Beware of Husqvarna Garden Tractors!
- Thread starter GT48DXLS
- Start date
This came up in another forum on the topic of the TS and scoop/ snowblower/ JB jr, and some confusion around the reason Husqvarna refused to honor my warranty, I thought I would share my response, including this forum, in case it can help someone that is here too.
"FLHusqGT didn't get warranty coverage Because he was using a non approved aftermarket Piece of equipment. Had he bent the frame using the OEM front scoop Husqvarna would Have Probably cover the frame damage under warranty"
I want to clear this up if I can, I just don't want this to possibly add to the confusion that was created by Husqvarna, sincerely, The reason why my warranty was denied had nothing to do with the implement (Husqvarna dosen't make implements, they are mostly produced by Argi Fab in our category), to be clear. If it was denied do to the implement then it would have been a clear and direct violation of the "Magnuson-Moss Warranty—Federal Trade Commission Improvement Act", 15 USC 2301, and my State's much tougher laws (FL, and rule of thumb is, you can always ad to but not take away from) on Implied Warranty, on Implied Warranty of Fitness. That would have opened the door to a class action suit easy, and they are much slicker than making that kind of mistake.
OPEI sets the standards for Garden Tractor as this,
"Garden Tractors are designed to supply sufficient power for home lawn, garden
and yard attachments: moldboard plows, tillers, cultivators, snow throwers,
sweepers, leaf mulchers, etc. Fifty percent of garden tractors are used for areas
larger than two acres."
OPEI was quoted in an article in 1979 as saying this,
"Outdoor Power Equipment Institute
(which is responsible for sorting out the various categories of lawn and garden machinery), a garden
tractor is properly defined as a "self-propelled riding vehicle — designed for general purpose lawn
and garden work — which must have all attachments removable . . . and be capable of pulling a
plow."
Hasn't changed much, plus there is an SIC/NIACS number for the specific class, not to mention the EU and AUS have specific specs too for the purpose of regulating EP, safety, and tariffs.
I've been continuously digging for the truth and after providing proof to Husqvarna that they lied to me, they are not interested in talking anymore. When this comes up I have to keep offering to have an open, transparent, honest, public conversation about this with a Husqvarna Rep that has actual verifiable authority within the company to make warranty decisions, and a rep from any other company that Husqvarna uses as a reason in their denial, to step forward and talk with me, and to the forum, the public witnesses. I have had this out there since approx SEP, and all I hear from them is silence. I sincerely hope that Husqvarna takes me up on this.
On the snowblower, most stories I have received are specific to the snowblower and snow-blade use, buckling the frame in the identical spot, this is why the Chassis Reinforcement Plate was added on the TS (while dropping the GT label to further potentially separate themselves from an implied warranty of fitness?). I have yet to see a snowblower of the use that is common to garden tractors for this type of machine, that has been attached without having to remove the chassis reinforcement plate for use.
Consider this;
Dealer to customer;
"Our new TS can handle garden tractor attachments like the snowblower in this brochure with Husqvarna's name on it. This powerful machine offers a "robust" steel chassis and a ground engaging transaxle to handle some of your toughest jobs. We are so confident in our all new significantly redesigned TS series that you get a 3 year warranty, excluding of course the motor, transaxle, and normal wearable parts, plus a 5 year chassis warranty against failures of material and workmanship, to give you the confidence in ownership that all Husqvarna owners have!
1) If the TS came with the chassis reinforcement plates then this equipment was made apart of the "normal use" of this machine under the abuse/misuse clause of your warranty, meaning if the snowblower has support brackets that will require the owner to remove the chassis reinforcement plates to install, no matter whose brand is on it, you have just abused and or misused your machine under the specific clause of Husqvarna's warranty.
When the frame buckles, and it will in the very place the chassis reinforcement plates cover, then you find that Husqvarna will not honor the warranty. If you get it fixed it's only because the Dealer had enough ethics to just take care of his customer on his own dime or a very cooperative deal was struck between the Dealer and supplier.
Can anyone else identify the other problems (other than it's cheesy, I know, but a relevant example) as referring to the FTC Magnuson-Moss Act and your warranty? This is what Husqvarna uses to induce a customer into the sale/ or parts of.
The frame that came with the TS (GT, and the very exact frame my GT has) is the same gauge steel (weighs just 26lbs) as their cheapest grass cutter and is not a common GT frame, but more common among grass cutters. It is not capable of GT work as verified by the professional services of a mechanical engineer I hired that has been in this business personally for 40+ years with a long established company specializing in agricultural fabrication near Orlando.
Its because of all this understandable confusion I decided to learn all I could and help those like me in anyway I can, to warn potential future customers, and either help Husqvarna to reign in their deceptive warranty and marketing practices, or to be as much of a thorn in their side as I can, for as long as I can, for the hope that they get honest, and stop abusing their customers. I am very impassioned by this now, and I really do wish the best for those that have bought the TS/GT.
I have included the 42" Husqvarna front scoop owners manual, check out the support brackets, and look at the support brackets on the JB jr, also note where those brackets go on the frame. They are the same in function and dimension not quality, (JB jr is much better) snowblower, and plow have the same type of support bracket as the pictured Husqvarna 42"/36" scoop.
Very Respectfully,
"FLHusqGT didn't get warranty coverage Because he was using a non approved aftermarket Piece of equipment. Had he bent the frame using the OEM front scoop Husqvarna would Have Probably cover the frame damage under warranty"
I want to clear this up if I can, I just don't want this to possibly add to the confusion that was created by Husqvarna, sincerely, The reason why my warranty was denied had nothing to do with the implement (Husqvarna dosen't make implements, they are mostly produced by Argi Fab in our category), to be clear. If it was denied do to the implement then it would have been a clear and direct violation of the "Magnuson-Moss Warranty—Federal Trade Commission Improvement Act", 15 USC 2301, and my State's much tougher laws (FL, and rule of thumb is, you can always ad to but not take away from) on Implied Warranty, on Implied Warranty of Fitness. That would have opened the door to a class action suit easy, and they are much slicker than making that kind of mistake.
OPEI sets the standards for Garden Tractor as this,
"Garden Tractors are designed to supply sufficient power for home lawn, garden
and yard attachments: moldboard plows, tillers, cultivators, snow throwers,
sweepers, leaf mulchers, etc. Fifty percent of garden tractors are used for areas
larger than two acres."
OPEI was quoted in an article in 1979 as saying this,
"Outdoor Power Equipment Institute
(which is responsible for sorting out the various categories of lawn and garden machinery), a garden
tractor is properly defined as a "self-propelled riding vehicle — designed for general purpose lawn
and garden work — which must have all attachments removable . . . and be capable of pulling a
plow."
Hasn't changed much, plus there is an SIC/NIACS number for the specific class, not to mention the EU and AUS have specific specs too for the purpose of regulating EP, safety, and tariffs.
I've been continuously digging for the truth and after providing proof to Husqvarna that they lied to me, they are not interested in talking anymore. When this comes up I have to keep offering to have an open, transparent, honest, public conversation about this with a Husqvarna Rep that has actual verifiable authority within the company to make warranty decisions, and a rep from any other company that Husqvarna uses as a reason in their denial, to step forward and talk with me, and to the forum, the public witnesses. I have had this out there since approx SEP, and all I hear from them is silence. I sincerely hope that Husqvarna takes me up on this.
On the snowblower, most stories I have received are specific to the snowblower and snow-blade use, buckling the frame in the identical spot, this is why the Chassis Reinforcement Plate was added on the TS (while dropping the GT label to further potentially separate themselves from an implied warranty of fitness?). I have yet to see a snowblower of the use that is common to garden tractors for this type of machine, that has been attached without having to remove the chassis reinforcement plate for use.
Consider this;
Dealer to customer;
"Our new TS can handle garden tractor attachments like the snowblower in this brochure with Husqvarna's name on it. This powerful machine offers a "robust" steel chassis and a ground engaging transaxle to handle some of your toughest jobs. We are so confident in our all new significantly redesigned TS series that you get a 3 year warranty, excluding of course the motor, transaxle, and normal wearable parts, plus a 5 year chassis warranty against failures of material and workmanship, to give you the confidence in ownership that all Husqvarna owners have!
1) If the TS came with the chassis reinforcement plates then this equipment was made apart of the "normal use" of this machine under the abuse/misuse clause of your warranty, meaning if the snowblower has support brackets that will require the owner to remove the chassis reinforcement plates to install, no matter whose brand is on it, you have just abused and or misused your machine under the specific clause of Husqvarna's warranty.
When the frame buckles, and it will in the very place the chassis reinforcement plates cover, then you find that Husqvarna will not honor the warranty. If you get it fixed it's only because the Dealer had enough ethics to just take care of his customer on his own dime or a very cooperative deal was struck between the Dealer and supplier.
Can anyone else identify the other problems (other than it's cheesy, I know, but a relevant example) as referring to the FTC Magnuson-Moss Act and your warranty? This is what Husqvarna uses to induce a customer into the sale/ or parts of.
The frame that came with the TS (GT, and the very exact frame my GT has) is the same gauge steel (weighs just 26lbs) as their cheapest grass cutter and is not a common GT frame, but more common among grass cutters. It is not capable of GT work as verified by the professional services of a mechanical engineer I hired that has been in this business personally for 40+ years with a long established company specializing in agricultural fabrication near Orlando.
Its because of all this understandable confusion I decided to learn all I could and help those like me in anyway I can, to warn potential future customers, and either help Husqvarna to reign in their deceptive warranty and marketing practices, or to be as much of a thorn in their side as I can, for as long as I can, for the hope that they get honest, and stop abusing their customers. I am very impassioned by this now, and I really do wish the best for those that have bought the TS/GT.
I have included the 42" Husqvarna front scoop owners manual, check out the support brackets, and look at the support brackets on the JB jr, also note where those brackets go on the frame. They are the same in function and dimension not quality, (JB jr is much better) snowblower, and plow have the same type of support bracket as the pictured Husqvarna 42"/36" scoop.
Very Respectfully,
Last edited:
I see
8 reviews, none of which are yours.
Use the viscosity oil of your choice that fits within the guidelines there. As for the API classification, I don't believe Husqvarna is trying to be deceptive there. I imagine that the manual Husqvarna have that you copied the image from has the newest classification which is SN whereas the Kawasaki image does not so they are only recommending up to SJ. Any of them will work according to the Kawasaki image back to classification SF which goes back to 1979. Anything you buy will now will be the latest classification and supersede the previous requirement. So SN will work for any of the others without issue.
Thank you for the input. And your right about the deception part with the oil, I like this kind of input. That could sound like a conspiracy, and that's not what I'm trying to communicate. I do believe it would be more like incompetence or negligence.
I thought I would look at some specifics, though in general I agree, there is more to the story for our engines. Also, the oil used in the Tuff Torq K66 should not be SN API, due to the friction additives designed for better fuel economy in the API SN, because the transaxle has an "internal wet clutch design" in it, and Tuff Torq confirmed this directly. Like many ATV, UTV, and Moto-X bikes that need oil without these friction enhancer improvements.
As an example of this, the confusion that surrounded,..... to synthetic...... or not synthetic ....... for BRP Super-Charged Sea-Doo's and Boat's that were blowing up the clutch's on the chargers (direct motor mounted engine oil lubed gear/shaft/clutch) The charger is a hybrid design on a half Garret centrifugal charger (motor mounted cool air only turbo, verses exhaust driven) and it took about 5 years or so for BRP to figure out what the Dealers and Customers were doing that caused the very expensive failures, 2008 it was fixed.
The oil needed to be an oil designed for a wet clutch operation, without the friction additives of an SN or SM. These auto oil enhancements caused the clutch plates to slip too easily, building heat until failure, and POP! goes a $5K high performance motor in seconds. Yes I have one of these boats (0 to plain is 2.5 seconds, 0-60 in approx 7 sec and is capable of a 180 pivot turn at 30 mph, actual procedure) nothing but BRP synthetic blend goes in it, with the 2008 upgrade on a 2005 boat.
Anyway, I went to some trusted sources on this,
Kawasaki gives a clue for their engines here with API SL and JASO MA depending on the motor, CJ-4 is for diesel.
Here is Amsoil, their explanation. notice it does not include the API of SN or the superseded API of SM.
Our Kawasaki"s need a minimum of a 1000 ppm of zinc, or more appropriately ZDDP, anything JASO is going to reflect this need and that's where I feel it can get confusing for people because most of us are use to our car's. This zinc can be added to the regular auto oil, but why not just put the actual type of oil that the manufacturer is recommending in our Kawasaki? I feel it's a small price for insurance.
This gets to the part where Kawasaki is failing us a bit too, Thank you for pointing this out, because the awareness of the 1000 ppm of ZDDP, or more, is important too. The zinc has different chemical properties than the new friction additives of auto oil.
SL is for 2004 and older auto engines. SN is for 2010 or newer auto engines and for the backwards compatible part you are correct. I would just say that maybe we as consumers should look up that favorite auto oil meeting SN for our cars and check it for how much ZDDP is in it, and go from there, because the zinc is the most important with minimum SL anyway. As far as the weight and grade, kawasaki says SAE 5W-20, SAE 10W-30, SAE 10W-40, SAE 30, or SAE 40, only. Where did Husqvarna get SAE5W-30 from?
Did the CEO get it from his Volvo Manual?
VR
And that is exactly why the OP has taken the time to write all this up.
I hope Husqvarna notes that post. It may save them some troubles.
There are a lot of "better" brands out there. Do a ton of research! Lots of good information to be had on many different forums from first hand experiences.
Depending on your price range, check em all out! Someone will offer a good product that will fit your needs.
Same here. Thought I’d found a gem but guess if it sounds too good...
Ignorance is bliss - glad I’m informed now.
It’s a shame - seems if they just upgraded the frame they’d have an impressive little machine.
This is well said!
I figured $200 worth of extra steel, $500 extra on retail and it would still be a bargain.
Dusty, I know it's been awhile, just wondering if you had decided on a tractor yet and what kind?
Looking for frame reinforcement ideas. I have a 2014 Husqvarna GT48XLSi with the the 42" Husqvarna snow thrower. This is sibling model of the GT48DXLS After reading through this thread, I am very concerned that I might have the same thing happen to my frame. Additional details.
- I purchased the tractor and snowblower used with 13 hours on it. It has 36 hours now.
- Because I'm not the original purchaser I'm sure if I had a frame issue I would be afraid Husqvarna would deny a claim.
- I also have the Craftsman scoop which I could really use for mulch and dirt but won't because it's a pain to use and would have to pull off the snowblower brackets to switch over and of course because of the problems listed here using the JB scoop.
- I never learned to weld and cannot learn as I am not allowed to use an arc welder for medical reasons.
- I'm assuming having a local fabricator weld on some reinforcements would require major disassembly of the tractor.
- Has anyone added the "Chassis Plate Reinforcement" part #593206902 to an GT48XLSi?
- Any other ideas for reinforcement?
I’ve considered that but wouldn’t feel comfortable selling it and not being honest with a buyer.
The frame reinforcement plates are less than $10 each but so far I haven’t even found a picture of them other than in the exploded parts diagram. One online parts vendor popped up a warning when I tried to add to my cart that these were a rarely ordered item, call and talk to one of their experts to order.
Good idea. Though not many on here are buying newer stuff. Won't be much to complain about....