First time mower owner, taking delivery of a new Ikon XD 52 with Kawasaki engine next week. Wanted to get a head start on this forum to prevent any misuse of my new equipment! Especially since there is not a lot of info out there, since this is a relatively new machine.
You mentioned you followed the instructions, but I'm not sure if you've seen this video:
Seems like a known behavior and not necessarily an assembly issue or part defect/failure.