HUSQVARNA REFUSED TO HONOR THEIR "GARDEN TRACTOR" FRAME WARRANTY ON THEIR POORLY BUILT PRODUCT

BEWARE OF HUSQVARNA “GARDEN TRACTORS”!

I have a HUSQVARNA GT48DXLS, with63 hrs on it, purchased 11 months ago for the specific purpose I'm using it for, both typical yard care and “ground engagement” work, as these yard tractors are advertised as capable of both. I was (past tense) very happy with my GT. I now deeply regret this purchase.

In July 2017 I purchased my GT from our local Dealer. Our Dealer claimed it was an actual "Garden Tractor" capable of all the accessories that were represented by Husqvarna in their ads. These officially include things like a front scoop (bucket), and a 50 inch snow blower attachment, etc. This tractor came with a “ground engagement” transmission with electric locking differential (Tuff Torq K66), 23" rear wheels, upgraded engine (Kawasaki 24HP - FR730V), and allegedly a “heavy duty” chassis.

Fast forward to June 2018, less than a year after purchase, while moving loose, dry sand in my yard, and using it well within the design parameters, the frame BUCKLED in the area between the scoop support bracket and the steering support plate. This was a major surprise, since I had used it multiple times before, in the exact same way, with NO problems at all.

Since I was using it within it’s advertised design specs, and still had 4 years and 1 month left on the “5 year FRAME warranty” that came with the tractor, I presumed they would stand by their product, and honor their warranty. Silly me.

According to the service writer at our local Husqvarna Dealer (who was very hostile to my wife from the second he got on the phone) Husqvarna will “NEVER pay to replace that frame”. “NEVER” was the very specific word they spat at my wife. The Dealer justified it, by actually saying that any and ALL “frame defects" in it would have been obvious on the VERY FIRST day we bought it (not kidding), otherwise, as he said, it is not a “frame defect” and will NOT EVER be covered under warranty. To be clear, this made no sense to my wife either, so she repeated this man’s words back to him, and he confirmed that was indeed what he meant. WHAT THE H***? (So then, WHAT would the point of a “5 year FRAME warranty” be, if the frame would not be covered for any possible issues past the very FIRST day we brought it home, as this service writer said?) So, according to the HUSQVARNA dealer here, their 5 year chassis/frame warranty has been reduced to a ONE DAY warranty.

And on top of all that, to add insult to injury, this service writer then also accused us of lying to them about what we were doing with the lawn tractor when it broke, saying that WE must have done something we weren’t supposed to to break that frame.

My wife was also told that they would be glad to fix it for a mere $518, and included in that price, she was told, was a special “freight charge” for the FRAME, from Husqvarna, of $95. Not happening. We went and picked our tractor up from “Dealer NO SERVICE” almost immediately.

What happened next….

I checked on the cost of ordering of the frame myself, and I found out that this expensive $95 “freight charge” was a LIE, which was no surprise at this point.

I have also since learned, that current manufacturers of ACTUAL Garden Tractors that claim their product capable of ground engagement work have at minimum, a channel steel or “c” channel steel frame. This makes a considerable difference in frame strength. My GT does NOT have a “c” channel frame.

SO, I then contacted HUSQVARNA directly, and told them my problem with the buckled frame, since our local Dealer/service department was a JOKE. Husqvarna corporate wanted pictures and such, which I sent. As I thought they would do, in their response to me they made some very creative excuses for why they would NOT warranty my frame (I will try to share those exact excuses, and show why they were basically invalid, in a later post.)

One of the important things I pointed out to HUSQVARNA in my email to them was that they must already know about the weakness in their frame, because within the very year after I bought my tractor, they had ALREADY designed a “chassis reinforcement plate”, that bolts onto the frame (same frame as mine) in the EXACT place where mine buckled. (Check out Husqvarna part #593 20 69-02 “Chassis Plate Reinforcement”). Looks pretty clear to me that they KNOW, but aren’t directly admitting when asked, about the weakness in their frame, and even exactly where the problem is located. So much for that "Heavy Duty... Robust Steel Chassis" they advertised. False advertising?

Next, knowing I was now totally on my own, and feeling very limited in my options (since I absolutely do not have the money to buy another NEW Garden Tractor) I totally dismantled the tractor, and ordered a brand new frame. There was no $95 special freight charge, just a $13 shipping charge.

When the frame arrived, I took it to a fabrication shop nearby that specializes in agriculture machinery. I paid them to professionally weld some proper frame support onto the frame, since I do not want to go through this same stupidity again.

THE FABRICATION SPECIALISTS I HIRED HAD TO STRAIGHTEN THAT BRAND NEW FRAME WE HAD JUST GOTTEN FROM HUSQVARNA!! Not kidding.

They checked it before beginning their work and found that, as a BRAND NEW frame, it was already bent in the EXACT same spot where the last one had buckled. Can’t make this crap up!

I am still in process now of putting this “garden tractor” of mine all back together, but wanted to put out this warning to the public.

HUSQVARNA, AND THEIR “LAWN AND GARDEN” TRACTORS, AND THEIR “FRAME WARRANTIES” ARE NOT WHAT THEY SEEM!

If my Husqvarna GT had not been falsely represented to me, as a True Garden Tractor fully capable of residential level “ground engagement” work, I would have moved right on past it, and paid more money to buy what I needed, since I was already aware of just what I needed it for. Also, if I had known the truth about the UNUSABLE “5 year frame warranty”, which was definitely an important selling point when I made this purchase, I would have given more consideration to other brands as well. I fell for the deception, but hopefully I can share enough to help others not make the same expensive mistake.

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