Lifetime Deck warranty is not hhhhonored

[Joed756]

 

[Mower King]

I have to post this from time to time and, after reading some of these replies......I feel it's time to post it again!

 

[ILENGINE]

It is so sad that most of the comments are derogatory to the commentator and with endless defense of equipment manufacturers. I hope that this is a case of manufacturers fault because it is so rare that they accept responsibility!

As somebody else said. We are not defending the manufacturers, or even trying to bad mouth the customers. But a lot of people have the attitude that if they break their lawnmower then the manufacturer will cover it under warranty. But in reality about 90% of the stuff that we see as techs is the equivalent of somebody going to the gas station and getting water in their gas, and then expect Ford to pay for repairing the fuel system on their new car. Or somebody driving their new truck into a brick wall, and then expect Chevy to pay for the damage. But nobody will think about trying to file a warranty claim for their new vehicle in those cases, but they will expect it when it comes to outdoor power equipment and then badmouth the manufacturer because they won't cover their misfortunes.

 

[STX-38-46]

From the looks of the deck I would say that the damage is not from "Normal Use" and was caused by striking or contacting solid objects. I do not feel that any manufacturer representitive for any make would honor the Warranty because of the visible signs of previous damage to the deck.

 

[bertsmobile1]

It is so sad that most of the comments are derogatory to the commentator and with endless defense of equipment manufacturers. I hope that this is a case of manufacturers fault because it is so rare that they accept responsibility!

Not derogatory in any way shape or form, just blunt & direct .
The deck has failed due to operator abuse not because it was bad from the start or was a bad design.
There is no way to candy coat it and candy coating does no one any good.
Hopefully Ken will be more aware of the way his mower is running in the future and this will prevent repeat performances.
I am no fan of Husqvarna and tell any one who asks me to avoid buying any of their products other than chain saws and if you check my posts you will see that view is regularly expressed
Allowing Ken to wreck another deck is not helping Ken or any one else
You might note that I also said the warranty is a con & Ken was conned so hopefully with future purchases he will be a lot more careful to establish what is a warranty claim
You might also note I provided some help "get it welded ".
Please try to read posts in an objective mannar .
Ask any tech about how many customers come storming in demanding a warranty claim over something that is either not covered or has been created by their misuse / abuse of the gear .
I have to be blunt & honest with them as well and I have been spat at & punched for doing so , no one likes to be told a failure was their fault , but I am an honest tech.
Some of them have stormed out to another dealer, paid a deposit pending a warranty approval then had it denied decided not to have the work done is they have to pay for it so end up with a mower in pieces and several hundred out of pocket . A couple have even come back & got me to do the repair after all as my gestimate was less than 1/2 what the dealer quoted .

Now we do not have the full story about Kens mower so it is difficult to pinpoint where the problem originated buy I can tell a fatigue crack at 100 paces and fatigue cracks form because of repeated stress cycles be they thermal , mechanical or torsional so Ken is doing some thing wrong and the best service we can do for him is to find out what he is doing wrong & correct it not bare a shoulder for him to cry on .

 

[bertsmobile1]

The good news is that that is a straight forward and easy 1 hour repair by a competent welder. It looks more to me like most likely there was some deck failure around the rear wheel and then contact with a solid object peeled it open like a can opener. I can see why Husqy would decline warranty as by appearances, the damage showing now is not weld failure as that section of the peeled open deck is not welded. Maybe around the rear deck wheel there was an issue initially, but that's a lot more now.

Just pull the deck and take it to a welding shop and they will build it bigger stronger better for short money.

That is exactly what I see as well
So Ken needs to have the deck welded then have a good look at everything else to isolate the root cause to prevent it happening again.
And note we both said to use a competent welder , ie a professional welding shop not the dealer's apprentice.

 

[bertsmobile1]

From the looks of the deck I would say that the damage is not from "Normal Use" and was caused by striking or contacting solid objects. I do not feel that any manufacturer representitive for any make would honor the Warranty because of the visible signs of previous damage to the deck.

GF got it right back in post # 16
The deck cracked, it could have been cracked for years then Ken hit something that opened out the crack so he noticed it.
Looks more like he got the deck hung on some thing to drag the back open and even that suggests the deck is heeling rather than being used with a positive attack angle .

 

[CaptFerd]

I see 2 layers of old paint. Hard to imagine that deck only 3 years old. Id just find a friend with a welder and just fix it, if its that much a hassle with the warranty stuff.

 

[ILENGINE]

It also fail because the support structure is missing allow the deck housing to constantly flex causing the failure see in the image.
View attachment 59418

I would say that is the initial cause of the crack along the back of the deck. Either removed, or damaged/ripped off and then the crack along the rear of the spindle as well as the deck cracked out around the spindle bolts put it in the coffin.

 

[enigma-2]

Afraid I'm going to agree with the concensus. You hit something rock solid and 'tore' the deck. Started at the outboard edge and continued when the thing you hit failed to yield. The giant scrape at the side is proof positive. To me, it doesn't appear to be a failed weld, rather the metal tore adjacent to the weld. We've all did it. He'll i ran into the front of the house with one of my tractors. Had to replace headlights and front grill. Sigh.

If it were me, I'd find a local welder and hull the deck over to him and get it welded before it gets worst. Think the last time I did this it only cose me $20. (Wasn't nearly as bad as yours, but won't be a big deal either).