Apparently, you know little to nothing about lawn tractors or you wouldn't be making the absurd statements you just did.

First off, you have no clue how the fire started and yet you have the audacity to blame the manufacturer for poor design. Maybe the issue is with you and poor maintenance. Engine fires often start as a result of a large build-up of dead grass that is too close to the exhaust system.

Cub is but one manufacturer who uses composite hoods. Deere has sold hundreds of thousands of LT's and GT's that do not have metal hoods going back to the sixties. MTD's warranty covers defects in materials. Can you prove that a certain part failed and caused the fire? NO????? Then you have no warranty claim. That's the way it works. MTD is 100 percent correct when they told you to call your insurance agent. That's what you pay homeowner's insurance for.

In the meantime, I suggest you stop maligning the reputation of MTD in a public forum when you have NO PROOF to offer that will back up your statements. Ask your attorney about the meaning of the word "LIBEL" and what the consequences are.

The verbiage 'hold harmless' by the manufacturer pretty much waives any liability for merchantability.

I suspect a stuck float alowing raw gas to drip or run onto the muffler. I too have questioned the design of an engine manufacture that would put carb. right above a hot muffler with no deflector to keep the fuel away from the hot muffler??? SO it may indeed be a manufacture poor design or a manufacture defect when the float stuck.

The owner normally can't see defect inside the carb.. He can only be alert when he smells raw fuel and of course keep the grass away from the muffler and off the deck. Not too many owners go over their equipment before use checking for loose or cracked fuel lines, leaking carb., chafing wires, or grass build up. Heck most don't even check the dipstick ??

The only things I can think of that would of caused the bursting into flames would be raw gas on a hot muffler or at the head where the exhaust pipe leads to the muffler? I would think grass would smolder some before you saw flames. based on his discription most likely it was a fuel fire???. The the other thing would be the fuel hose popped off or failed at the carb.

Now if the LT was 4 or 5 years old the maintainer could be inquestion, but you kind of expect a newer LT less than 1 year old or two not to burst into flames. Just cause you can't prove it don't mean it wasn't the manufacture fault? IMO the engine manufacture at the end of the trail would be the one lible under warranty IMO the smoking gun is BURST INTO FLAMES" That IMO is only a FUEL sorce based fire???

Those who are interested in this issue should go to the thread titled "My cub was on fire" and not post to this redundant thread put here by the same OP.

This one should now be allowed to die on it's own and float off into cyberspace where it belongs. Permanently

I just bought the same model Cub Cadet used. The first time I used it the muffler became bright red and sparks were flying from it. I just turned it off to let it cool. I have not had a chance to check it out yet, but obviously something is not right.

Mufflers do get red hot, especially after dark! And, if they are old and rusty--they do shed sparks, which are from the rust particles! If the used tractor has been sitting for a while, not being run--yes, you will have the condition you have described. Normal! RJ
this from a guy who works on a lot of older machines, and some newer ones, too.

I Guess Kompressor Don't know crap About Riding mowers! I have a Cub Lt 1045 That just caught on fire and went up in Smoke Because Of BAD DESIGN!! I have Owned Cubs All my Life , And I knew when I bought This one Something was wrong! Just MTD Cutting corners Like always!! And They Will be Hearing from my Attorney! They About got My Son Hurt really BAd!!

Yah, but---did you allow grass cuttings to build up around the engine and muffler area, or in the flywheel cover area? Folks tend to overlook those areas, and when the smoke boils out--they run around screaming and tearing their hair, and don't try to put out the fire! Of course--thats the manufacturer's fault--isn't it?HMMM??

This thread is almost two years old, time to let it drop. CC products are no more prone to destruction by fire than any other brand. Repair by qualified technicians and proper owner maintenance are the key to any machine's service life.

evidently not being a new post was just posted may 7th. Besides we are not the ones that determine when threads die. It forum users (not posting anymore) or forum police. Should of started new thread, but no rules saying has to.
basiclly if you want it to die don't add post it just keeps it alive.

Until this last weekend, I loved my Cub LT1046. It has been a great tractor. My LT1046 is 7 years old (with less than 50 hours) and over the weekend, I also had a fire. I have worked on cars most of my life and I witnessed the issue first hand. I was cutting the grass and noticed smoke coming out of the engine compartment. I shut the tractor off and opened the hood. The choke cable was glowing red hot! THIS IS A BAD DESIGN! The choke cable is routed snug against the positive lead for the battery. The choke cable is also long enough so it makes contact with the plastic underside of the hood. So as you go over bumps and the hood moves, it caused both of these wires to rub together. All it took was for the insulation on both the choke cable and the positive battery lead to be compromised. And yes, I do take care of my tractor but I never inspected all of the cables under the hood because there are few hours on it and has been well taken care of. The choke cable is a metal cable covered with plastic. When I opened the hood, 90% of the vinyl covering on the cable was burnt off. The plastic underside of the hood was melted where the cable was touching it. The worst part is that it scared the HELL out of me. At the motor end of the choke cable, the cable touches what appears to be a rubber intake line. That line was very melted even though I stopped the tractor as soon as I could. THE SCARY THING IS THAT ON TOP OF THAT RUBBER HOSE THAT WAS MELTING (AND COULD HAVE STARTED ON FIRE) IS THE GAS LINE. HAD I NOT STOPPED THE TRACTOR WHEN I DID, THE GAS LINE WOULD HAVE BEEN NEXT TO GO. CONSIDERING THAT I WAS SITTING ON TOP OF AT LEAST 3 GALLONS OF GAS, IT COULD HAVE BEEN VERY BAD. AND NO. MY TRACTOR IS NOT DIRTY AND FULL OF LEAVES UNDER THE HOOD. UNDER THE HOOD IS CLEAN AND THERE ARE NO OIL LEAKS, GAS LEAKS, etc. - JUST POOR DESIGN. I HAVE PICTURES OF THE ENTIRE ISSUE. THE PICS SHOW THAT THE CHOKE CABLE IS TOTALLY SMOKED AND THAT THE POSITIVE BATTERY CABLE WAS BURNT AND IS THE CULPRIT. THE ONE RUBBER LINE IS RUINED BUT THANK GOD, IT DID NOT START THE FUEL LINE ON FIRE. THE UNDERSIDE OF THE HOOD WAS ALSO MELTED FROM CONTACT OF THE CHOKE CABLE. I CALLED CUB AND AFTER WAITING ON HOLD FOR OVER 30 MINUTES THEY SAID THAT THEY HAVE NEVER HEARD OF ANY FIRES ON TRACTORS LIKE MINE. IT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE THEY WANT TO HELP ME SO I WILL POST THE PICTURES FOR ANYONE THAT WANTS TO SEE THEM. IRONICALLY, MY TRACTOR IS AT OUR CABIN AND AFTER TERRIBLE WIND STORMS LAST YEAR, THERE IS A ZERO TOLLERANCE FOR ANY FIRES. ONE PERSON RECD A0 $1500 FINE FOR HAVING A SMALL CAMP FIRE. IT IS A GOOD THING THAT THIS TRACTOR DIDN'T START A FIRE NEAR THE WOODS BECAUSE WITH THE DRY WEATHER AND ALL OF THE DOWNED TREES, IT COULD HAVE BEEN BAD.
THANKS TO CUB FOR CARING ABOUT ITS CUSTOMERS. THEY SUCK!!!!!

IMHO, a yearly inspection is part of normal preventive maintenance; I'm reasonably sure the owner's manual says something along those lines. I have a 1042 and found a similar, but not identical issue that took 5 minutes and a nylon wire tie to fix.

Just had my 2 year old cub cadet go up in flames!

Bad things happen to great people, because it didn't happen to you, don't judge others and learn how to prevent them on your tractor. I'm sorry you guys had your tractor catch fire. I love Cub Cadet mowers better than JD and I've had both. I'll be looking on my Cub for ways to prevent fire because my daughter uses it to pull trailer from horse stalls to pasture. She has lupus and OCD, last thing I want is for her to face a fire. Thanks for all the posts, so much wisdom to be gained here, God bless you all!

Our Cub Cadet, one and half years old went up in flames. That is because I let leaves collect between the engine and the steering wall. Earlier I tried cleaning up the leaves behind the engine but it is hard to reach and clean thoroughly. I have had a number of small fires with it already. Leaves would catch on fire along the side. The muffler is close to the ground, right above the front axle. Why would you put a muffler close to the ground at the front of lawn mower?

Yesterday, I was mowing over a lot of leaves with my Cub Cadet LT1046. No sooner did they bunch up on the left front side of the mower deck than they started to smoke. I backed up the mower, and the leaves were in a smoking pile in front of the tractor. The leaves went out on their own without catching fire, but this was a scary experience. If I hadn't noticed the leaves bunching up, the leaves could have burst into flames along with the mower. That said, my LT1046 has proven to be a very reliable lawn tractor. We have had it for about seven years now. I use it to mow an acre and a quarter of our property. Other than routine maintenance such as oil and filter changes and needing to replace a light bulb, it hasn't given any problems. Knock on wood.

Well, it is plain to see that you are not educated in a process of starting fires! Think about this: Rub 2 sticks together, and they start smoking. Run your tires under low pressure, they get hot, and eventually ketch fire, or at least start smoking! VOILA"!! Get the point? You must have leaves that contain flammable stuff. I have a big bunch of oak trees on my property, and i have been chasing them every fall, for many years, and have never started them smoking! My advice: Run a water line down hill with several hose hook-ups in it, and keep some old garden hose nearby, so you can squirt the smoking leaves, if they look like they might be on fire. On the lower end of that pipe, install a drain so you can let the pipe drain for winter. A shut off at the inlet will be needed also! Good luck! Rusty Jones.

Rusty, it's not the tires that are causing the leaves to catch fire. The danger is when leaves bunch up along the side of the mower and make contact with the hot muffler.

That is one of the problems with manuals. I have a JD, the manual tells me not to put my hand in the spinning mower blade, not to touch the hot muffler, and a lot more common sense things that I should not do.

However will all of these precautions there is no where in the box that says that you must watch the box round the muffler, as it can fill with grass and catch fire.

In the over 10 years I have had the tractor, this is the only safety problem, a fire in this box. Fortunate, it caused no damage.

I am astounded to read that folks must be informed to not allow dry grass and leaves to accumulate in the hot muffler area, etc., because that stuff can and will start a fire! Kind of reminds me of kids, whose Dad told them not to pick up a piece of steel he had just cut off with a torch, and got their fingers burnt! "YOWW!! Thats HOT, DAD!! Well, No kidding?!

Point was not that I did not allow debris in the box around the muffler, but the fact that with all of the ridiculous safety precautions the manual did not mention the real problem of debris around the muffler.

I always blow the area when I am finished mowing, but the yard had gotten out of control because of rain the previous weekends, and the grass had gotten quite tall

Note: Back in "The Olden Days", of which i consider myself as a product of---most folks knew which end was up, didn't think the moon was made of green cheese, and didn't need all of those instructions printed in a voluminous booklet, telling them how to operate their wondrous new machine! And, the factory folks had to make a machine safe enough to keep an office worker from losing body parts, from being uneducated in the operation! Haven't you seen the fool, who points to a revolving gear set, asks about it, and loses a finger tip by getting it removed by turning gears!? I* always figured that's why we got those voluminous instruction booklets with most new machines, as sold since the time when some folk found out they could make a living by suing machinery makers, because they didn't tell the buyer that their product could be dangerous! MMMM

This happened to us as well. The yard ignited so quickly it caught the woods on fire before we could even grab the hose. It was bad. Also no backing g on the warranty. The mower was only 4 months old.

my brother in law was a minute away from being ingulfed in flames from our Cub Cadet blew

Bought a Cub Cadet 123 brand new in 1968. Decided to get a new one a couple of years ago. Night and day the quality. A month ago I mowed with it for 15 minutes. Pulled it into barn on

clean cement floor. Walked away. Heard crackling noise. Looked back through open barn door.

Flames like blow torch shooting up from hood into rafters. In minutes barn engulfed. Half hour

later barn and contents rubble. I was seconds away from being cremated in that barn. Had I still been on that mower when it burst into flames, I would never have made it. Will never buy another mower with a plastic hood. Finished the mowing season with my 1968 Model 123,.