My New Hustler is Junk biggest mistake I ever made

Dpmulvan said:

Yeh so I was pissed off bet none of you calling me names have ever flown off the handle right?? I bought a new raptor sd 60 and had it delivered, mowed for 20 minutes then it started stalling out. Called dealer who is a scumbag by the way and they said they would come get it. They never showed up, called at 5 and they made some excuse then told me I would have to pay another $80 delivery fee for them to come and pick it up. They got my cash and don't want to hear from me anymore. Looking at the mower the fuel system looks like a fragile mess. Did some research on the 7000 series and I'm not impressed.

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I have found that most dealers are that way. They know it will be years before you come back to by another mower.
People in this group love the raptor. It's is a poorly built mower. It is made to look like you are getting a commercial grade mower. But they have had problems with them since they started making them.
The best upgrade they did was going with the kohler 7000 over the Kawasaki.

Did you put gas in it or are you running what was in it?

First off I didn't mean to bash everyone's Hustler I was and still am extremely pissed off at the scumbags who sold it to me. After not showing up yesterday and lying to me they where suppose to be here first thing this morning and didn't show again. Seems I'm not alone. I used non ethanol fresh fuel, checked all fluids before using. It mowed and ran great for 15 to 20 minutes then began to sputter and stall out. It would start right back up but continue to do the same. First thing I checked where plugs which indicated a slightly lean condition but from what I've read that's how they run. I replaced the fuel just to be sure,checked fuel filter, removed air filter et. Went back out to mow same thing runs great for 20 minutes then stalls out. I have rebuilt an older kohler command, built porsche motors and several motorcycles engines so I'm not completely stupid when it comes to motors, I'm just not that familiar with this new fuel system and don't want to give kohler a reason to void my warranty so I havnt messed with it that much. I guess it could be a venting problem, or smart choke issue I see there is a service bulletin sb337 for the choke. Or maybe a bad coil I dunno I started reading service manual I downloaded but again I don't want to start wrenching on a new motor under warranty. I guess I'll have to find a new kohler tech. I guess these days once they get your money it's over. I remembered times when people treated others with respect and customer service actually meant something. Those days are long gone. Any input ideas or knowledge would be much appreciated I have three acres of lawn to mow.

If your dealer is really treating you that badly I think you should call Hustler. I'm betting they'll get you some action.

Does it only die when the blades are engaged? I know there is a seat safety switch that might be your problem.

I can understand you are pissed, and for good reason.

You have a few courses of actions.

1) you can do as suggested previously and park the mower across their drive in front of their showroom with your list of greiviances on it.
Take a few photos or a video of you there and upload it to youtube.
This of course will get some action but you will have really pissed the dealer so they will not be very co-operative in future.

2) send them a letter, address it to the accounts department.
Start the letter with something like this .
My solicitor has advised me for legal reasons that all further communications with your company must be in a written form so as to be legally admissiable in the pending legal proceedings.
If they ring you back , follow up by tellingthem to write you a letter or email then hang up.
Down here a solicitor is the lowest level of legal representation so you may need to change it to suit your legal system.

3) Try to take the matter up with the owners.
If it is a franchise chain make a complaint to the franchise agent.

4) Put everything in writing and send it to Hustler

5) We have a consummer advocate down here & as far as I know you have one there so spend the money and instigate a claim against the dealer.

6) find a repair agent who is authorised to do Hustler & kohler repaires, get your mower fixed and send the bill to Hustler.
Send copies of all this to the local media most of which love a David vs Golliath story.

You could take them to small claims court or have a local News agency run a your story on them. Most news channels have a consumer problem line and the dealer you bought it from probably doesn't want the bad PR.

Lodge a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.

But I absolutely agree, companies no long care about their customers, truly sad.

Hustler customer service is very responsive. Why not just get in touch with them? They respond very quickly on Facebook.

Thanks for the help people, I finally got someone to help they picked up machine yesterday and they think there's a piece of casting material that should have been removed causing an obstruction inside the motor. The guy who picked up mower wasn't the tech but said they had another kohler 7000 with the same problem, I will share details when I get it sorted. I appreciate everyone's response.

To answer other questions the mower would work great for 15 minutes or so then lose power and stall, it would start right back up but continue to stall. First thing I did was jump the seat safety switch (life is never that easy for me). Then I checked for spark,coil no problem there. Then downloaded service manual and checked other obvious fuel system variables, pump, solonoid on carb et. I started to investigate venting system but didn't go much farther because all the hoses, pieces seemed to be rather fragile and I didn't want to snap off anything trying to remove hoses et. After I jumped seat switch I also tried loosening fuel cap. I assume the issue is related to the fuel pump running on crankcase pressure and this casting blockage is somehow affecting it. I did remind them of service bulletin sb337 which they where not aware of. I have owned a kohler command on my cub cadet for years and only issue I had was valves. I rebuilt top end et and thing runs great. I'm not a huge fan of this new technology but I guess we must deal with it. I pulled my 1975 toro push mower out yesterday which hasn't run in four years, sucked out the stale gas with a turkey blaster. Added a shot of sea foam, fresh gas and it started on the second pull. I remember going with my dad to buy that mower I was six years old.

Dpmulvan said:

Yeh so I was pissed off bet none of you calling me names have ever flown off the handle right?? I bought a new raptor sd 60 and had it delivered, mowed for 20 minutes then it started stalling out. Called dealer who is a scumbag by the way and they said they would come get it. They never showed up, called at 5 and they made some excuse then told me I would have to pay another $80 delivery fee for them to come and pick it up. They got my cash and don't want to hear from me anymore. Looking at the mower the fuel system looks like a fragile mess. Did some research on the 7000 series and I'm not impressed.

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Yeah I understand we all get pissed at times. There is nothing more aggravating than having a mower that won't work properly especially when you have invested your hard earned $$$$ in it. I believe at this point i would call Hustler headquarters and see what else can be done.