Beware of Husqvarna Garden Tractors!

cpurvis said:

Am I mistaken or is there a rack on the rear for suitcase weights? From the looks of the wheel weights, there may have been a problem with the rear of the tractor coming off the ground and some measures were taken to keep that from happening.



$518 may be the price for a lesson about counterweights. It doesn't sound unreasonable to me, considering how much work there is in replacing a frame. But, if you can butter up some Husqvarna customer service employee who is giving away someone else's money, maybe they'll foot the bill. If it was me, I wouldn't. From what has been presented so far, this looks like a case of abuse.

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I would say they are going to repair the frame and not replace it. The flat rate time is 8 hours to replace the frame plus the cost of the frame. the labor alone should be in the $480-640 range.

Are those tractor tread tires factory or did you add them yourself.

ILENGINE, I would like to address a couple things you said;

"As a Husqvarna Consumer Products service center I would have to deny your warranty on the grounds that the mower had been abused."

I want to point out that the very first go-to for Husqvarna is to fall back on one of the more abused "outs" for a company to categorically deny their responsibility in warranting their product should it be a burden for them, by saying their product was abused.

This is what I believe to be "abuse" of the customer.

According to the University of Law School in Miami;

"a definition of terms should prove helpful. Express
warranty is an affirmation of fact, promise, description or model trans-
mitted from the seller to the buyer and made "part of the basis of the
bargain." ' Implied warranty is divided into two categories-merchant-
ability and fitness for a particular purpose. In the former, the law implies
a warranty by a seller who deals in goods of that kind to the buyer that
such goods are "fit for the ordinary purposes for which such goods are
used." 2 The latter division, fitness for a particular purpose, is applicable
when the seller "knows the particular purpose for which the goods are
required" and the buyer relies on the "seller's skill or judgment.

I relied on the seller's skill and judgment in part and in part was able to verify what he claimed. The seller knew what I wanted and what I needed to do with it, and the expressed warranty was part of the reason I took a chance on the Husqvarna GT.

From the Florida Bar;

“When a purchaser answers the inducements made in the tremendous advertising campaigns carried on by the automobile industry and purchases a new automobile, he has the right to expect the automobile to perform properly and as represented. If it does not, through no fault of his, it appears to us that he should be allowed to seek redress.”
"Id. at 456. These cases take the philosophy of Henningsen v. Bloomfield Motors, Inc.,15 and expand it to validate actions for damages which a purchaser suffers when he is induced to buy the manufacturer’s product and the product turns out to be worthless."

"Conclusion;"

"It is difficult to imagine that a national vehicle manufacturer or any manufacturer can issue an express warranty to a first purchaser but not honor its terms. But under current Florida law, there is no predicting how a particular judge might rule on that question in a case like the hypothetical presented above. As it stands, privity remains a concept with almost magical allure. Until the Florida Supreme Court or legislature clarifies its meaning and its importance in the context of warranty law, manufacturers can attempt to hide behind the curtain of their dealers and retailers and pull a dismissal out of a hat. Presto, chango, and the bargained-for express warranty disappears."

I meet that definition on privity, and I am not seeking a legal recourse, just trying to offer up an actual definition for terms being used that are rarely understood, except the for the attorneys on hand at Husqvarna, whom wrote the warranty, as an example.

The reality to the rest of us is that Husqvarna has no intention of honoring their warranty if you buy a "Garden Tractor" from them that is rated for "Ground Engagement Work" by them for the purpose of using it for "Ground Engagement Work", but they "May" honor their warranty for grass cutting, at their convenience. I know some out their have possibly not experienced this and for that I’m thankful. I do know that the frame when used with the front attachments that are advertised does bend in the exact same place since at least 2012 and they are quietly addressing this issue with a bolt on bracket for the purpose of reinforcing this area but of course they are quiet about it. Think about the signs of a quality engineered part able to live up to the claims of the manufacturer. I’m sure 3 frame changes in less than 2 years would not be a sign of that kind of confidence. Yet the GT frame has.

My point in this from the beginning, is to warn people who might make the same decision I did, or are considering the Husqvarna model GT's.

Please consider the lengths this company will make their customers go through, to find a way out, when it comes to their Garden Tractor's.

ILEGINE, I would like to address this next comment;

"As far as the $95 freight charge to ship the frame, I could say that to be true. The distributor could be charging the dealer around that amount to ship the oversize/overweight frame LTL on a tractor trailer. Most parts distributors have a additional freight allowance that they charge the dealers for certain oversize items."

The $95 freight charge was a lie, flat out! I proved it wrong when I ordered from Husqvarna, a replacement frame for $148, plus $13, for ground UPS, and according to email notification will be arriving from Miami within 5 more business days.

My Dealer will not get any business from me and I will, any chance I can, try and discourage someone from buying there. I have found that Husqvarna has been quick to accuse, and quick to defend their Dealers at their customers expense. What I ask of Husqvarna, if you don’t want to honor a warranties on your GT/TS lines then at least represent them appropriately!

I'm holding on to the proof of my claim for now in order that Husqvarna might do the right thing in this. Won't people be surprised to see this play out and when it's over, the dust settles, ego's and reputations are put on the line in their answers, conclusions, or judgments, and I show the video of the whole thing. I suspect I will here crickets from some.

The update I mentioned yesterday is this;

I called Husqvarna customer service, 20JUN2018.

16:18-on hold

16:22-Customer Service Rep at Husqvarna answered, her name is Lynett. I asked who and or what department would be best to talk to about a warranty complaint and dealer complaint after a brief description of my story.

16:24-on hold

16:26-Transferred to the warranty claims department with a rep named TK. I told him a brief description of my story and he said he would submit my claim to management for review.

16:40-on hold

16:53-TK was back on the line with a claim reference number (Incident: 180620-004017-Bent Frame). I asked him a question about warranty claim policy, "could my dealer have received a decision on my claim from Husqvarna without having a claim reference number?"
TK said no. when the dealer called Husqvarna about my claim, they would have given him a claim reference number then and it would be logged into the system according to my tractor's serial number. I asked TK, "is there a claim in the system or any reference or activity logged by Husqvarna or my dealer according to my tractor's serial number?"
TK looked in the system and put me on hold.

17:02-TK answered with no to my question above. I told him then there is another complaint, the dealer lied by saying he got a response from "Allen" at Husqvarna that they would never cover my frame under warranty. If that can't happen without a log under my serial number as you say then my dealer clearly didn't call, and clearly had no authority on behalf of Husqvarna to tell me "they" said my frame would never be covered.
TK expressed concern and sent me an email to have me verify on the phone that I had received it. The instructions was to send pictures of the tractor and the damaged area. TK also explained that management would contact me in 24 to 48 hours on my claim.
Approximately 18:30-I sent 22 pictures.

This is the last time I will respond to your thread, as I have little more to offer that would be of any use to you & anyone else who reads this post.

Firstly I am very happy you are making progress on your claim.
I believe you have a valid claim against the dealer who has supplied you with equipment that is not fit for the job required.
You really do not have a claim against Husqvarna who will only take up your claim in order to protect their reputation & the integrity of their dealer network.

You then have the problem of what to do with the tractor as if you get a replacement, you will only get it once.
Obviously the tractor is not up to purpose so in the long run you will need a stronger machine and would be better off with a stronger replacement ( If Husqvarna make one ) or a refund to put towards a full sub compact tractor.

Once again good luck & please keep us posted.

bertsmobile1,

I sincerely thank you, and many on this site, for the encouragement, and opinions, good, bad, or indifferent. It is my hope that I have been properly respectful to the members in return. I'm usually one of the quiet one's. I have not been quiet about this because of the personal nature to me.

I agree with most of what you said, and by the way, I see you are from Australia, and I have the deepest respect for the Australian Special Forces, and I will leave it at that.

I want to believe the part, "protect their reputation & the integrity of their dealer network" that would make what I have committed to do much easier.

I have been working on a proper platform to release the response I received from Husqvarna that would be productive and hopefully enlightening to the forum, and to my commitment to warn potential customers of Husqvarna Garden Tractors. When it comes to Husqvarna the manufacturer, my biggest complaint is that they induce the sale of Garden Tractors with supporting material (at least here in the USA/ and Canada) claiming to build a Garden Tractor, for Ground Engagement Work, in their GT/TS line, and accessories built for them. They back it up with a supporting warranty (contract), they don't intend to honor, when a customer uses it for ground engagement work. Instead they use the legal outs they have created and placed into the warranty, to hide behind, that reputation we all know.

Because of the warnings from others that have been down this road with no care from Husqvarna (dozer blade, snow blower, front scoop all cause the same identical bend in the Husqvarna Kits TEX Bolted Chassis 445559 582033101) and my own experience in the absurd I committed myself to them and anyone who will at least consider my story that unless Husqvarna keeps their word and commitments I will do what ever I can to warn people about their GT that isn't a GT.

I keep my commitments.

This is the reason behind choosing "Beware of Husqvarna Garden Tractors"

Where to go now? I did purchase the new $148 frame approximately 5 days ago, from Husqvarna parts. It should be delivered by the end of the week. I have a Bekaert horse fence to finish installing, a storage building to finish (12x24), a Volvo to repair for my wife (minor), and holes to fill after the removal of stumps with an excavator I rented (once I got the hang of it it was fun). Somewhere in there I will be taking apart and installing the tractor pieces to a new frame with some expert fabrication to the frame. When the new frame is ready first, then I will dismantle the old and put on the new side by side, at least that's the plan, flexible to reasonable improvements or working around obstacles.

I will still continue to talk to Husqvarna until all leads for ideas run out, including corporate leads and update all interested in what happens.

Sincerely,

You have never explained how you bent the frame.

What were you doing when this happened?

How much were you trying to pick up and with what?

Why the big wheel weights? Were other rear weights in use at the time? Were the rear tires filled with fluid? How many pounds of rear ballast were you using, i.e., all weights and fluid, if used?

You need to answer this and maybe more before you issue a "Beware of Husky tractors" public service announcement.

cpurvis,

Because of video evidence, the weight is completely mute, you can't get a full or close to full bucket load when scooping with the recommended extra weight, 100lbs in bucket, 100lbs offset etc. even with this set up I can slip in diff lock to the axle with very little progress, quickly, it's sand, very loose.

I have an acre of Florida beach sand. very easy to move. have you ever tried to drive on dry sand? Now please try and put yourself here in the unique conditions of Florida gulf coast near the beach, if you have turf tires you will spin them mowing grass on a slope.

the chevron/ lugs are not filled. I had concerns about rusting my wheels on the inside. Also consider how I could have removed all the accessories and the tires in an hr to make the kind of false claim of someone without integrity might be tempted to do but did not. I let Husqvarna and the Dealer see it like it is. I don't have anything to hide but Husqvarna is trying hard not to answer.

I have my turf tires on there own wheels like having snow tires on there own wheels, so that changing them out for the job could be done easily.

I was using 2 42lbs JD suit case weights in order to achieve a balance to the potential load in my scoop and traction. They are designed for the jd 100 series (grass cutters). The rear wheel weights are for the Craftsman GT6000, my tractor, (x-reference the part number on the same tex chassis even and surprise...it's the same).

Total rear weight is not an accurate picture. The axle weights are a different load then the jd weights, besides, if you really want to question this, lets ask Husqvarna why their GT has the same ga steel as my old 2011 Ariens ($900 HD special) built for cutting grass and it's dimensionally the same except the Husqvarna is a few inches longer? Let's ask why the Craftsman GT6000 can handle the Garden Tractor work and handle the johnny bucket jr, plus chevrons, plus 42 pound jd suit case weights on the front for rear attachments and on the back for front attachments and the wheel weights?

The bottom line with the weights, these are the right weights for the job, on ground that has very poor traction, when using the front scoop. If the tractor can't handle the front scoop, or snow blower or dozer blade, then Husqvarna shouldn't recommend that it can!


The GT/TS on the tex chassis are said to be able to handle ground engagement work, and the dozer blade, scoop, snowblower-including the 52" snowblower attachment from Husqvarna (these attachments are made by Agri-fab and for and under the craftsman name also). They claim they are built for ALL GT series tractors 2006 and above (tex chassis). They also don't stipulate the exclusion of real life use of these implements, I'm guessing the abuse clause in the warranty combined with the low dollar figure (making a legal action unreasonable for the common person, like me) of the parts to be replaced are great Corporate tools to not have to acknowledge their GT misrepresentations.

The guy with the 52" snowblower, wow, imagine the dynamic and static loads on the frame with this out there bolted to a 12ga, 26lb, 12.5" wide lawn mower frame (as I've come to learn in this process, and yes I call deception on Husqvarna). There is far more force to be applied potentially on the frame in the snow that can weigh more than my sand and if you catch the edge of something you can't see beneath the snow then Husqvarna's solution is to call it abuse. I sympathize greatly with that guy, I know what its like to shovel snow! I chose my sand over anyones dirt or clay or rock or a mixture of those, what a pain. Imagine if you are the guy that purchased a TS with the quick fix chassis reinforcement for their weak frame, the support for the snowblower doesn't look like it can bolt onto the frame with the reinforcement in place, so you will have to remove it to support the snowblower? Think Husqvarna will have your back when your frame bends, and it will. But the loose sand I was scooping (not digging) buckled the frame in a second (there was less than half a bucket load, and that's generous). Stunning.

I have let all know that after this is over and the accusations from Husqvarna are over, I have the proof in video (we are in that age and it's handy) but not until every option has been exhausted first! Yes, I know, and am counting on Husqvarna to be watching this, trying to comment as someone else, possibly. I would be a fool not to.

Please, Husqvarna, comment on this out in the open just like I have, so we can have a conversation about the legitimacy of your GT's and what you claim, in a forum and way to preserve the credibility of my complaint. I don't think they will, but I do call them out...

The Dealer and Husqvarna misrepresented their product.

The Dealer claimed $95 extra special freight charge on the chassis.

Husqvarna will do nothing about this kind of deception on the low end, fraud on the high end. How many people pay for the extra freight charge claims that are completely false? There is more, but thats enough. What has happened to customer service?

Update!

The Chassis came in. Ahead of schedule, thank you to the Miami Dealer that is 6 hrs south of me.

The Chassis;

delivered by UPS Ground and easily.

26lbs actual.

12.5" wide

3" tall

57" long

of 12ga steel (that includes the powder coat)

Pure pan style chassis. The kind used in grass cutters like my 2011 Ariens ($900 HD special, the same ga that Husqvarna says is "robust") and the like. Wow again, I wish I knew.

I maintain that I would double up the frame rails. What the heck, you already have one that can't be hurt any further. Cut it up, slide the rails from it inside the new one, line up all the holes, weld it with a full penetration, put it all back together and now you can do whatever traction you can put to the ground.

Have fun with it from here.

Good luck,

Max

Total rear weight is not an accurate picture. The axle weights are a different load then the jd weights, besides, if you really want to question this, lets ask Husqvarna why their GT has the same ga steel as my old 2011 Ariens ($900 HD special) built for cutting grass and it's dimensionally the same except the Husqvarna is a few inches longer? Let's ask why the Craftsman GT6000 can handle the Garden Tractor work and handle the johnny bucket jr, plus chevrons, plus 42 pound jd suit case weights on the front for rear attachments and on the back for front attachments and the wheel weights?

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I guess you found out the hard way that rear weights and overloading the front DOES matter. Don't forget to look at your front wheel spindles; they're probably bent, too.

Put the new frame in and repeat what you did to bend frame #1 and you'll bend frame #2 just like it.