Well, mostly dead. There are still a few good companies out there.
Looking for something in the garage the other day, I came across the engine block for my commercial grade Scag zero turn mower that I replaced last year. It stirred up some anger and I have to vent. Sorry.
I bought the mower 5 years ago to mow my large amount of property. It was not cheap at just over $14k. I know this sounds crazy for a lawn mower, but I wanted a commercial mower that would last for decades in a residential application. I did an absurd amount of research as most of you would likely do also, and finally decided on the Scag Cheetah. For about 3 1/2 years, everything was great. I did all the recommended maintenance on time, always using new genuine oem parts. Then it happened....
5 minutes into a mow, the engine suddenly stopped and would not start. I tried to crank it but only heard a loud metallic knock. I pulled it back into the garage and started troubleshooting. Knowing I was about 6 months out of the 3 year unlimited hour warranty, I started removing components until I could get the engine to spin by hand. Fast forward to the end, I did not find the problem until finally removing the crankshaft from the block (I have an extensive background in small engine repair). I found the end journal of the crank had been starved of oil and had welded itself to where it rides in the engine block. Looking around to find what could have cause a blockage, I found a casting plug had fallen out near the end of the crankshaft causing a large oil pressure drop to the bearing after it. Looking at the casting plug, it was clear that the tool used to drive it in struck the plug off center, causing a poor seating. It was no surprise it fell out.
Even though it was out of warranty and I disassembled it myself, I contacted my selling Scag dealer in hopes that Kohler (the engine manufacturer), would see that this was a clear cut case of shoddy workmanship and that this manufacturer defect might get me some sort of assistance on a new long block. I supplied all the photos I took of the teardown to my dealer along with receipts of all my maintenance and they said they would contact Kohler on my behalf to see if they would be willing to provide any goodwill assistance, seeing as I only had 320 hours on an engine that should have had at least 2500 if it was used commercially like it was rated for.
I received a response from Scag a few days later. It was a flat no. No replacement of the engine. No parts only. No discount on the block parts. Just a no. They said I am out of warranty.
I know many companies that would make exceptions in cases like this to help out, knowing that their product was clearly defective, but apparently Kohler is not one of them.
Hell bent on not giving Kohler another dime of my money, I ended up spending a little more on a new turnkey 37hp Briggs and Stratton big block kit to replace the Kohler. It's been a little over a year, and it's been great since.
Scag is a great mower. Kohler engines, not so much.
Feel free to share your similar experiences with crappy companies.
Looking for something in the garage the other day, I came across the engine block for my commercial grade Scag zero turn mower that I replaced last year. It stirred up some anger and I have to vent. Sorry.
I bought the mower 5 years ago to mow my large amount of property. It was not cheap at just over $14k. I know this sounds crazy for a lawn mower, but I wanted a commercial mower that would last for decades in a residential application. I did an absurd amount of research as most of you would likely do also, and finally decided on the Scag Cheetah. For about 3 1/2 years, everything was great. I did all the recommended maintenance on time, always using new genuine oem parts. Then it happened....
5 minutes into a mow, the engine suddenly stopped and would not start. I tried to crank it but only heard a loud metallic knock. I pulled it back into the garage and started troubleshooting. Knowing I was about 6 months out of the 3 year unlimited hour warranty, I started removing components until I could get the engine to spin by hand. Fast forward to the end, I did not find the problem until finally removing the crankshaft from the block (I have an extensive background in small engine repair). I found the end journal of the crank had been starved of oil and had welded itself to where it rides in the engine block. Looking around to find what could have cause a blockage, I found a casting plug had fallen out near the end of the crankshaft causing a large oil pressure drop to the bearing after it. Looking at the casting plug, it was clear that the tool used to drive it in struck the plug off center, causing a poor seating. It was no surprise it fell out.
Even though it was out of warranty and I disassembled it myself, I contacted my selling Scag dealer in hopes that Kohler (the engine manufacturer), would see that this was a clear cut case of shoddy workmanship and that this manufacturer defect might get me some sort of assistance on a new long block. I supplied all the photos I took of the teardown to my dealer along with receipts of all my maintenance and they said they would contact Kohler on my behalf to see if they would be willing to provide any goodwill assistance, seeing as I only had 320 hours on an engine that should have had at least 2500 if it was used commercially like it was rated for.
I received a response from Scag a few days later. It was a flat no. No replacement of the engine. No parts only. No discount on the block parts. Just a no. They said I am out of warranty.
I know many companies that would make exceptions in cases like this to help out, knowing that their product was clearly defective, but apparently Kohler is not one of them.
Hell bent on not giving Kohler another dime of my money, I ended up spending a little more on a new turnkey 37hp Briggs and Stratton big block kit to replace the Kohler. It's been a little over a year, and it's been great since.
Scag is a great mower. Kohler engines, not so much.
Feel free to share your similar experiences with crappy companies.