Purchased a 42" 15HP Kohler driven riding mower in 1997. I have had to replace parts and pieces every year that I have owned it. Fortunately Im knowledgeable and capable to do the work myself. I had a 3-year warranty that we purchased separately and I will praise them on providing good service the first 3 years.
However, the bigger problem is that they chose the wrong company to manufacture their mowers (i.e., MTD). The transaxle is built by Peerless and has failed on me 3 times. Ive replaced the pinion gear all three times with it shearing the gear teeth after a few months of operation. Ive tried to make sure the clearances are correct but apparently they arent since it continues to fail. The engine has worked flawlessly and its unfortunate that the body/transaxle are not built with the same quality.
Sears has since changed their manufacturer on most of the riding mowers to Electrolux (Swedish based company) so I hope the quality has improved. I plan on buying a new mower in the next few months but Im looking for a little higher quality mower this time.
No physical damage. The economic impact of the poor quality mower would have been horrible if I had to return the mower each time it failed.
