|
Andrew of Fort Erie OTHER (07/26/08)
I purchased 3 mtd riders in 12 years. 1st one had a techumuse engine that would start if the wether was cool. The 2nd mtd rider a 14.5 hp 42 cut the deck drop( cotter pin missing ) 1st use , 2 week 2 more cotter pins went missing on the deck drop again, used a lot of belts , the most serious was 2 weeks after the warranty expired the differential ( transmission ) developed a excessive wear ( right side ) and the cost was over $465.00 to repair. If you look at the amount of time you used the lawn tractor 6 months out of a year.
Now 6 years later the same transmision this time the right side cracked in half. The repair, is a new casing which is now $435.00 which I said no , not including labour! So I bought another this time its a Yardworks which is made by MTD ,1 week later a deck spring @ the idler pulley broke ? This spring is so thin , no wonder why it broke. My next riding mower will be a John deere !
Dropped deck ( not nice looking on your lawn )
Earl of Howe IN (09/12/06)
I bought a 46 Huskee Supreme from Tractor Supply in May of '05 and even bought the 3 year extended warranty.
I took the mower home and within the first week or so of use, one of the blades fell off while mowing. The mechanic, instead of replacing the blade tower because it was damaged, put the blade back on with lock-tite. The same blade fell off a couple of more times which I put back on myself because I couldn't wait 2 weeks or more to get my mower back. You could see that the gear on the tower was stripped about a quarter of an inch. After complaining about it they finally replaced the tower.
During this time a pulley broke out in the center. I had never seen such a thing. Then one of the front wheels fell off. Again I fixed that. When I took it home after the new tower was installed, i went out and started mowing. After an hour, the part of the frame that holds the gas pedal on has somehow spread apart and the pedal will no longer stay in place. After a month waiting for a factory rep to look at the machine, he deemed that it was my abuse that caused the problem. They originally said that I must've dropped the mower off the back of a truck to cause such damage. I only carry it on a little trailer. Then it is the way I get on and off of it, or a steep bank or hill has caused it to flex. So, MTD won't cover it with the warranty. The thing is my warranty says if the same thing goes wrong with it 3 times I will get a new mower. I guess I should've taken it in for all the times the blade fell off.
Joey of Dyess AR (08/12/05)
Bought MTD riding mower Model# 3A7668H352 48 inch cut. This is the second MTD mower I have owned the first lasted 8 years and did a great job. The above mentioned mower eats up,destroys, the motor pulley to deck pulley belt. have gone through six (6) in two years. Frankly The problem started after the warranty was out. But MTD feels no responsibility to their customers. Well here`s one they have lost. I realize they make virtually every brand except John Deere. So here`s to the Deere.
Henry of Ludlow VT (08/08/05)
I purchased a Yardman MTD 18.5 HP, 46" DECK MODEL13S607H354, SER#1C070H20560 from wal-mart on 05/03/00. I have a little over an acre of lawn that requires mowing through the season. I just discoveed that the axles have worn out the transmission housings to the extent that the right axle is expossed. I can stick my little finger under the axle, the left axle has a 3/16 space under it.
I contacted my local repair shop and he didn't believe my discription of the situation, when I convinced him that what I discribed was correct he said in all his years of doing repair he has never seen this condition. He tells me that the transmission case will need replaced. I have a 42" Murray thst is 12 years old tha is still going strong that is used to mow around a flying field with a little more area, all it need is oil, blades and belts. why didn't the yardman last longer?? Do you stand behind it or far away.
Vanessa of Rural Retreat VA (4/12/05):
Purchased a 14.5 hp, 42-inch cut from Lowes 2 summers ago. This is the 3rd mower we have bought in 12 years from Lowes, manufactured by MTD. Now we find out that the rear end has gone out and its going to be about $400 - $500 to fix this. Unbelievable! What a cheap product! I knew they weren't John Deeres, but come on, at least give us 5 years of mowing before an expensive repair! Will NEVER NEVER purchase anything made by MTD again. We could not even get a repair manual.
David of West Salem WI (10/17/03):
I own 2 riding mowers (Yardman). Both of them have transaxle problems and have not been abused - 1 hydro, 1 gear drive. Very poor workmanship and design! Spent $1500 on one, $900 on other and still have nothing to mow my lawn with. I will have to buy something else BUT WILL NOT BE AN MTD!
Billy of Hopwell OH (6/29/03):
I own an MTD piece of junk that could have killed me. While I was mowing near my pond the tractor started free-wheeling while mowing, the loss of control ending with me and tractor going into the pond. Not as funny as you might think with the blades still engaged I may have became an amputee. The possibility was also real that if I had became entangled with the mower I could have drowned. I live in a remote area and it would have been possible that no one would have found me or in case of bleeding not have made it to the house to call for help.
Found that the transaxle differential bolts had no locktite on them thus allowing the differential to seperate. The brake is before the differential so with the differential gone there is no brakes. MTD said they would fix it! Took the dealer over a YEAR! My deck was lost, they replaced it but still the piece of junk has never run right. It chews belts faster than grass.
Salvador of Axton VA (9/24/03):
I bought a Troy-Bilt riding mower on July 3, 2003. I used it a couple of times and it was leaving high spots and the grass wouldn't blow out from under it (the grass WAS NOT wet). I called Lowe's and told them the problem and they said the grass was probably too wet and to use it a couple more times. I did what they told me and it still did the same thing. I was told I had 60 days to return it. By this time, 30 days had passed and I was told I couldn't return it now because I had waited too long and they would have to repair it.
I took it in around September 4 and it wasn't ready to be picked up until September 21. I took it home and it did the same thing. I called and they said they had found nothing wrong with it. The store manager told me he would call Troy-Bilt and call us back. At this time (September 24) he has yet to return my call. I even offered to let the store charge ME for the time I had used the mower and they refused. Instead, they told me to bring it back in again. They have already kept it for a month and I don't believe I'm being unreasonable in asking them to give my money back when they can't find the problem. I gave $1540 ($400 cash) when I purchased it and have been making payments on my Lowe's credit card for the balance. I have always enjoyed shopping at Lowe's but I am very disappointed in their actions on this occasion.
Barb of Maquoketa IA (7/22/03):
I purchased a 17.5 hp - 46 inch MTD Yardman 04/06/2000 at $1249.00. From the start it had problems. The front wheels were so out of alignment, it was dangerous to mow on a slight incline. It did not want to mow straight, but rather steer downhill with no way of correcting the mowing pattern.
Also, the lawnmower has 5 mowing heights, and the only ones that are usable are the top two, otherwise the lawn is severely scalped. That wasn't a big problem, unless you wanted to mow high. I complained about this lawnmower to MTD soon after I got it, and all they tried to do was reassure me the wheels on the front were not supposed to be aligned straight. After much discussion, they finally agreed to have it looked at. This did not make a difference for but a short time. The end of the mowing season was drawing to a close, and obviously the problem did not go away in the winter months.
I complained again about the problem and again was told, "the wheels are not meant to be straight". Anyone that mows grass, knows when the wheels are not like they are supposed to be. Not getting much further this year, after complaining many more times, I could finally have it looked at again. The dealership said the plate on the toe end would probably break in a year or so. He did some adjustments on the machine and it did get along okay until this year. Obviously, it is now out of warrantly, and the plate on the toe end broke.
I called MTD and talked to customer service again, and the only comment was it is out of warranty, it is out of warranty. I feel we have a right to expect a good product for that amout of money. I got a lemon, and I understand that can happen. But I do belive it should have been taken care of.
Rebecca of Brodhead WI (6/16/03):
We purchased a Ranch King lawn tractor in May of 2000. It ran fine in 2000 and in 2001, but then in 2002 started blowing a fuse - two weeks after the warranty expired. We have taken it to our repairman and he cannot figure out what is wrong with it. We spent $1,200.00 on something that we got approximately 11 months use out of. I have not gotten anywhere with Briggs and Stratton or MTD. The only information I have obtained is from Farm and Fleet who informed me that Briggs and Stratton starters for lawn tractors could possibly be the problem as some of them were recalled.
David of Newbury Park CA (6/6/03):
I bought a MTD Yard Machine in June 2001 ($1000.00). In May of 2002 I had to have the carburetor rebuilt. In June 2003 I need to get the same item rebuilt. I am 56 years old and have been working with small engine equipment almost all of my life. This does not happen to a carburetor on a yearly basis.
All I really wanted to do was inform the manufactor of this fault/problem and to see what they had to say and what they would do if anything. I went to their web site to find an e-mail address for customer service, but they do not have one. I finally found a phone number to call located in their privacy policy. I called and inquired if they had an e-mail address for customer service, the answer was no.
I asked if a person had a complaint about a product who do they talk to or write to. At that point I was transferred to the order dept. where I got a recording explaining to me that due to the volume of calls their lines were full and to call back at another time, the connection then went dead. So i tried 5 different times. I called on a Mon. twice on a Wed. and twice on a Fri. with the same results all three times -- "all lines busy". I believe the consumer should have some way of venting their frustrations back to the manufacturer of an item.
Rhonda of Sycamore OH writes (4/13/02):
Own a Huskee Riding Lawnmower. One day before warranty went out the transaxle flew apart. Company wouldn't even talk so we fixed it ourselves, lasted a year out again, cannot get any results. Lawnmower is only 3 years old. Paid over a thousand dollars, figured it would last at least 5 years. Didn't last a year!
Wendy of Greer SC writes (9/6/01):
We purchased a lawn mower manufactured by this company. It is not operating properly and we have had it in twice for warranty repair. It still has the same problem and we cannot get the company to stand behind its warranty. Our warranty is up in a month and we cannot even get the company to respond to our letters or e-mails. We want the mower replaced per warranty with a non-defective mower.
We have a lawn mower that is almost two years old that because of how badly it smokes can only be operated for short periods of time. Plus it has quit working totally on one occasion. We are out the $172.20 that we paid for a lawn mower and have a piece of junk.
Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.
|
