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John Deere X300: What a disappointment!

Electriks
10 years ago

I purchased a John Deere X300 in March of 2012. I mowed my lawn for 28 years with Toro self-propelled mowers and because of back problems I got to the point where I needed a rider. I bought a John Deere, paying well over one month of my income for it, because I thought it would be reliable and because of the 4 year warranty. Unfortunately it turns out I was wrong on both counts. I had a problem with a plastic part rubbing the blade so I had the dealer pick it up for warranty work. However, when the service department called me they said that it is the deck that is damaged and will cost $1100.00 to fix. This cost is only for a new mower shell and installation of the moving parts from my mower. They will not cover it under warranty because they say it is my fault. The tractor has 38.4 hours on it and I have nothing on my lawn that could cause this damage. I told them I had mowed this lawn for 28 years with Toro mowers that cost 1/10 as much and never had a problem like this. I find this apparently poorly designed and/or flimsily built product to be unacceptable. If a cheap Toro mower can mow my lawn with no damage hundreds of times, why can�t a mower that cost 10 times a much do the same?

Comments (66)

  • justalurker
    10 years ago

    Well, there's two kinds of JD dealers. The ones who made JD what they are today and the ones who made Kubota what they are today.

    Is that the only dealer proximate to your location?

    If I knew where you lived I could run a search and might find you a deck.

  • Electriks
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks for the generous offer. The closest cities are Evansville, IN, and Owensboro, KY. I thought about looking into other dealers but assume that they would not want to do any kind of work if they didnâÂÂt sell the tractor.

  • gewf631
    10 years ago

    Evansville to Owensboro is only 40 miles.

    The Evansville Craigslist site has over 60 "garden tractors" and over 70 "lawn tractors" listed. Not as many in Owensboro, but still a few.

  • krnuttle
    10 years ago

    A suggestion. Take some pictures of the damage and then contact one of the large dealers in some place relatively close like Louisville. Contact them, give them the pictures and explain the problem. Ask if there is something they can do to assist with the resolution of your problem.

    Large Dealer = one who deals sevices every thing from large combines to push mowers.

  • Electriks
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I have had the same problem trying to find a mower on Craigslist. Even if I go as far a Louisville (220 miles R/T) I cannot find a mower. There are some on eBay but they are 500 to 900 miles away and they wonâÂÂt ship.

    As to contacting another dealer, are you saying they might preform warranty service? Or that they might be able to find a used mower? Thanks!

  • justalurker
    10 years ago

    You need to understand that dealers are paid to do warranty work. They don't NOT want to do warranty work.

    What dealers won't do is a repair that they feel-think-suspect that the factory will bounce back to them as NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY.

    Dealer have a lot of latitude and can usually persuade their regional rep to authorize a repair that is borderline covered or even caused by abuse in the interest of good customer service.

    By going nuclear and fighting with your dealer without taking the time to get a detailed explanation of why it's not covered and inspect the damage in person and have the dealer explain what they feel you did to cause the damage you have alienated your potentially most powerful advocate for getting the repair covered under warranty.

    Then you went thermonuclear and escalated to JD Corporate so there is a record of the denied claim attached to your X300 serial number which usually precludes the possibility of any other dealer attempting to cover the repair under warranty.

    What you should have done...

    When the dealer notified you the repair would not be covered under warranty you should have gone with a camera and had them explain why not. When they said the repair was $1100 you should have said NO THANKS, loaded up your X300 and arranged to get it to the next closest dealer and let them take a look telling them nicely that "you anticipate warranty coverage" WITHOUT mentioning the first dealer.

    The thing about Craigslist is that you may not find what you're looking for locally today but it might show up tomorrow or next week or next month. You have to be diligent and when you see what you need you have to JUMP on it right NOW. You live in a good area for used JD. don't overlook calling dealers and see if they have a used or take-off deck.

  • Electriks
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    After the dealer told me twice that they would not do warranty work, I contacted John Deere stating my problem and asking for them to honor their warranty. If doing so is considered âÂÂgoing nuclearâ and âÂÂfightingâÂÂ, then they must employ a lot of oversensitive people. What is not 'detailed' about them saying that I did something that caused the problem and that they would replace the shell and move the parts from my mower to the new shell at a cost of $1100.00? The dealer has told me they have no idea how the damage could have been done. To me, that's as 'detailed' as it's going to get.

    This post was edited by kspeed on Fri, Dec 20, 13 at 20:28

  • justalurker
    10 years ago

    With respect... we're only getting one side of the story.

    Perhaps you'll fare better with your new Murray and the Murray dealer.

    This post was edited by justalurker on Fri, Dec 20, 13 at 19:56

  • lkbum_gw
    10 years ago

    Ok, Kspeed, I'm calling bullsh1t on this one. Did you or did you not go to the dealer and let them show you and explain the damage?

  • gewf631
    10 years ago

    kspeed - Your diagnosis sounds like the deck shell bent, causing the mulch plug to hit the rotating blade. The mulch plug doesn't have to do anything more than seal-up the discharge chute - plastic is cheap, rust proof, and light weight. It's not a structural member, and doesn't have to be "a durable material for a mower!"

    My first car was a 1972 Olds 88 - it had plastic inner fenders, that were the only part of the car that didn't rust.

    I have a 15 year old Cub Cadet (not the box-store type), that my son grazed a fire hydrant and bent the deck, also causing the mulch plug to hit the blade. This is a heavy duty machine, but guess who won that collision? Fortunately, some work with a hammer, and some epoxy for the plug, and I'm back in business.

    My post about Craigslist was to point-out that there's quite a few used machines within a reasonable distance, and since mowing season won't start again for several months, you've got some time to find a decent one, if that's the route you want to take.

    I think we've all provided you with plenty of chances to prove your case, but this is starting to sound like you came here looking to vent. We all feel your pain, but I don't think there's much we can do - the ball is in your court.

  • Electriks
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    The search for a new mower has begun. I found a mulching mower but I do not know if this would be âÂÂplug and playâ (or maybe I should say mount and mow). The dealer is not sure and I cannot tell either. Mine is shown as a 42X, there is also a 42C shown in my manual, and I think this mulching mower may be a third one.

  • lkbum_gw
    10 years ago

    Troll, what was the damage to the first deck.

  • tomplum
    10 years ago

    The 42M is a nice enough deck, The belt is expensive, but much less costly to repair than the old Freedom mulchers.Is the deck he wants to sell you a Freedom?

  • Electriks
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    All he told me was that it is a mulching mower and quoted the cost as $701. I told him what I had as far as tractor and mower (X300/42X). He did not seem really sure it would fit my X300 and also told me that the information he had said it recommended something like a spring kit to go with this mower. He was going to look in âÂÂanother placeâ for a replacement mower for me and call me back in 10 to 15 minutes.
    I have a question for gewf631: after the fire hydrant incident, could you still use the mower? Once I bent the plastic out of the way of the blade, I mowed with no trouble for months. Do you know why the mulch plug goes all across the back of my mower and not just the discharge chute? I assumed it had some other function than just plugging the chute.
    If you are celebrating the birth of Jesus today (we will tomorrow), I hope everyone has a great day!

  • justalurker
    10 years ago

    Any mowing deck that fits a current Select Series (X3xx, X5xx) will fit your X300.

    Decks from ANY other series (L or D or LX, etc) will be hit or miss. Every JD dealer should have that info at their fingertips.

    A Select Series deck over 42" (48" and 54") will require the lift assist spring kit (part # AM136646) due to the increased weight of the larger decks.

  • Electriks
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I have been looking specifically for an X300 mower. Things arenâÂÂt going well thus far. The person that gave me the quote on the mulch deck couldnâÂÂt tell me if it would fit an X300 or not. It is supposed to be a 42 inch. The second dealer I have called twice and my call has gone directly to voice mail where I left a message. The third I decided to try email to see if that would work better. Even though I specified I wanted a complete mower, he sent me information on a deck shell. Maybe all this is an omen. Thanks for the input.

  • ed1315
    10 years ago

    What are they making those JD decks out of? Tin Foil? That JD brand of lawn and garden tractors has been going down the toilet ever since Home Cheapo started selling them!

  • justalurker
    10 years ago

    @ ed1315...

    The X300 is not an entry level lawn tractor sold at big box stores.

    The X300 is a Select Series lawn tractor only sold through authorized JD dealers. The 42x deck on an X300 is made of 0.105 inch thick steel which IIRC is 12 gauge steel.

    And one always has to remember that some people can break an anvil with a rubber hammer.

    This post was edited by justalurker on Tue, Dec 31, 13 at 18:22

  • ed1315
    10 years ago

    So you are saying that he is at fault and the dealer should not repair under warrenty? If he bought it at a "box" store he could take it back. This is why I don't go ga ga for dealers. If he was a good dealer he would fix it. That is the problem with them... They are like a box of chocolates. If you are smart enough to understand that. and yes JD home equipment is not what it use to be no matter where it came from.

  • justalurker
    10 years ago

    Having been in a position where I was the manufacturer's authorizing party for warranty repairs I never made a determination based on one side of the story and NEVER made a determination without inspecting the damage.

    In this thread the OP has yet to say that he ever inspected the damage and got a detailed explanation of the dealer's refusal to cover the repair under warranty.

    No big box store would accept a return of L&G equipment purchased in March of 2012 in December of 2013. Warranty repairs would be done by the local servicing dealer if there is one cause no big box store services anything.

    There are both good and bad dealers as there are good and bad customers.There are warranty repairs authorized that shouldn't be and there are warranty repairs refused that shouldn't be. It is often the attitude and forthrightness of the customer that determines which is which.

    I ran over something and now it is broken is not a manufacturing defect. Are you are smart enough to understand that?

  • ed1315
    10 years ago

    Any Dealer that puts the customer first would fix it

  • justalurker
    10 years ago

    Sure, let's fix everything for free and then you'll be screaming about the price increases of the product.

    None of us here know both sides of and/or the true story and details of this situation and the more the OP posted the weirder the story got. You want to blindly take his side... fine.

    I have to have the facts and putting the customer first does not mean rewarding the customer for abuse of the equipment or bad attitude or insulting behavior (not all necessarily by this OP). There are some customers that even the best dealer doesn't want because that customer will never be satisfied. The hardest thing for a business owner to do is tell that to that customer.

  • lkbum_gw
    10 years ago

    What he said ^^^^^^^.
    From the orignal poster....
    "For instance, I have done three times as many oil and filter changes as John Deere has in the maintenance schedule. I have greased it long before JD says it was needed. I have even washed and waxed it! "

    Followed by:
    "Finally, as to what was hitting I need to preface my admittedly poor inspection by saying that I have spinal stenosis plus arthritis everywhere else except my hair and fingernails. This made it very difficult to get down under the mower for a proper inspection."

    Sounds like a load of crap. For someone to do all that maintenance, yet they can't even look at the deck or let the dealer show them damage?

  • ed1315
    10 years ago

    "Unfortunately it turns out I was wrong on both counts. I had a problem with a plastic part rubbing the blade so I had the dealer pick it up for warranty work. However, when the service department called me they said that it is the deck that is damaged and will cost $1100.00 to fix."

    The crooked dealer probully bent the deck when he loaded it.. The customer it the boss... those that try to boss customers dont stay in business for long

  • justalurker
    10 years ago

    Knowing nothing other than the sketchy info the OP provided you accuse the dealer of committing felony fraud to charge $1000 for a repair and jeopardize his/her freedom and the half million dollars or so they invested in becoming a John Deere dealer... really ED?

    This post was edited by justalurker on Fri, Jan 3, 14 at 22:07

  • Electriks
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    HavenâÂÂt had a chance to post this but I got the tractor out a few weeks ago and took a look at the top of the deck and cannot see any problems. Of course I cannot see the center part of the mower very well and I guess the damage may be visible only to an expert eye. I will try to clarify why I did not go to the dealer to inspect the damage. When I called them they either wanted to go ahead with the shell replacement or return the tractor immediately as they were going by my home with another delivery. I was quite surprised at what they had told me about the bent deck and didnâÂÂt consider the fact that their diagnosis may have been incorrect, so I told them to bring it back.

  • mownie
    10 years ago

    Why don't you now find an independent shop to just examine the deck and report to you exactly what they find?
    If you decide to go this route, you should ask that they remove the deck and turn it over for your close examination and to photograph any damage or defects they discover. Have the independent shop explain in detail and show you exactly what the defective condition is, and to offer you an opinion on what caused it to occur.
    Perhaps an independent shop might even be able to simply repair whatever the damage is, where the Deere dealer may have stood pat on replacing the deck..
    And you would be obligated to pay them for their efforts.
    I too get a feeling that your story is omitting something.
    You have as much as been called a liar yet you still come back pleading your vague case without a shred of hard evidence to back up anything.
    As I see it, your only hope now of garnering support from these hard core members is to post some photographic proof of some unrepairable damage which makes that Deere dealer so insistent on replacing the deck.
    Most of us are people who know how to fix things mechanical, but we have not SEEN anything nor HEARD a graphic, detailed description of what the damages are.
    Time to pony up or take the saddle off.

  • homegrown55
    10 years ago

    1. Does anyone know EXACTLY what is covered under the JD 4 year warranty?

    1. Does anyone know what BREED of pony he was saddling up?

    This post was edited by homegrown55 on Tue, Jan 7, 14 at 17:04

  • Electriks
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    A relative got intrigued by this problem so he offered to drive over to take the deck off. This is what we found. We could find no damage to the deck shell. The spindles, the idlers, and the tensioner pulley all seem to spin okay and there seems to be no play in any of the bearings. We couldnâÂÂt detect any damage to the blades. The plastic mulch part does have some damage where the blade has rubbed it. The blade is not currently rubbing against this. He found that there is only one bolt that attaches this mulch part and it is designed for a bit of adjustment from left to right across the mower. This damage is what I was able to see this summer and I assume when I pushed on it that it slid a few millimeters back across the mower and out of the way of the blade. We found that the belt was jammed under the tensioner pulley. When the tractor was returned and I could no longer mow, I called the dealer and they told me they had only âÂÂlooked at itâÂÂ. So I cannot imagine how the belt ended up there. I am attaching two photographs as I believe some commenters wanted to see the mower.

  • Electriks
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Here is the second photo.

  • justalurker
    10 years ago

    From the picture it seems that the anti-scalp wheel are not aligned (parallel). Either the wheel brackets are bent or the deck is twisted, tweaked, or bent.

    Rear hanger brackets also seem oddly aligned. left rear bracket looks like it's bent to the rear. If that is correct then you likely damaged the left rear lift arm. Also, why did you remove the J bolts? They just pull out to the outside and rotate to free the lift arms once the deck is locked in the correct position for removal. That deck goes on and off in mutes if you follow the procedure in the owner's manual.

    Also appears, but might be an optical confusion from the angle of the picture, that the mandrels (spindles) aren't both vertical which could indicate a bent deck.

    You can check the deck by removing both wheels and laying the deck on a flat area of concrete. The deck should lay perfectly flat on the concrete.

    You might want to get the deck to an independent or another JD dealer for inspection. If you don't know what you're looking at deck damage can be easy to overlook.

    This post was edited by justalurker on Wed, Jan 8, 14 at 0:54

  • wheely_boy
    10 years ago

    How do you do something like that?

  • larso1
    10 years ago

    From Wikipedia: Parallax is a displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different lines of sight, and is measured by the angle or semi-angle of inclination between those two lines.

    Pretty sure this is what you're seeing. In the second photo the left gauge wheel looks to be correctly perpendicular with the deck and the line of sight when camera is directly above that side (best I can explain).

  • justalurker
    10 years ago

    From other pics I found the OP's deck doesn't look so bad but someone who knows what they are doing should be looking at that deck in person.

    The OP's pictures leave a lot to be desired but unless the OP can move the deck closer to his keyboard so we can see it those pictures are what we have to work with.

    That 42" deck does not hang perpendicular to the tractor. It hangs skewed (left side forward and right side back). That can make the mounting brackets and wheel brackets appear bent..

  • tomplum
    10 years ago

    The long awaited pics! The belt likely hopped as the end of the blade had rested against the mulch plug, which held it enough to prevent engagement- rolling the belt off. For your purposes start with comparing blade ends as they meet trying several different positions. In an ideal world, both blades would meet level with one another. In the real world , many are off by the thickness of the blade. Compare to different parts of the deck. Remove the blades, clean and see how they nestle together will usually tell you if one is tweaked. If no other damage noted, hopefully you will be good to go. From there, the mulch plug would need to be re-secured and then the leveling procedure done while on the tractor. As a foot note: no J bolts at the rear arms on a 2 blade x deck.

  • justalurker
    10 years ago

    "As a foot note: no J bolts at the rear arms on a 2 blade x deck"

    I stand corrected.

  • Electriks
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Many thanks to everyone for the information. At this point since it is now mowing again and seems to be as good as it ever was, I am going to run it for a while to see what happens. I will have to replace the damaged belt (courtesy of my ever helpful dealer) some time but I think the old one will hold for a while. When I do, I will try to evaluate the deck. On a recent call to my dealer, she told me this story again which I have decided to pass along: this has happened to other mowers that have run over a seed from a Liquidambar styraciflua tree (the common name here is sweetgum). I will try to post in a few days what I learned from this illuminating experience as I have had contact with John Deere dealers from PA to IL and MI to MS. There might be information that someone could find helpful.

  • Electriks
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Maybe they canâÂÂt mow and chew gum at the same time.

  • mownie
    10 years ago

    Well, it is nice to learn that a savory solution can indeed be derived from sour grapes after all.

  • Electriks
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    From telephone calls, email, and internet research this is some of what I found: the dealer where I bought the mower quoted $1100.00 to just replace the mower shell. John Deere gave me a quote of $1500 to 2000. to replace the complete mower. Three dealers told me that only the shell was available at a cost of $636. to $713. A dealer in MI said he had to go to another place to look it up and came back with a complete mulching mower for $701. but could not find the 42X. I finally found a person in IL that was both knowledgeable and helpful. He would get me a complete mower for $600.00 plus $150.00 trucking. He said the mulch kit would be $125. installed. He gave me a part number for the mower and told me to give this number to my dealer as then I wouldnâÂÂt have to pay for the trucking. He told me that the mowers have to be ordered through a different system and that he sells 2 to 3 every week. I found the mulch kit online for $100. shipped. A dealer in PA told me essentially the same thing as the one in IL. Another dealer said he could not find that part number I had given him (from the IL dealer) but could get a 38 inch mower for $600. and the mulch mower for $700. During this time I called my dealer. At first they told me the number I gave them was not a John Deere number. Then, with some hand holding, I got them to check further and, yes, they did finally find the mower. A week and a half and seven telephone calls later they quoted a price for the complete mower around $860. and with tax and installation, a final cost of $1000. The mulch kit would be $300. installed. (Seems like a wee bit of profit there.)
    If I do replace the mower, the cheapest is to pick up the mower myself, buy the mulch kit separately, and find a volunteer to install it which would be about $742.00. If I have it shipped with the mulch kit installed and hire someone to install the mower it would be about $925.00. If I go back to my ever helpful dealer it would cost $1300.00. It seems like John Deere is a bit confused. This old saying comes to mind: they donâÂÂt know if they are afoot or horseback.
    In looking at other reviews I found that quite a few have mower problems. And people generally seem to be satisfied with the tractor but not the mower and I would agree with that.
    I feel there may be a design problem with the mower but my main complaint is the lousy customer service on the part of John Deere. Not only have I never had a company that refused to do warranty work, I have had companies pay for work after the warranty expired (for instance Ford and Toyota paid for fairly major repairs) and other companies have done repair work when there was no warranty. I will never buy from this company again.

  • lkbum_gw
    10 years ago

    Kspeed, are you an idiot or just trolling for replies?

  • wheely_boy
    10 years ago

    What is the medication they prescribe for being bi-polar???

    Take some!!!!!

  • mownie
    10 years ago

    Was this the synopsis summary report you promised?
    We read it.

  • Electriks
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    Huh?

  • Tom Z-8a, TX
    3 years ago

    Houzz should declare posts "DEAD" after 1 year and not allow / block any further posts!

  • Electriks
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    Why should they declare them dead? My original posts are still valid. John Deere makes a lousy lawn mower, is a lousy company, and people should be made aware of it. I do a lot of research before I spend this much money and wish I had been warned. Thank you for your comment.

  • Ricky Rick
    3 years ago

    Hey! I really appreciate your help. My dealer wanted to pull the same crap so I found one that would sell the whole mower like you did. Thanks!

  • geezer88
    3 years ago

    I tend to keep equipment for a long time. I also buy on the used market when I can find a good deal. Therefore I appreciate older posts. Don't close them!

    tom

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