John Deere

I bought the John Deere lawn tractor X540 from the dealer with a hydraulic tiller and snow blade as an off the floor demonstrator tractor with a few hours on it in 2008 and a full 4-year warranty; the attachments were brand new. Since then, it has had multiple repairs all before 90 hours of use.

-Noticed rust on frame - battery is leaking

-Engine stalls when trying to engage deck - must use choke - ongoing issue

JD has only paid for the battery, electric fault, and water pump seal. All transport and other small parts have been out of pocket and labor completed personally. For $10,000 I would have expected so much more; sorely disappointed with JD. Btw, we use JD products in our Ag business with great success, no major issues except the JD320D skid steer; the engine throttle magnet came loose and a huge bill is in the works.

Bought the John Deere mower in 2010. It stopped running after 30 hrs of use. I bought it at Home Depot. I took it to Maple Mountain Service where it was kept for 1 month, returned and worked for 30 min. then stopped. Back to MM for repair for 3 weeks, it came back and still worked for 1 cut then dies. I took it back again to MM and they couldn't find problem, returned mower stating it worked fine. Brief winter came and went. Now, the mower doesn't run gain. So, a total hrs 30 hrs was spent with start and stops of repair. Horrible product, horrible service.

My dad and I both purchased a John Deere L130 from Home Depot. Before the 90-day return policy was over, my dad had already taken his back and swapped for another one. We have had nothing but problems from these mowers. They are in the shop every year. They eat belts, eat blades, front axle broke in half on one, it is always something. The front tires on mine are now toeing out. I figure it is only a matter of time before the axle breaks on it also. Keep in mind that I only mow an acre or less. I will never ever buy anything else from John Deere. I asked the local dealer if he had anything besides a John Deere I could trade this piece of junk in for. Of course, he only sells John Deere. I told him, being a Christian prohibits me from telling him how I really feel about John Deere products. Heaven help you should you use John Deere to service the thing for you! Please get an estimate before agreeing to let them do any work. I wish John Deere would man up and make this right. I think I am just going to sell it and buy a Gravely Zero turn mower, which is what replaced my dad's John Deere.

We contacted Larson's Tractor, John Deere dealership in West Plains, MO, to trade a used Lx279 for a JD push mower. We are moving and no longer need a large riding mower. On the phone, Larson's stated that "sight unseen we would even trade for a Honda push mower" around $600. After arriving at the store, the manager stated that they would not do that because "there was no ID sticker on it and those were bolted on" and we are thieves and we stole that mower. I have never been so mortified in my life! But they would only offer half of their original offer ($300). We drove home, found the ID sticker with the PIN number and the owner's manual. I am not sure what our next step is, but I know we will never ever be John Deere customers again!

My story is sadly similar to other complaints about JD transmission problems. I have a five year old LA140 riding mower, less than 100 hours on the odometer. The transmission failed to drive the mower after running 20 minutes. The local JD dealer replaced it for $850. My extended warranty expired the previous year. I wrote John Deere corporate a polite letter asking for help with half the cost of the repair. They eventually responded "no, but here's a discount coupon for future parts". My recommendation; do not buy John Deere riding mowers. Their transmissions are unreliable and expensive to repair.

Last Thursday, I was attempting to park our John Deere 757 zero turn mower, which was idling. I had backed it up almost to the carport door, which was down at the time, when suddenly it started flying backwards out of control. I was hurled into the carport door from the back and it was curling around each side of me as the mower was going backwards at a high rate of speed. I was bending my head and neck down into the mower trying to protect myself. Then, just as suddenly, it started going forward and the carport door was hung on the rollover bar. This jerked the mower into a standup position with me still in the seat and pinned into the carport door. Finally, the carport door came loose from the bar after ripping out all of the bolts from the frame of the door and slammed the mower to the ground. I turned the key off and went into my house hysterical. I was shaking and trembling so bad I could hardly talk, along with hyperventilating and throwing up. I went to the ER in Oxford, MS where x-rays showed no broken bones; only bruised muscles, sprains and strains. I was given an injection of Morphine and Phenergan for pain, and a prescription for Lortab and Flexeril for pain and muscle spasms.

I purchased a John Deere 190C in April 2006 at the Big Box stores for over $3,000. I put 119 hours on it and last year the k62v transaxle went out. I sent it down to the local JD supplier whose sticker was on the machine, only to find out that for $1,800, they would replace the transaxle. I inquired if it could be fixed and was informed that it was a sealed unit and they could not work on it. I researched and found the transaxle was from Tuf Torq with the parts diagram. On top of that, the majority of the tractor was, in fact, only parts put together and called a John Deere. I paid $3,000 for a name. Buyer beware, if they had called it a mutt and priced it accordingly, I wouldn't have called it a John Deere.

I paid $2,500 for a John Deere LA140 tractor that lasted only 200 hours (3 years) before the transmission went out. If you go online, you'll find John Deere had lots of problems with this tractor. How can I feel good about buying American even if it is a "Home Depot version" of a John Deere?

I purchased an X320 lawn tractor on late 2009. It mowed one season and then the mower started throwing the main drive belt. Then the idler tensioner went out. I tore the lawn mower down and took parts to Bridgeport EQ Marietta. I gave them tensioner. Altogether, they gave me back a bag of parts with no diagram and said they did not have one. Then I called one of their mechanics and told him the problem I'm having. He said he can only give me half the parts and to come back and he would get parts from my old tensioner. That was the third trip to dealership and I have to drive 25 miles. After getting the mower back together, I accidentally spun the main blade belt. I went in the 4th time and talked to the manager and told him what I have done. I asked if he could help me out. He said John Deere pays for all warranty work. I wasn't doing him any favors by working on it and he would not help me at all. I have purchased three new tractors. I will never purchase another one. The manager said he didn't care either. What a day.

This mower (JS25 Self-Propelled Walk-Behind) was purchased in September of 2009, and I believe it was a lemon. I am very dissatisfied with this product. I purchased this brand because I thought it was a quality product and will never buy a John Deere product again. The mower constantly loses momentum and stalls. I cannot use it any longer because it loses power and slows down, and will not do the job.

I purchased a John Deere. I walked behind the self-propelled mower from Lowe's last year, and it hit a small stump in my yard and the shaft that the blade is attached to was bent. The mower cost $350. The estimate to fix was $275 to $300. Bending a shaft on a lawnmower is a common occurrence and used to cost about fifty cents to fix, as all you had to do was replace a small metal piece that connected the motor to the shaft. It took about 5 minutes to fix. Keep in mind this was not a "massive" type of accident; any fix to the shaft would cost almost the entire cost of the mower to fix.

At the time of purchase, the Lowe's salesman talked me into the extended warranty as "it covers everything." When I talked to Lowe's, they said, "No, that is not covered by the warranty." Ok, I will bite the bullet on that one for believing the salesman and not checking on that myself. I got the number for the "higher up" complaint people and talked with them, and they said the same thing.

So now, I went the the John Deere people, and they said, "Yes, that is how much the repair costs are to fix a bent shaft; nothing we can do for you." Here is my point: fixing a common problem on a mower should not cost anywhere close to the entire new cost of the mower. Let's say, you buy a new car for $35,000 and you have a "common" fender bender. It will probably cost you $2000 to $5000 to fix. In this case, you would have to pay $30,000 to fix the $35,000 car!

I purchased a Deere LA130 tractor four years ago and currently only have 260 hours on it, and very dissatisfied with the quality. I performed the maintenance as required, but it didn't appear to help. First, I had to replace the front wheel spindles as they were severely worn even though I greased them as required. While doing so, I noted the front wheels have bushings rather than bearings. Another poor design. At the least, you would think the bushings should wear before the spindles, but not the case.

Then, I noted the steering assembly (gears) was severely worn. I replaced them as well. After doing all of these repairs, I noted the front wheels are slightly out of alignment. Guess what? No tie rod adjustment can be made. I also looked at new Deere riding mowers on display and noted some of them appear to have the front wheels out of alignment. And now to top it all off, my hydrostatic transmission went out.

I bought a new one at about $600.00. The manufacturer (Tuff Torq) of this transmission recommends 5W-50 synthetic to be used to increase the life of this transmission in heavy duty operation. Normally, it has SAE 10W-30 in it and is supposed to not require replacement. Deere should have done better and put the synthetic in to start with and make it so you can replace it at a specified interval. Very disappointed and will never buy another John Deere tractor again.

My 2005 L108 get the "spring maintenance special" every year. This year, upon its return a month after pickup, there was an immediate smell of gas fumes. I stored it in the basement, where the HVAC system is. Lo and behold, the smell permeated the house. I moved it up to the garage and the smell still made it into the rafters, then down through some old HVAC vents (which apparently were not sealed when they should have been). I inspected the tractor a number of times. No visible leaks. I washed it 4 times in 2 weeks, thinking they spilled something on it when they replaced a gasket during the servicing. It still had bad gasoline smell. I had to keep the garage door open all day to try to keep it from making us sick.

I finally called the dealer and told them. They picked it up 5 days later. Next day, I got a call. The gas tank is leaking at the seams. I told them it was not like that when I sent it to them for service and this tractor is outside only to mow. They said of course, that it is nothing that they did. They gave me a number to call John Deere and a service order bulletin number that says to keep this problem from happening, to install a support bracket. I called John Deere, they sent me right to a customer service rep "who can help you with this problem". Starting to smell a rat yet? She courteously took my info and the info for the dealer. She said she'll call them to get the story on "how it happened". This was at 1:00PM.

Next morning, at 8:00AM sharp, I got a call saying that they will replace the tank at no charge ($100 retail, their cost, $5.00), but not paying the labor to replace it ($400 my cost!). No budging. What can you do? Pay $2000 for a comparable replacement? What gets me is that it was too easy! They obviously know that there is a problem with this tank, they have a service bulletin on how to prevent it from happening. But this was not conveyed to the general public. The old, "if they don't think they have a problem, don't tell them they have one". The dealer told me they keep these tanks in stock because they replace so many of them! And I was told that there was not a recall on it, only the service bulletin.

The customer service rep said that it was not a safety issue! Oh my God! Sitting on a sweating piece of dynamite and it's not a safety issue? And that's not even considering the asphyxiation issue with the fumes in the house! Neither the dealer or the company is going to budge, I'm sure. To do so would create a potential liability issue. I'm actually surprised that they are replacing the tank. Isn't that also admitting responsibility? It is also obvious to me that there was a procedure in place for this situation. So if they know about it, they are liable for it. It's not just another part. It's the ** gas tank splitting at the seams! Boom! **! And I'm being really nice there! I'm not done yet. State AG office, BBB and NTSA, here I come.

I have a John Deere 5425 front axle that eats the front tires. It had 300 hours and tires were worn out. I had it in shop, AG Power in Mt. Pleasant, TX, several times and shop foreman said there was nothing wrong. I started taking it to shop with only 50 hours. They said I would have to just buy tires often. I now have 410 hours and have my second set of tires and they show a lot of wear. I called John Deere Corporate Office and they said they had never had a problem like this. They said I must be turning in one direction. I said no. He asked if I drove on highway all the time. I told them no. I was told there was nothing was wrong with my tractor and John Deere was not doing anything about it. I don't know how a company can stay in business selling a bad product. I will never buy another John Deere.

John Deere LA140 - This will be my third transmission if I chose to buy it. I e-mailed John Deere only to get the runaround . Finally a supervisor named Kimberly called to say there's nothing they can do unless a dealership looks on it. Well that's $80 to tell me what I already know, not to mention they want over $100 to pick this junk up. I don't have a truck to haul it there. My mower has less than 175 hours on. It's a good waste of $2400. Don't buy John Deere, you'll be paying for it later.

I'm on the 3rd transaxle on my LA175. The first was replaced under warranty. After that, I'm on my own. That's $2200 out of pocket on a $3400 machine. To make matters worse, the John Deere mechanic on a forum questioned me on my weight and if that was the problem. I got angry and told him I am 200 pounds and it may include a beer in the cup holder, but that's it. What ticked me off was his response that I was probably lying and that I probably am overweight and that I should cut back on the beer. What a ** idiot. I was so upset. I know I would've choked him if I met him. The engine is fine—it's those useless transaxles and spindles they use. That being said, I will never recommend or purchase a piece of trash like this to anyone, guaranteed. Steer clear of John Deere folks—just read the reviews is all I can say. The hours on the unit were 100 on it and it seems that the transaxles survive only that amount.

The mower is 6 years old and is rusting badly on the body work. Big (1-2 inch) flakes are coming off the body. There is so much rust on this thing that I'm sure all the paint will be gone within a few years. Where the paint has not come off, it is bubbling from rust underneath the paint. Keep in mind I live in Central California and all that I do with this JD is mow about a half acre of grass!

I have contacted John Deere numerous times over the last 6 months, but basically all they say is sorry. I am really disappointed in their product.

Z910 commercial mower, brand new, blows gas from the exhaust - I bought the Commercial Z910 mower new on a Monday and brought home and put in shed. Saturday, I went to mow and all the gas I had put in on Monday had leaked out. I tried to start it and the gas blew from the exhaust. Also noted was rust on top of motor and rust in and around the roll bar. I called AG Power and was told there was nothing they could do on a Saturday. A $10,000 piece of equipment, brand new and ran only to unload from trailer to shed and there is nothing you can do. Your customer service, Sherman, TX and especially McKinney, TX, is horrible. I want them to pick this up and reimburse the gas I put in it but not sure if they will.

I bought a J.D. L130 new several years ago. Within two years of normal yard use the spindles for the cutting blades began to seize up. I come to find out they had no zerk fitting, no way to lube them. Lo and behold the new ones that I bought had fittings. The most recent problem was when the gas pick up tube fell of inside the gas tank. So far there is no known fix, except to replace the tank at the cost of about $60 on eBay, not to mention the time to dismantle and replace a good bit of the tractor in order to remove/install the tank. If you haven't bought a John Deere, don't.

I have had an l165 for three years. It ran good till one day I changed the oil and got interpreted and forgot to add oil. I ran it awhile a week later and realized my mistake. Motor gave no sign of being out of oil. No noise like what you would suspect. This motor is also known for low oil due to filter leaks, I was told. I called John Deere and asked why the motor didn't have a low oil warning system like most of other brands have. There were no answers. Three thousand dollar mower and too cheap to put in a $25 part. John Deere told me, sorry it was my mistake. The motor is set up for a shut off device but Briggs doesn't put them in. I have a 1948 Gravely with oil pressure gauge, a 2001 five horse Honda trash pump with oil alarm and many other motors that warn you for low oil. Told them it would be my last John Deere. What ever happened to customer was always right?

You (John Deere) ought to be ashamed of yourselves. Your instruction manual failed to inform me of the proper maintenance procedures. The K46 transmission on my L130 is ruined. It would not be ruined if proper instructions had been given for transmission maintenance. I bought it from an Alaska John Deere dealer with a Snow blower attachment. The Dealer (John Deere), should know that snow removal is the hardest work, the L130 could be used for. John Deere should have known that without additional maintenance, it would not be up to the task.

It would have been up to the task if J. Deere had advised proper maintenance in the instructions in the first place. Instead, I was told the transmission was a sealed no-maintenance transmission. It is not sealed and it is not a no-maintenance transmission. Maintenance that would have kept this transmission performing well for many more years than it has been, could have been performed but was in effect, discouraged by John Deere's calling it "sealed" and "no-maintenance". I could see the failure of the transmission progressing over the years but was led to believe there was nothing I could do about it. Now that I have discovered that this is not true, I would like you to replace this transmission. My comments are fair and accurate. Thank you.

I bought a John Deere tractor 5310 on April 3, 2009 from your dealer Dheedsa Tractor Company in Iqbal, Singh. Upon starting the tractor, it spit smoke and would not work properly. We said to him to check the engine. He replied that it's not a problem, you continue your work. By saying again and again, he checked the nozzle and he advanced the time and said now it works properly. By saying this he wasted our 2-year warranty and he said you take your nozzle and check it from Agra Desil service Ludhiana. He said your nozzles are dead. One of them is totally dead. He asked money for changing the nozzles. Our tractor worked only 1200 hours. The tractors of John Deere do not work properly. Please cooperate with us and help us. We are very thankful to you. Model 5310. Engine no.: py3029d193189. Chassia no.: py5310so36466.

Living on a "John Deere" farm my whole life growing up and seeing the constant problems with these vehicles makes me wonder--how many times can one fail and still have a business? The tractors all have something wrong with them and cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars to fix. Would a car company still be in business if it sold cars that have one out of 3 working in 5 years? Maybe if dumb farmers bought them. Unite against this company. Who cares how many years you and your dad have drove these piles of trash? Time to change. I don't care what to, but John Deere has to go.

I purchased a brand new lower belt for the S-110 tractor in Feb. or March of 2011. The old one broke or split. We paid $40-$50 for the new one. My husband used the traqctor5 only one time after it was installed. He used it only once this year 2012 and it split again. He took the belt in with him and they could not tell us if it was a defective belt so now we have to pay for a new one again. I think that is wrong. It was only used twice.

I purchased a John Deere Go Kart as a Christmas present for my son. It cost us e650 and after a very short while the wheels at the front didn't engage to go around at all. I brought it at the shop in Longford, Ireland where it was purchased to be told it was rust and it cost e60 to get repaired. The shop assistant asked if it was "driven into a lake." It was stored in a shed when not used. After getting it fixed and keeping it covered when not in use it is not working.

LA115 with 110 hours. The mower sat while I was ill. The engine quit and needs to be replaced. I tried to speak with Shatiqua at John Deere, who said we should bring it to a dealer and see if they can help with repair costs. New engine will be over $800. I already put $500.00 into it when the mower was one month out of warranty. Add the original cost of the mower, the $500 and now another $800—this is costing us a fortune. We cannot afford to put anymore money in this piece of garbage. In reading these complaints, it sounds like Shatiqua is pacifying everyone by telling them they will help pay for repairs, but when it comes time to deliver they are not delivering. I read that the primary cause of engine failure is the ethanol blend of gas.

Well, that is all they sell in this area. If that's the case, why is John Deere selling their mowers in the Pacific Northwest if that's the case? How are we supposed to find non-blended fuel to fill the mower? The other defense I have heard Deere give is to blame the homeowner saying they didn't have enough oil. Yeah, right, like many homeowners with the same problem all forgot to check the engine oil. We are out the original cost of the mower, plus $500.00 and now need another $800 to replace the engine. The mower only has 110 hours on it. We are also stuck with a pile of junk taking up space in our barn and will have to pay someone to haul it away.

My husband was unloading our John Deere LX255 mower. In backing up, it flipped off the trailer. Thank God he was okay, but the hood was ruined. After looking at it, it's nothing but green plastic and a little plastic grill and headlight. We could get a new one. **!!! $650 for three separate parts. This is Chinese cheap plastic. Also, the mower deck has been welded three times in 18 months. Garbage. We are not getting a new hood. We will use it until it's done and buy anything else but a foreign made John Deere! After reading many of the complaints, how sad that what was once an iconic part of USA's history has become a joke.

I visited a local John Deere Dealer in March 2011. I intended to purchase a new X324 or X500. The salesman "helped" me decide by telling me that they had a slightly used X324 with only 85 hours on it. He said that the owner traded it in for a new X500. He said nothing was wrong with it and these mowers will last 2-3 thousand hours with normal maintenance.

I started mowing with it a month later. I noticed that it didn't have much power going up my septic mound but it did mow. I took it to a different dealer and told them to service it and look at the drive belt since it didn't have much power going up hills. I also ordered a new John Deere Snow Blower for it. The dealer telephoned me telling me that the transmission was shot and needed a new one which costs $1300. The mower has less than 140 hours on it.

2000 John Deere 345 garden tractor - fuel pump issue! Purchased tractor, used smelled raw gas, (next day) later discovered it was coming from the fuel pump old design which squirts the raw gas right on the muffler. A new fuel pump has a tube on the vent directs it to the ground!

I think this should have been recalled or replace before it was sold to me! I've read where several tractors have caught on fire along with garages and houses. I was a lucky one! I work in the auto industry where we recently recalled cruise control which could cause a fire! Just disappointed. I love my green tractors. My wife's father was a red implement dealer for 52 years. Wife said should have bought a cub. It at least wouldn't burn down the house!

My John Deere LA175 has less than 150 hours on it. It has been a solid grass cutter for the past 2 years cutting my 2 acres. Out of the blue, I couldn't make it up a slight incline on my property. I called Lowes and as luck would have it, my warranty expired 2 months ago. They passed me on to John Deere. I spoke and gave all info to customer service. I was told to bring tractor to dealer to access what was needed and perhaps John Deere could help.

The dealer said I needed a new transmission and steering which would be $1,200 but the dealer said, John Deere may be able to assist. John Deere called and said there was nothing they could do as the transmission broke due to application and that even if it was still under warranty they would not cover due to application. I explained that I only cut grass on less acreage than what the tractor is rated for (2 acres vs 2.5+) and have very few inclines. They "supervisor" Shaquista from John Deere said sorry and that there is nothing they can do as it broke due to the application. I called the local Deere dealer which services my tractor complaining, and he was surprised and thought they would help.

I am utterly disappointed as I thought I was buying a Deere and would get a quality backed product. I feel sorry for the local dealer as I wanted to eventually upgrade to a X500 (so I could plow my driveway) but I will not buy another Deere. They do not stand behind their products they sell and misrepresent the LA series as quality Deere products sold at Lowes and Home Depot.

I have looked everywhere and called the John Deere supervisor to provide in writing where it states what the application of the LA 175 tractor is and how I mis-used the application. My call has not been returned. I thought spending close to $4,000 (with taxes) would have bought me something that would have lasted longer than 150 hours.

I now have to find the $1,200 to fix so I can sell it and buy some other brand. Deere does not equal quality, reliability or service.

John Deere, Lowes and Home Depot should be sued for mis-representing the Deere products they sell. There seems to be a known issue with these transmissions, yet no where on JohnDeere.com or the specs in brochure does it say to mow on flat land only.