slow-shipping component, and decided the whole brand couldn’t be trusted. We get the frustration, and we’ve had our own moments chasing down a vendor for status updates on an order that sat quiet too long. But one bad cycle on one part doesn’t tell you much about the current state of forward auto lift parts availability or quality.
What actually predicts a good outcome is who’s managing the order and the relationship on your end. When we handle sourcing for forward auto lift parts, we’re checking in proactively, following up on back orders instead of waiting to be asked, and giving shops a realistic timeline instead of a hopeful one. For an EV specialty shop running tight service schedules, that kind of steady communication matters more than brand reputation alone, and it’s the standard we hold ourselves to on every order that goes out our door.
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