Husqvarna issues

[crayner]

Hi All,
This is *not* a chainsaw issue, it is an account of problems I've been having with a local Husqvarna dealer and corporate in general concerning one of their brushsaw units.

I have an approx 5 yr old 325ix brushsaw/line trimmer that has been used around the yard/homeowner use mainly as a line trimmer. a vibration started in the unit about a year ago and early this year, the pullstarter ceased to turn the motor over. I brought the unit to Chappell Tractor on RT125 in Brentwood NH where I was told the unit needed a new driveshaft and a starter prawl, a repair that totaled $300. In this economy I wasn't happy, but the unit served me well to this point so I had them fix it. I returned home, started the unit TWICE, the third time, the pullstarter again failed to turn the motor over.

I returned the item to Chappell Tractor and the service manager told me he'd have them look at it - he called me the next day and told me that the end of the crankshaft had broken and the repair would be cost prohibitive. He added that he "felt bad about the situation" and offered me $75 off of a replacement unit. He told me that this was the markup that they made off of the replacement parts.

I'd like to hear comments on this situation. In my view, you have an authorized dealer/service center employing service technicians that seemingly perform their job function to the sole benefit of the sales force. If the tech did his job properly, I would have been informed of the fractured crank when I initially brought the unit in, and subsequently spent the $300 that was used to repair the unit towards a replacement. Now I'm out $300, down a trimmer/saw unit and seriously in doubt if I will ever purchase another Husqvarna product again - this from a guy who waived a flag for this company and products for years. I'll certainly never do business with Chappell Tractor again.

I contacted Husqvarna on this and was pretty much told to go pound sand, as their dealer told them that I broke the unit post-repair. I started it twice - once to see that it ran, then used it once to take some 18" tall root suckers off a Hickory stump, the third time I tried to fire it the pullstarter didn't engage... Seems that corporate believes their dealers over the customer when it is convenient to do so. I didn't ask for money back, simply that the entirety og the money spent so far be applied to a replacement unit.

I'm pretty pissed off about this, I'd love to hear thoughts on where to go with this. I've a mind to try to reclaim my money via the small claims court system.

 

[sawdoctor]

I'm very surprised indeed, if it had been Husqvarna UK I think you would have a new trimmer now.

Over here (UK) the company really do take the consumer's side, I've seen in the past where they go totally against the dealer even if it means them being in the wrong and the dealer being in the right.

I guess even though it's the same company, it's different people making the decisions.

Sorry to hear about your situation, hope you get sorted out.

Don't let the dealer keep the machine, drop me a PM and i'll see if I can help you

TTFN

 

[RED-85-Z51]

300 bucks, for a driveshaft and a recoil pawl??? Holy crap!

Driveshaft should only be what...100 bucks tops, starter pawl, 1 buck...probably 25 minutes to install them both, @ 55hr, say 25 bucks labor, tax, tag and title, out the door, under 130 dollars...

Id bet the tech used an impact to zip down the recoil cup nut after replacing the pawl...cracked the crank. Heck it may have even broken when they tried to take it apart at their shop the 2nd time, who knows. I know it takes alot of force to break a crank, regardless of brand.

Id b*tch and moan until I got something I could live with....Then Id throw it in their faces and go buy an ECHO.

 

[jeeptj19992001]

did he use ky when he f-ed ya

 

[mattinky]

did he use ky when he f-ed ya

+1, I hope you got a kiss too! Seriously though,I'd be pretty mad over this. I think they could do better than $75.....

 

[rms61moparman]

I could be wrong but I would think that if this unit had enough vibration from a failing crank that the repair only lasted for two startings, the tech who performed the repair would have noticed it when he started it.

I mean if I fix something and start it up and it feels like a concrete vibrator in my hands, I'm gonna investigate and try to determine why.

I think the dealer owes you some satisfaction and I believe a judge will agree.
Mike

 

[mini14]

ive replaced many driveshafts on echos, one reason i'll never ever buy another, but they do lifetime free replacement , i would allways just get the part and replace it in the parts supply parking lot, it would take bout 5 minutes to do....starter pawl maybe a 10 min fix....i think if i were to pay for the shaft it would be tops $30.00, u got hosed, soory, just 1 more reason to start fixen yourown _hit...in past 15 years ive only droped a machine off for repair once.....just from past experience, once a trimmer starts to get a major problem, it will go in the shed and ill buy a new one...try to fix it when i have time and then it'll be a backup.they are not worth putten $$$$ into someelses pocket..buy the way i now only buy husky line trimmers, im on my third one, they have the best antivib, and start on 1-2 pulls, are lite as hell too..ive owned echo and tanakas husky blows them away.

 

[crayner]

Here are some of the Husqvarna responses

After the first contact...

Response (Bryant Corpening)
Mr. Rayner,

I apologize for the trouble and misunderstanding. Hopefully this email will clarify the situation. In talking with the dealer, we were made aware that the initial problem diagnosis was a problem relating to the pull start only and not the crankshaft because it was in tact. The starter pawl could not have been attached if the crank shaft was broken at that time. The second diagnosis actually revealed the broken crankshaft. Since these two issues were indirectly related, the dealer offered the $75 toward the purchase of a new unit. Once again, I apologize for the misunderstanding.

Thank you.


I don't know where they got this guy from - maybe one of those "work from home" spam emails that everyone gets in their mailbox - he obviously hasn't a clue as to what the internals of ANY of their products look like...


My response was

This is all well and good, however
1.) I WAS charged for an entire driveshaft replacement - did I not need this?
2.) If the starter prawl was removed from the unit, no inspection was done to the crankshaft before the replacement part was installed? I cannot believe that the damage to the crankshaft was not apparent under inspection - in which case it SHOULD have been brought to my attention and I would have elected for replacing the unit rather than repairing it.

You can chose to do what is right by me or not - your decision. I'm not asking for a handout - I want the entire price I paid for a mis-diagnosed repair applied to a new unit. If I don't get that, you should realize it's another lost customer with a loud mouth and many friends in the landscaping industry. Lose enough of us and you'll see what happens.


The response to that was

Response (Bryant Corpening)
Mr. Rayner,

I apologize for your frustration. Know that we appreciate your business and would like to retain you as a customer. However, the crankshaft was not needed upon the first thorough inspection. According to the dealer, the damage to the crankshaft was done after the initial consult. Keep in mind, your unit is five years old and three years beyond warranty coverage. Your dealer is going the extra mile in offering some assistance toward a new unit.

Thank you.

The site obviously lets the poster edit his responses - his initial response was telling me to be reasonable - this was edited out lest his superiors read it. My reply follows...


I am being "reasonable" as you term this. I am a machinist by trade, I was the one using this saw and I can tell you that there is *no* way that the damage to this crankshaft done after I picked the unit up and that the damage was not discernible by the technician who serviced this saw. You may want to forward this email thread to your management.

The issue here is paying top dollar for an inept service person to incorrectly repair my item. I paid top dollar for the service on this unit, I feel that I am not asking for anything that is unreasonable.

This is completely unacceptable. Again - your manager should be copied on this.



You guys will like the last two exchanges

Response (Bryant Corpening)
I have already copied the manager in on this, which is why my responses took a while. Please see your dealer for further support an this issue.

Thank you

Reply
Thank you. Stihl thanks you as well.

 

[mini14]

i dont understand....if the drivesahft wasnt broken why did they replace it....i would stick to that argument for being ripped off(fraud)...

 

[RED-85-Z51]

Ive realized a discrepency between the OP's posts.

In post #1, he says they replaced a driveshaft, which indicates the flex cable or steel cable that connects the clutch to the gearbox..Which would explain the vibration.

Then he indicates that the crankshaft was replaced. This repir is a little more involved and costly than a simple driveshaft.

Its important that we know what exactly was replaced here.

If they installed a new CRANKshaft, and now it is broken, then they need to warranty the new crank.

If they installed a new DRIVEshaft, and now the crank is broke, they have done work in the vicinity of the failure (starter pawl/cup) and I beleive there is reason to beleive that this is more than a coincidence.

 

[RED-85-Z51]

ive replaced many driveshafts on echos, one reason i'll never ever buy another, but they do lifetime free replacement , i would allways just get the part and replace it in the parts supply parking lot, it would take bout 5 minutes to do....starter pawl maybe a 10 min fix....i think if i were to pay for the shaft it would be tops $30.00, u got hosed, soory, just 1 more reason to start fixen yourown _hit...in past 15 years ive only droped a machine off for repair once.....just from past experience, once a trimmer starts to get a major problem, it will go in the shed and ill buy a new one...try to fix it when i have time and then it'll be a backup.they are not worth putten $$$$ into someelses pocket..buy the way i now only buy husky line trimmers, im on my third one, they have the best antivib, and start on 1-2 pulls, are lite as hell too..ive owned echo and tanakas husky blows them away.

This is the first time Ive heard of an echo drive cable needing replacement in a straight shaft or curved shaft application. The place I work at hasnt even ordered one years, we dont even stock them, they are built to withstand just about anything you can throw at them. Heck even the SRM-210 will run the Brushcutter blade being swung at 1"1.25" tree limbs and it doesnt even flinch at it. The flex cable however is designed to fail, and protect the expensive gearbox and engine components in the event you totally stop the lower unit at full spin. The much larger models offer a steel shaft.

I have replaced dozens of cables in poulan pro's, ryobi's, Troybilts, toro's, Homelites, etc...but Ive never had to do one on an Echo, havent had to do one on a Stihl either.

The only time we've had to even use the Echo Lifetime warranty on the drive cable is on a PAS-230, the guy bought it, and the hedge clipper attachment, and ran it like that for over 5 years. The HC attachment is really hell on the flex cable, and the split coupling. But usually it isnt used exclusively (usually people just buy the hedge clipper). He finally wore the coupling out, so we replaced it free of charge.

 

[crayner]

Red - they did replace the driveshaft and starter prawl - not the crank.

As Moparman pointed out, when I received the unit and started it, initially I thought that there was a bit more vibration than there should have been, however I used the saw - granted it was only actually running/cutting for all of 2-3 minutes. When I tried to start it again and the starter didn't engage, it pissed me off tremendously; I was planning on catching up on work...

The service tech SHOULD have noticed this vibration. The act of spinning the blade up to speed was pretty much all that it needed to break - the fact that he didn't notice issues with the crank when he was servicing the unit is absolutely ridiculous. There is NO way that this wasn't visible to the eye - not something that required magnaflux to see... it broke WAY too easily.

The end result is that Husqvarna won't pressure their vendors to do what is right for their customers. I didn't want or ask for anything other than the price of the repair to be applied to a replacement unit - Husqvarna protects their dealers rather than their customers.

 

[RED-85-Z51]

Red - they did replace the driveshaft and starter prawl - not the crank.

As Moparman pointed out, when I received the unit and started it, initially I thought that there was a bit more vibration than there should have been, however I used the saw - granted it was only actually running/cutting for all of 2-3 minutes. When I tried to start it again and the starter didn't engage, it pissed me off tremendously; I was planning on catching up on work...

The service tech SHOULD have noticed this vibration. The act of spinning the blade up to speed was pretty much all that it needed to break - the fact that he didn't notice issues with the crank when he was servicing the unit is absolutely ridiculous. There is NO way that this wasn't visible to the eye - not something that required magnaflux to see... it broke WAY too easily.

The end result is that Husqvarna won't pressure their vendors to do what is right for their customers. I didn't want or ask for anything other than the price of the repair to be applied to a replacement unit - Husqvarna protects their dealers rather than their customers.

This is a full crank engine, the back end of the crank is just a stub out of the case with threads on it, as I recall the recoil pawl plate goes over the stub, and a nut tightens it down. The threads would be reverse thread.

The back of the crank will only feel torque when starting. Once started the pawls swing up and away, and the engine runs.

If I had to guess, the tech pulled the pawl cup to replace the pawl, may have used an impact to get the nut off...could have been inexperienced and had it in reverse and overtightened the nut, and snapped off the crank.

He may have then found a way to cobble it together well enough to run...Id want a look at the crank and parts that came off the thing...if it broke at the threads or just after the threads...you have an argument.

Ive messed up before, Im not ashamed to admit it, only done it a couple times in 4 years of doing this job full time, but it happens. you either have to fix it right, or replace it.

 

[ropensaddle]

Red - they did replace the driveshaft and starter prawl - not the crank.

As Moparman pointed out, when I received the unit and started it, initially I thought that there was a bit more vibration than there should have been, however I used the saw - granted it was only actually running/cutting for all of 2-3 minutes. When I tried to start it again and the starter didn't engage, it pissed me off tremendously; I was planning on catching up on work...

The service tech SHOULD have noticed this vibration. The act of spinning the blade up to speed was pretty much all that it needed to break - the fact that he didn't notice issues with the crank when he was servicing the unit is absolutely ridiculous. There is NO way that this wasn't visible to the eye - not something that required magnaflux to see... it broke WAY too easily.

The end result is that Husqvarna won't pressure their vendors to do what is right for their customers. I didn't want or ask for anything other than the price of the repair to be applied to a replacement unit - Husqvarna protects their dealers rather than their customers.

I would say you have a choice either take them to court or change
brands and file a complaint with consumer protection agency! I am
sure it happens with all models sometimes.

 

[stevethekiwi]

rattle gun rattle gun rattle gun. done the same on a 325rx before. wont do it again.

put new crank in FOC, one happy customer none the wiser.


the noses on those cranks are ment to go round and round, not have the $hit beaten out of them


stk

 

[RED-85-Z51]

rattle gun rattle gun rattle gun. done the same on a 325rx before. wont do it again.

put new crank in FOC, one happy customer none the wiser.


the noses on those cranks are ment to go round and round, not have the $hit beaten out of them


stk

I agree, on small, expensive things like 2 cycle crank bolts, block the piston and use ratchet...only exception is when its a salvage deal, like if I need flywheel in a hurry off a parts saw, or trimmer, or need a recoil cup/pawls...impact it like the devil.

 

[spacemule]

I'm going to have to agree with Husky on this one. The unit is 5 years old, and having a repair done warrants no guarantee that other parts of the machine are not worn out. Furthermore, you're already pissed at this point and won't like them no matter what they do, so it's in their best interest to leave it as is.

 

[RED-85-Z51]

I'm going to have to agree with Husky on this one. The unit is 5 years old, and having a repair done warrants no guarantee that other parts of the machine are not worn out. Furthermore, you're already pissed at this point and won't like them no matter what they do, so it's in their best interest to leave it as is.

But the part that broke was not a WEAR part, its not even a stressed part actually. And the repair was done where the crank broke. If the crank was defective and had a metallurgy problem, seems funny it goes 5 years with no problem, until the starter pawls are replaced, then suddenly it snaps...

 

[spacemule]

I used to know a gun dealer who had a business principle that went something like this. Once you've pissed a customer off, you might as well go all the way pissing them off and make it worth your while because they're not coming back anyway.

Personally, I question the intelligence of someone who spends $300 on a 5 year old trimmer anyway.

 

[RED-85-Z51]

I used to know a gun dealer who had a business principle that went something like this. Once you've pissed a customer off, you might as well go all the way pissing them off and make it worth your while because they're not coming back anyway.

Personally, I question the intelligence of someone who spends $300 on a 5 year old trimmer anyway.

Ill agree with that last part...

Its the same reason my old Vette is sitting behind my old shop, where its sat now for months. It's 23 years old, and needs about 3K in work done to it to make it work right again. It's only worth 3K as it is...