CEO of Husqvarna Calls it Quits on Lawn and Garden Tractors (Petrol), says U.S. is Too "Challenging".

[Handloader109]

Throw in the fact that most push mowers are ran 12 hours per year and replaced every 3.5 years, and riders are run on average 38 hours per year, and replaced every 4.5 years. So the manufacturers have engineered their products behind that replacement average. I remember when Snapper a few years back announced that they were changing the quality of the rear engine riders to have a 5 year life expectancy. Remember that is the mower that up to that point would last over 30 years on average.

Yeah I've got a 2nd 3rd or maybe 4th gand snapper I can't kill. 1980s model......

 

[B7510HSD]

So how old is this article on Rueters??

"Asked about any impact from U.S.-Chinese trade tensions on Husqvarna, CEO Warn said he expected some negative effects from trade tariffs this year, and an even greater hit in 2019."

 

[sunandsand]

Flash Update!!

Got brave and went to mow this AM. Front drag arm for the mower deck promptly fell off (part #532 19 52-70) and turned itself into a pretzel. Didn't damage anything else fortunately. When I wrote my original post the mower had 202 hours on it. Now it has 205.4.

$14 on eBay ($65 at dealer), it will be here in four or five days.

That's an MTBF of a whopping three and a half hours! Gotta tell you, I'm impressed. Real impressed. Yeah. Whooo-eee.


So I think I'm going to ask the TBN collective what to do - here's a poll, vote for any one of your choice:

1) Take it over to the Florida East Coast RR track and let it get hit by a 75 car freight train pulled by two big diesel engines going about 65 mph (I'll video it).

Or

2) Take it down to Kennedy Space Center and either park it under the engines of Elon's next launch OR pay Elon to put the SOB into orbit and have it fall into the sun.

Or

3) Donate it to the Navy for testing aircraft carrier catapults - One condition, they have to aim at a mountain, dumping it into the water is not sufficient.

Or

4) Your suggestions are solicited. Extra points for vengefulness.

I am not a minion of evil . . . I am their CEO.


Best Regards,

Mike/Florida

 

[tomplum]

If the 2 safety clips were in place- how would have it fallen off?

 

[grsthegreat]

That bar fell off once on mine many years ago, but it happened after i removed deck to repair broken spindle. I may have left pin out. I straightened mine and reused it. Still there.

 

[sunandsand]

I think what happened is the attach clip at the mower deck end snagged on something and got pulled out, whereupon the end of the rod fell off. I have no idea how the rod got destroyed because I don't see any other damage to the machine. I tried straightening the rod but it is too far gone. I did notice that the mower was doing a better job (cleaner, more even cut) than it had even done, but when I went to put it back into the hangar, there's about a 2" step and it wouldn't clear.

Why not? The front of the mower deck was now unsupported, so I had to back in. Then I found the remains of the rod dangling from the front mount.

When the new part arrives, it is getting a for real cotter pin, not some "convenient" spring clip which can snag on things and get lost. I can buy a lot of cotter pins for what that rod costs and not have the aggravation.

This is the kind of thoughtless engineering that makes this mower such a piece of junk. Can't fill the fuel tank without risking pouring gas on the engine, the cowling is in the way. Can't see how much fuel is in the tank because the "flavor" of translucent plastic the tank is made of is not quite translucent enough to see through. Spring clips that snag on things (like a blade of grass?) and get lost. Sun shades that fall down and cannot be fastened into position. Wheels with half an inch of side to side play on the axles. Mufflers that vibrate apart in 135 hours of operation. The list goes on . . . and on . . . and on.

I really wonder if anyone at Husqvarna actually TESTED one of these mowers to see if they would work in the real world. On the face of the evidence, the answer appears to be no.

About the only thing that could make this mower worse would be to have the electricals supplied by Lucas.

Best Regards,

Mike/Florida

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Flash Update!!

Got brave and went to mow this AM. Front drag arm for the mower deck promptly fell off (part #532 19 52-70) and turned itself into a pretzel. Didn't damage anything else fortunately. When I wrote my original post the mower had 202 hours on it. Now it has 205.4.

$14 on eBay ($65 at dealer), it will be here in four or five days.

That's an MTBF of a whopping three and a half hours! Gotta tell you, I'm impressed. Real impressed. Yeah. Whooo-eee.


So I think I'm going to ask the TBN collective what to do - here's a poll, vote for any one of your choice:

1) Take it over to the Florida East Coast RR track and let it get hit by a 75 car freight train pulled by two big diesel engines going about 65 mph (I'll video it).

Or

2) Take it down to Kennedy Space Center and either park it under the engines of Elon's next launch OR pay Elon to put the SOB into orbit and have it fall into the sun.

Or

3) Donate it to the Navy for testing aircraft carrier catapults - One condition, they have to aim at a mountain, dumping it into the water is not sufficient.

Or

4) Your suggestions are solicited. Extra points for vengefulness.

I am not a minion of evil . . . I am their CEO.


Best Regards,

Mike/Florida

5) MY vote is, to give it to another TBN member to use, to see if the mower keeps on breaking down!

Somehow, I'm thinking with a quick check over, it won't.

SR

 

[sunandsand]

5) MY vote is, to give it to another TBN member to use, to see if the mower keeps on breaking down!

Somehow, I'm thinking with a quick check over, it won't.

SR

Not sure I'd care to inflict this evil device on any of our TBN members.

Before I use ANY equipment (from push mowers to airplanes), I do a "preflight" to make sure that all fluids and lubricant levels are correct, there's fuel in the tank, tire pressures are correct, nothing is hanging, bent, broken, leaking or smoking, all the various clips, hatches, safeties are secure, and so forth.

I've been told that real men don't read instructions, but I do, and I'm not ashamed to refer to them frequently. I'm also fanatical about following the maintenance schedules and fixing things right - no duct tape or baling wire allowed.

Most of what has gone wrong with this mower stems from poor design, zero pre-delivery inspection (which I have remedied), bad welds from the factory, things vibrating apart, just generally no quality control at ANY point from engineering to assembly to delivery.

I have more hours on my Kubota, which works a LOT harder than this, and has had far fewer problems. All the Husqvarna has to do is cut grass. The Kubota has an FEL, bush hog, belly mower, grade box, pallet forks and it gets used for all kinds of things and just keeps going, all that falls off is a flasher lens from time to time and they are $1.29 at Tractor Supply.

Admittedly, the Kubota cost more than ten times as much as the Husqvarna, but I also have a 30 year old Murray push mower (remember them?) which keeps soldiering along, runs just fine, and cost less than $100 new. I also have two motorcycles which I have owned for fifty years (!) and they also are just fine.

All of these are stored inside so they are not out in the weather, and nobody else uses them.

Like you, I've seen plenty of vehicles where the owner was the biggest problem but in this case I plead not guilty. This mower was evidently assembled on a Friday before a LONG holiday weekend, and the QC crew was very hung over when it got to them the next work day.

Best Regards,

Mike/Florida

 

[Jstpssng]

Because I was wondering if it was a Husky brand attachment meant for that machine, or an aftermarket attachment that voided your warranty?

Why do you keep talking to yourself?

 

[Jstpssng]

My mother is still using the same Husky which my parent's bought in 1996. They've only kept about an acre mowed with it though so it hasn't seen a lot of use.